Chapter 16
Sixteen
Enzo
I checked my watch, seeing the second hand nearing midnight, and stretched my neck from side to side. Every muscle in my neck tightened when I slammed the folder shut and tossed it aside.
Someone had dropped it off at my door two nights ago, and I still hadn’t found out who it was. I’d reviewed video from the CCTV footage at my door countless times, but couldn’t make out the person.
No one other than me—not even my parents—had a key to my wing.
At least, to the best of my knowledge, though it seemed I was wrong.
Information about Blair that I couldn’t find online filled the folder.
Information that neither Julian nor Nico had found, hacking into everything they could, searching for Blair’s secrets.
Inside the folder, they were laid bare, as if whoever had left it unlocked her brain and emptied it out for me. It still didn’t answer all my questions. I had plenty more, especially after what I read.
Whoever left it knew Blair.
The real question was why they had done it.
They knew this information would make her Initiation harder. The more we knew, the worse we could make it on her.
I needed to find out who had played Folder Fairy and why they’d done it.
Cedric, Emeri, and Brooks had also received folders with the same information.
Initiations were to prove the woman we’d chosen as a Fawn was worthy.
I hadn’t been lying when I told Blair failing Initiation meant death.
It wasn’t us who killed them. They usually ended their own lives, not strong enough to withstand the mental torture we’d put them through. That didn’t happen often.
Tonight was Blair’s Initiation.
If she failed, it’d reflect badly on me.
She had to do well.
I tucked the folder inside my bag and left my dorm. No moon hung in the air as I walked through the pitch-black fog.
When I brought Blair to the Devil’s Lair to play the knife game the other night, I had taken her the long way, leading her through the entrance in the back of the woods. We had a few other entrances that were closer to campus.
Tonight, I took the easier route through the secret entrance in the greenhouse.
Taking Blair to the Devil’s Lair had broken the rules. I’d told myself it was okay since I led her to a secluded room and she didn’t see anything.
I had taken her to one of our recreation rooms.
It was where we fucked, did drugs, and cleared our heads.
When I entered the Devil’s Lair, I found Cedric, Nico, and Brooks on the couch. A pizza box was open on the table. Emeri sat at a secluded table in the corner, typing on his laptop. Probably working on his book. The one he wouldn’t allow any of us to read.
Given his quiet nature, he needed an outlet for his crazy-ass thoughts.
I collapsed on the couch beside Brooks, following his attention to his father on the TV. President Byron replied to a journalist’s question about attending the senator’s son’s funeral.
“Shit,” I hissed, annoyance now rumbling inside me. “I forgot I have to attend that.”
“We didn’t miss it?” Brooks asked, glancing at me. “I hoped my father would forget he’d demanded I go.”
“It’s scheduled for next weekend,” Cedric said.
“Why the fuck are they letting the body sit that long?” Nico asked. “It has to be rotten as fuck by now.”
Brooks shook his head, shooting Nico an annoyed glare. “How did you pass the aptitude test to become a Son again? His body was blown to bits. There isn’t anything to rot.”
“He’s right, actually,” Emeri said from the corner.
Nico flipped Brooks off and puffed out his chest.
“They’re piecing him back together,” Emeri went on. “The mother refused to have an empty casket, so they’re reassembling him Frankenstein-style.”
“They’re supergluing his parts together?” Nico asked.
“Not sure.” Emeri shrugged. “It’s for appearances, so my guess is, they’re just arranging him to look pretty.”
“Let’s hope for an open casket,” I said, grabbing a pizza slice and biting into it. “That’s the kind of artwork I like to see.”
All the guys nodded in agreement.
I chewed my bite while Brooks stared at me.
“How’re you feeling about tonight?” he asked.
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” I lied.
“She’d better not fail,” Nico said, always giving his annoying-ass input. “You brought her here. We could get in trouble for not reporting you for that shit. You know, if someone isn’t a Fawn, Haven, or fucking Daphne, they can’t come to the Devil’s Lair. It’s too risky.”
“Since when do you give a shit about playing by the book?” Cedric asked.
I shot Nico a frustrated glare.
All of us were close. We all knew he’d never rat my ass out. He just liked running his smart mouth.
Our loyalty to each other was what made us different from those who had come before us. Above all else, we were a brotherhood. Sons second.
Brooks rubbed the back of his neck. “Enzo knows what he’s doing.”
“Nah.” Cedric shook his head. “This Fawn isn’t like his others.”
“True.” Brooks took a sip of Coke.
Needing to prove them wrong, I kept my tone even and steady as I said, “She’s a potential Fawn. That’s it.” I ran my hand over my face. When that didn’t relieve the mounting tension, I rested my head back on the cushion, trying to loosen the strain there, and shut my eyes.
They were right. Blair was different. But I wouldn’t admit that.
I’d never cared much about my Fawns. From my first year, I had known I’d never be one of those idiots who fell in love with theirs.
To me, Fawns only served as instruments.
To be used. Fucked. Controlled.
I didn’t need a Fawn to help with my restraint.
I just had them for my own entertainment and to fulfill my Son duty.
Brooks discarded his pizza crust in the box and propped his feet up. “The Elders brought me in for a meeting last night. They said I have to choose a Fawn for the year.”
“Same,” Emeri and Cedric said simultaneously.
We were all seniors, and the allure of having a Fawn had faded. The rules mandated that we choose one. Everyone was dragging their feet.
“Just say fuck it and choose Daphne,” Cedric told Brooks.
Brooks dropped his feet from the table, took a steady breath, and reached for the drawer beneath the table where he stored his weed. A deep crease appeared on his forehead as he took out and unfolded his rolling papers.
“He’s right,” I added. “Pick her. She knows the rules and will pass.”
His eyes whipped to me, anger burning inside them. “I’d have to fuck her.”
“You want to fuck her.”
“My sister would hate me.”
“Adelina would get over it,” Nico added.
Brooks dropped the partially rolled joint and sank back onto the couch. “Like I’ve explained to you fucks before, my dad would lose his shit.” His gaze pinged to me again. “Would you make a Fawn of the woman whose father tried to assassinate yours?”
The thought of someone trying to assassinate my father made me want to throw my fist through the wall.
Several men had been stupid enough to try and failed.
Each one was dead now.
Served them right. Fucking idiots.
But I got where Brooks was coming from. Assassination attempts in my world weren’t out of the ordinary. They were in his.
Brooks went back to rolling his joint, and I knew we needed to change the subject. Initiations were long, and we needed to be focused today.
The seconds ticked agonizingly slowly.
Two hours later, I checked my watch again.
Once it struck three a.m., we’d begin.