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“Of him.” Penny shrugs. “I went to St. Agnes, which was all-girl’s, but my boyfriend does. Not that it really matters because everyone knows who the Remington’s are. And Gemini? Yeah, there are plenty of rumors about him.”
“Like what?” I ask, curious.
Royal walks through the dining hall, calling attention to himself from everyone in the room. You can almost see his ego soaking up all the attention. Gemini, on the other hand, walks like he’s oblivious to it.
Opening her mouth, Penny pauses and shakes her head. “After the shit I went through in high school and all the rumors spread about me, I promised myself not to say anything I didn’t know was true.” She shakes her head again. “I’m sorry.”
“What rumors?” The question comes from the table next to us. The girl sitting there is a pretty redhead with a scowl. “Smart but lazy? True. Guy’s a genius but does fuck all in his classes, and barely scraped by to pass last year. That plus the rumors that he has some weird, borderline illegal kinks. Not that it matters what he gets up to. He and the other Elites aren’t going to be getting expelled ever.”
Looking at Penny, the surprise on her face tells me the rumors she’s heard don’t match up with these.
“Kinks?” I ask before I can stop myself. I’m not judging, because apparently, I’ve got one I didn’t even know about until last night, but based on what I saw, I’m not the only one.
The girl’s cheeks flame. “He’s going to get what’s coming to him one day. All of them will. You might think you’re going to get far being an Elite, but they’re still going to be the ones with all the power. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll stay far away from them.”
The girl gets up and walks off, leaving her plates behind.
Sharing a look with Penny, I frown. “Being an elite?”
Is she another scholarship student like me?
Penny shakes her head. “I think she’s talking about the Elite—with a capital E.”
“There’s a difference?”
“They do things a little differently here. Did you notice the lack of Greek system?”
“Vaguely?” I mutter, trailing off as I realize I have.
The Elite.
On the few occasions that Cole came home to visit, he mentioned the Elite, but I’d only ever assumed he was talking about the students in general—pretty much everyone who attends here is rich, powerful, and well-educated.
Never had it occurred to me that it was something more.
“Instead of fraternities and sororities, we have the Elite. Just one group, and it’s both sexes. Only, there’s no rushing. Either you’re invited to initiate, or you’re not, and that invitation is dependent solely on your family. They take legacies to the extreme, and very rarely look at fresh blood.”
“Are you a legacy?” I ask.
Penny shakes her head. “And I doubt I’m on the list for an invite either. Not that I care.”
My mind drifts back to the last Thanksgiving I had with Cole. He said something about the Elite. At the time, I hadn’t given that a second thought.
“Why don’t you care?”
Pursing her lips, Penny closes her eyes and draws in a long breath. “It’s not gossiping if it’s the truth.” She opens her eyes and fixes her attention on me. “Nobody holds a grudge like the current president of the Elite.”
“Who’s that?” I ask, thinking of all the guys she pointed out last night.
“Synclair Keyingham. And when he’s got Royal Davenport the third and Gemini Remington by his side, and the rest of the Elite to perform his bidding, the last thinganyoneshould do is get on the wrong side of him. And since his brother was murdered a few years ago, I’m not even sure he has any other side anymore.”
Penny’s words are being drowned out by the sound of my own blood pumping around my body.
Slowly I turn in the direction she’s pointing.
At the far side of the room is a table. There’s nothing special about it, and the chairs aren’t thrones, but it’s on a raised platform so everyone can see it. Or maybe that’s so the occupants can see everyone in the room.
And yet, this is where everyone keeps looking.
