Chapter 22
“A re you ready?” Yasmine asked, mid-yawn.
I nodded firmly, standing at the base of the amphitheater where the massive screen showed the mission details. It flashed: “Master the university’s history and legacy for the golden trophy.” Four buzzers, decorated with our house crests, waited for us to begin.
“Good luck, Dalia,” Sylas said, his hand squeezing my shoulder before he settled into the front row. “We need those points.”
That was a good reminder that we were third in the House Cup competition despite Yasmine’s victory in the essay contest.
The Tactician’s contender strolled in—a petite platinum-blond woman who looked weirdly similar to me—accompanied by none other than Levi, the Tactician leader. She laughed, and he—Levi, who never smiled apart from that condescending smirk of his—genuinely smiled at her, pretending to be her knight in shining armor. I swallowed, feigning indifference. I knew the truth beneath his flawless facade.
“Don’t let him distract you,” Yasmine coached me. “We’ll be cheering you on.”
I squinted at both of them. “I’m going to win.”
The Tactician girl’s hand rested on Levi’s forearm, and he chuckled along with her, pretending he was capable of a warm human connection. But any empathy Levi displayed was icy, cold, and reminiscent of a psychopath’s.
The bell marked the start, and we entered the stage—three girls and one boy. We exchanged polite smiles, shaking hands before I adjusted my green bow tie and smoothed the lace sleeves of my white blouse, neatly tucked into the high-waisted skirt of my uniform.
Mr. Morgan appeared on stage. “Dear students, you’ll be representing your houses today. Let’s wrap this up quickly because let’s face it, no one wants to be here.”
A feeble applause rippled through the almost empty auditorium. Most students were likely engrossed in the football game on the field. Levi lounged casually in the front row, on the opposite side from Yasmine and Sylas. I clicked my loafers together.
Mr. Morgan cleared his throat. “In which year was Pantheon founded?”
I rang my buzzer. “1804, by the four official members of each house, the Hungway brothers and their sister.”
“One point for the Unifiers,” Mr. Morgan acknowledged. “Next question. What’s the oldest building in…”
“The quad,” the Tactician girl beat me to it before sharing a satisfied grin with Levi.
What was he doing here anyway? He didn’t care about these events.
“Correct. What symbols are on each pike of the towers?”
“An eagle, like the Tactician’s emblem, because they belong to the air element,” I answered quickly, remembering the book I’d studied the first day I arrived.
“Which piece was playing the night of the terrorist attack on Pantheon ten years ago?”
A chill ran through my spine while the other students scrambled to answer. The memories of that horrific night flooded back. I parted my lips, struggling to form the words. Levi leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his dissecting gaze sharpening on me. Blinking, I refocused and pressed the buzzer.
“Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93,” I whispered, the melody still lingering in my mind.
Mr. Morgan confirmed my answer.
Part II. The Allegro. The crescendos mirrored the rising panic in my chest, the staccato of gunshots punctuating the music like a grim chase for survival. I could feel myself hiding behind the sofa, hands trembling as I covered my ears. The dissonance of the music turned macabre, the silence that followed the gunshots echoing like the darkness of a haunted mansion, and I—
“Good answer.” Mr. Morgan snapped me back to reality. I had missed a question. I needed to focus. “Another point for the Tacticians.”
I ignored the pain in my chest, locking horns with the Tactician girl for the next few rounds, determined to maintain my focus despite the lingering ache. The Pioneer boy was fast, too fast even, since he stumbled upon two incorrect answers. The Guardian girl was smart but not as assertive as we were.
“Now, for the final, we’ll have two duels: Tactician against Unifier. Five-minute break, and then it’ll be a sudden death.”
One wrong answer and the game would be over.
“How do we determine which one goes first? It has a disadvantage—”
“I will.” I cut off my Tactician’s opponent. “Let the best woman win.”
She scrutinized me like a boxer sizing up her opponent before a match. “Let the best woman win indeed.”
I immediately retreated to a quiet corner. I couldn’t face Yas’s and Sylas’s hopeful smiles right now. My palms were clammy with sweat, my breathing unsteady. I retrieved my phone and focused on my notes, but Levi’s voice shattered my concentration.
“I don’t want you to win. I want you to destroy her,” he ordered his pet. “No pity, darling.”
I couldn’t suppress a scoff. Darling . So ridiculous. He knew I could hear him.
I stormed past them, reclaiming my spot on the stage with determined strides, my footsteps echoing on the hard parquet floor. The Tactician girl took her place in front of me. She ran her fingers through her blond hair, and a shimmer of gray caught my eye. She wore a ribbon.
My ribbon.
The one Levi stole from me on my first day.
My mom’s ribbon.
My gaze shot daggers at Levi, seated in the first row. He hooked an ankle across his knees, his sharp scowl etching on his face.
“Excuse me, where did you get that ribbon?” I blurted out. “It’s beautiful.”
She grimaced. “It’s just a piece of tissue. From a gift.”
“Oh.”
I wasn’t an angry person. I would not let him mess with me. I want to smash his head on a tombstone and ship him to Venus under a sulphuric acid rain and —
“Class, let’s get back to the competition because the choir concert is starting soon in the cathedral! Are you ready?” the chancellor said. “Miss Larovski, what did the first graduated student of Pantheon achieve?”
“The steam power locomotive,” the Tactician girl said.
“Miss Mercier, what legend surrounds the roof of the library, and why is it considered cursed?”
“A ghost is supposed to inhabit it. Morticia Zakaria ended her life because of a broken heart with the Hungway’s oldest founding member. He was the worst thing that could have happened to her.” I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes at Levi. “As fate would have wanted, he died a few weeks later from a heart attack. Some believe it’s because Morticia was haunting him like the Corpse bride.”
Silence settled, a point was won. In your face, Levi.
“Miss Larovski, can you name the secret societies that have operated within the walls of the university a decade ago?”
“The Gentleman’s Horseman, a men’s club established in 1809.” That said club had instilled the Hazing Night on those grounds. She won another point.
We continued to battle for the next ten questions, none of us retracting. There were no more than seven students inside, and most of them had already left.
“Miss Mercier. There is only one stained glass that wasn’t replaced during the big library fire in 1827. Can you tell us what is represented on this stained glass?”
“I—” I frowned. I knew that answer. “It’s the one leading to the library roof.”
The one I was on with Levi.
I saw it clearly. Yet all I remembered was Levi’s face. Levi’s lips. Levi’s hands on me. “I—”
“That’s not the question.”
I shot another glare at this cyborg, wanting to murder him. He looked so smug. Yasmine had her eyes wildly open as Sylas had his hand clenched into a fist in front of his mouth. I can’t lose.
“Do you forfeit, Miss Mercier?” Mr. Morgan asked again.
I closed my eyes, trying to remember something, anything, that wasn’t Levi. “I know the answer.”
“Your time is up. Miss Larovski, if you answer this question correctly, you win.”
“Okay, so it has to be a mythological scene.”
“No, it’s not that. Then—”
I just clasped your wings.
You should read the youngest brother’s book.
Do you know the cursed tale of Morticia’s death?
Levi’s smirk deepened into a sinister curve.
“It’s a bird,” I whispered. “A white dove, as a symbol of renaissance. It was Mortica’s favorite bird. It’s written in the memoirs of the youngest brother. He was so in love with her that after her fall, he replaced the original stained glass with one of a dove he painted himself. It’s the only one that remained intact after the fire. He started the rumors of the roof being cursed so it’d remain their sacred place.”
He loved her and dedicated a cult to her until his death. He never married and locked himself into the Hungway’s manor on the island. None of his brothers or sisters had any children, so their bloodline ended with him. Since then, the manor has been uninhabited and for sale for centuries, with no one daring to step foot inside.
“That is exactly right, but I’m afraid it was past your time, so it’s a tie. Congratulations, students, five points are added to your respective houses.”
I exited the stage, and Yasmine and Sylas dashed to my side, enveloping me in a tight hug. “You rocked it, Dalia!”
“But I didn’t win.” I scanned their faces for signs of disappointment, but they both wore broad grins. “I’m sorry, guys.”
“Everyone knows you won here.”
“How about we celebrate with some board mystery games?” Sylas suggested, spreading his arms wide in invitation.
“I’m so in.” Yas clasped her hands. “And Sylas just explained to me the fastest way to town for our Halloween gala dress shopping.”
Sylas draped an arm around his neck. “Speaking of which, Dalia, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
I smiled. “Yes?”
“I know this may sound out of the blue, but would you like to go to the Halloween ball with me?”
“Oh.” I intertwined my fingers, torn between Yasmine and Sylas. “I was going to go with Yas since neither of us had a date, and—”
“It’s okay.” His blue eyes crinkled at the corner, his lips stretching into a smile. “No problem.”
“But I’ll see you there! I mean, we can still hang out together there, right?”
“Of course,” he said, though his voice seemed slightly strained. “Well, I’m going to organize our victory gaming night.”
As Sylas walked away, Levi emerged into view several meters behind him. I bit my inner cheek.
“I appreciate your solidarity, but I think you just crushed his heart.” That came from Yas.
“I didn’t—” I started to protest, but Yasmine cut me off with a knowing look. “Really? But Sylas is friendly with everyone. He’s always polite and controlled, and no, there’s no way he’s into me.”
“If you say so.” She tapped my shoulder. “You seem like you want to murder that psycho, so I’ll meet you outside or spy on you discreetly from a safe distance.”
“Yas—”
She was already on her way out, waving casually.
I drew in a deep breath and strode in the direction of Levi and my contender. Now that this maniac had obtained what he wanted from her, he paid little attention to her, unaffected by the way she sought his attention. He stood tall and self-assured, his unwavering stare piercing through me.
“Congratulations are in order, my little doll,” he sneered.
“I need to speak with you,” I said, crossing my arms. “Alone.”
He hummed. “Eva, leave us.”
“Eveline,” she corrected with clenched teeth, but she smiled at me nonetheless. “You were great.”
I smiled back. “You were a tough opponent as well.” The moment she left, I attacked Levi. “She seems like a nice girl, and you’re using her. I wouldn’t be surprised if you cheated your way to the top too.”
“Of course I’m using her. Eva is one of the smartest women I know, and I needed a competent first year.”
Asshole. “You don’t even know her name.”
“Why would I waste my time with that?”
“You gave her my ribbon,” I spat out, feeling the fire burning in my belly and the acid rising in my throat. “You had no right.”
“Sounds to me like you’re jealous?” A sly smirk stretched across his lips. “I love that sight on your face. It’s delightful. Looks like my little strategy paid off.”
“You’re a maniac, Levi. I don’t care which girls you want to bring to your bed, but this was mine.”
“You’ve always been a bad liar, Dalia.” He chuckled. “I gave you a choice. If you’re not mine, then why would I keep this thing? It means nothing to me, but if I can win some house points and hurt you in the process, it’s a win-win.”
I flailed my arms wildly. “So it’s all a game to you? I’m only a pawn, right? I hate you, Levi.”
“No, you don’t.” He took a predatory step closer. “You want me, and you hate that.” One tilt of his head. “Plus, I loathed you first.”
“You’re repulsive.”
“And you don’t even know all the darkest things that I want to do to you.”
I craned my neck up, balling my fists at my side. “I want my ribbon back.”
“Admit you’re jealous, and I’ll give it back.”
“I’m not.”
The mask of inhumanity he sewed on his face was unyielding. His eyes remained steadfast, a cloudy gray void impossible to decipher, while each word he spoke felt like a prickling needle against my skin.
“It wasn’t my original plan, but maybe I’ll force myself to fuck Evangeline so I can put your ribbon into good use, after all. Your call, Dalia.”
My nostrils flared. I wanted to chop his all-too-pretty head off. “Fuck you.”
There, I said it. Even though my nose wrinkled at the word.
His towering height bent toward me, his eyes dropping to my lips. “Is that an offer?”
“If I’d have to give myself to someone, you’ll be the last person on my list.”
“Be careful with your words, Dalia, or I might kill them all off from your list so I can quickly climb to the top spot.”
“You’ll be too busy with Eveline .”
“It has always been only you, Dalia, but you didn’t appreciate that.”
“You’re using me, and I’m sure you’ll stab me in the back any chance you get,” I attacked. “So, no, it doesn’t matter that I was jealous, I won’t—”
I bit my words. I had just admitted to him what he wanted to hear. He pulled back, straightening his spine and adjusting his tweed blazer like a businessman satisfied with his transaction.
“I have terrible taste in men. Don’t flatter yourself,” I said before he could interject. “You’re not the kind of boyfriend I’d ever introduce to my family.”
He raised an eyebrow. “We’ve already been introduced, and I must say, I made quite an impression on your father.”
“I need to meet back with my friends; they’re the kind of people you’ll never be.”
“Thank god for that. Who would want to be Sylas?”
“What’s your problem with him?” I gritted my teeth.
He shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets with a sigh. “He’s a coward, a puppy on a leash.”
“No wonder you have no friends.”
“I have friends.”
“You mean pawns,” I nearly shouted. “Anyway, I just came here to tell you that I analyzed the second score, but since you’ll be busy, I’ll just keep that info to myself.”
He jerked his head back with a low chuckle. “Are you blackmailing me, trying to hold me back? I’m impressed.”
He was right, I was, and I didn’t even know why. I couldn’t want him, right? “Do you know why the second music score is a piano one?”
“I have my ideas,” he said.
“Care to share them with me?”
“All in good time.”
I inhaled sharply, wishing I had my fencing foil with me to rip his heart out. “Okay, then, I believe this piano music score and the violin one forms a duet. They’re connected. If we play them both at the same time, it could create the final melody she composed.”
“Fine.”
“Fine?” I repeated. “Where are you going to find someone who plays piano, and—”
“The old opera house. Tomorrow.”
“The old opera house?” I screamed. “First, it’s closed and forbidden! Plus, in the afternoon, I have a rehearsal for the gala. Even though I’m only a backup, you have to be more precise than—”
But he was already gone, leaving me alone in the deserted amphitheater.
“Jerk,” I muttered.