Chapter 14
Sophie stood beside the pedestal, removing her half-mask to reveal a deceptively calm expression. “Pairs,” she commanded, “step forward one at a time.”
The first couple from earlier approached. Sophie lifted the dagger and made a shallow cut on each of their palms. They hissed in pain but didn’t resist. Then Sophie pressed their bloodied hands together.
“Seal your vow,” she said. “Share the vow you’ve made.”
The pair mumbled something about loyalty and secrecy. Then she wrapped a black ribbon around their joined hands, the watchers chanting softly in a language I didn’t understand.
I recognized the patterns from archaic secret society rites: Blood vow. A partnership sealed by literal blood.
Something akin to what Anubis and I had already done last weekend.
The second pair repeated the process. By the time Sophie reached us, a swirl of dread took hold. I tried not to show my shaking knees.
Sophie’s eyes gleamed with triumph. “Captain Edenvane,” she said, addressing Anubis first. “You vow to remain loyal to your partner in these Trials—do you not?”
Anubis’ voice was steady. “I do.”
She turned that hawk-like gaze on me. “Nubia, do you vow to stand by him, to keep the Skulls’ secrets, to follow our path until the grave?”
My heart hammered. I couldn’t say yes to all that. But what choice did I have?
Survive first. Expose them later.
“I do,” I managed, my throat dry.
Sophie gave a slow, sadistic smile. She lifted the dagger, pricked Anubis’ palm quickly, then turned to me. My instincts screamed to flinch, but I forced myself still. The sting sliced across my palm, a hot line of pain followed by beads of blood.
Anubis gently took my hand. Our blood mingled. A swirl of dizziness threatened me, possibly from the earlier wine, but I gritted my teeth.
Sophie wrapped a dark ribbon around our hands, murmuring an incantation:
“Bound by blood, bound by will, Born of secrets, vow to kill, With broken hearts or broken bones, The vow endures, or the river moans.”
The final line sent a shiver through me: the river moans . I clutched Anubis’ hand as if it were a lifeline.
When she finished, she unwound the ribbon and stepped back. “Two Trials down,” Sophie announced, “but not complete. The next Rite will commence at dawn. You will remain on these grounds until then.”
I blinked. Remain here all night?
But I didn’t have time to wonder for long. There was a ruckus. Sophie screamed. A hooded figure came toward me, dagger in his hand, aimed right at me. He got close enough, he sliced my cheek. Fuck.
Anubis took ahold of me, put himself in front of me, demanding answers.
“It’s my trial. Kill the lottery student,” the guy said, a wild look in his eyes.
Anubis shot into action, knocking me to the ground. Once I could lift my head, I saw the man fall to the ground, the dagger stuck in his chest. One part of a couple, a girl wailed over him as Anubis crouched beside me. Sophie lingered between us couples.
“What the hell was that?” Anubis hissed at Sophie.
“A trial.”
“He’s dead,” Anubis seethed, as the watchers carried the man away. “Where’s my father?”
“He’s gone for the night. You passed, for now.”
One of the watchers approached, providing bandages for our hands. Sophie gave them a bored wave, then turned away, calling for someone else.
Still bleeding, we pressed the gauze to our palms. My mind reeled. We were official…recruits? Allies? Prisoners? Murderers?
Anubis led me to a quieter corner of the courtyard. The night air was cold, and the torchlight flickered across his tense features.
“We passed,” he said in a faint voice. “What the hell? I killed a guy….” He was trembling. “He meant to kill you. He said so, but I saw the determination in his eyes. If I didn’t get that dagger away from him... I just knew. But I didn’t mean to kill Thad.”
“Of course,” I said, though I felt a million miles away. My stomach twisted thinking of what had just happened. More death. Anubis forced to kill another student to save me.
“But the worst might be coming at dawn.”
I shuddered. “Why dawn?”
“Symbolic,” he explained wearily. “Night to day, a rebirth of sorts. I’ve heard rumors they do something in the crypt beneath the Alumni House, or maybe near the river. Some couples get separated. Others are tested on ‘sacrifice.’”
The word sacrifice jarred me. “I’m not sacrificing anything.”
He pulled me close, ignoring the watchers who drifted around. “I won’t let them hurt you. I promise.”
Despite the illusions of safety in his arms, I couldn’t ignore the creeping dread that tomorrow’s final Rite might demand something I wasn’t ready to give. I surely wasn’t ready to murder someone, even to save my own life.
“Did you know him?” I finally asked.
Anubis hung his head. “Yeah, Thad was on the team.”
We were herded into a luxurious sitting room with velvet couches and a roaring fireplace, apparently the designated “waiting area” for the newly blood-bound pairs. Some dozed off in corners, others murmured anxiously. A few watchers lingered, ensuring no one left.
Anubis and I sat together on a couch, forced to endure the hush of tension-laden hours. My bandaged palm throbbed. Eventually, around 2:00 a.m., I drifted into a fitful doze against his shoulder.
Images of Toccara’s face plagued my sleep, warping into nightmares of her beckoning me from the river, black water swirling around her ankles. I awoke with a gasp to find Anubis stroking my hair.
“You okay?” he whispered.
I shook my head, tears burning my eyes. “I keep seeing her… my roommate.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “We’ll get to the truth soon,” he assured me in a hushed tone. “We’re almost through this.”
I wanted to believe that. I curled into him, letting the minutes bleed into hours.
Somewhere around 5:30 a.m., watchers shook us awake. The sky beyond the tall windows was faintly tinted with the first streaks of sunrise. My pulse spiked in fear.