Chapter 6
“So how many of these have you received?” Silvia looked through my little collection of notes, reading each one over and over.
I’d come to the decision to confide in her last night since she was the closest thing I had to a friend, other than Luce or Melody.
But both of them had too close connections to the guys and I couldn’t be so sure that this wasn’t some fucked up mind game of theirs.
We were sitting in one of the University meeting rooms waiting for a Courts committee meeting to start and it seemed as good a time as any.
“I got the seventh one yesterday,” I said as I pointed out the latest note. Silvia picked it up and looked through it again, before spreading all the notes on the table, her dark eyes scanning each with concern.
“Seven notes in a month?” she asked, and I nodded in confirmation.
She picked up the latest note again and shook her head.
“Cade, this is serious. Like this is a threat, and from the looks of it they are escalating very quickly.” She looked up at me, concern shining clearly in her eyes.
I grimaced at her expression. It was one thing for me to be worried.
I could tell myself that I was being too paranoid, that this was just a prank.
But seeing my friend with genuine concern validated the threat way too much for my liking.
“I know,” I finally said with a defeated sigh.
“But what am I supposed to do, it’s not like I know who is sending them.
” I felt exhausted. The last twenty-four hours had flipped on me so dramatically.
I thought I had finally got some sort of control in my life only for the guys to flip it on me, leaving me so much worse off than I was before.
And the notes were just the final straw.
“I think you should tell your Regents,” Silvia said, and I shook my head quickly.
“How do I not know that they are the ones doing this?”
“Why would they send you notes telling you to leave?” Silvia scoffed.
“I dunno, to fuck with me?” I said as I rubbed my eyes with my hand and looked back at Silvia. “Maybe they are done with my shit and this is how they are going to get me to disappear.” Silvia shook her head and looked back down at the notes.
“I doubt that very much,” she said. “That wouldn’t look very good for them.” That seemed a strange thing to say.
“In what way?” I asked. Silvia’s body immediately stiffened, and she looked around the empty room as if there were suddenly ears everywhere. Knowing Ryder, there probably was. I knew he had cameras all over the university, it wouldn’t shock me to know there were some in here.
“I know you aren’t a legacy, so there is stuff you don’t know.” I could tell that Silvia was trying to be evasive, and it was making her uncomfortable.
“You mean about the Trivium, or whatever?” I asked and her eyes widened.
“How do you know? Did one of the guys-” I shook my head and held up my hand, cutting her off.
“Damien told me,” I whispered. Even saying his name in public felt dangerous, like the guys would use it against me. “Before…” I trailed off, knowing that I didn’t need to carry on. Silvia looked back down at the table, avoiding my eyes.
“Oh, I guess that makes sense,” she said. She glanced over at the door and then back at me. “Did he tell you how it worked with the Regents?” I shook my head.
“He didn’t go too much into everything, only that they were some evil cult or something.” Silvia rolled her eyes.
“Did he really say cult?” she asked, and I shrugged.
“Well no, he said a secret society, but that’s even more far-fetched.” I said. “I mean he made it sound like they run the country or something.” I scoffed but then saw the look in Silvia’s eyes and stopped. “Come on, it’s bullshit.” I said but Silvia shook her head.
“It’s further than the country. The Trivium goes so much further than that.” Silvia looked around again, and I started to feel on edge.
“Damien was right, the Trivium is involved in everything. And The Regents system is how they determine who does and doesn’t get in and where they rank.” I wanted to call bullshit again, but the look on Silvia’s face was deadly serious.
“How do you know all this, if it’s so secret?” I asked. Silvia started gathering the notes into a pile.
“Because my father is one of the highest ranking members,” she said, causing my eyes to widen.
She chuckled, although there was no humour in it.
“I know, there's more to me than you thought, right?” She shrugged and handed me the notes. “I can’t get away from all this, it’s in my blood.
I only came to Regents because of Matthew.
If he gets Regent next year, I have a chance of getting out from under my father’s power. ”
“His power? Geez, you make it sound so sinister.” I was trying to make light of it, but Silvia had a glistening in her eyes that told me there was so much more that I didn’t know.
“My father is a very bad man,” Silvia said, “My mum tried to protect me from it, but at this point Matthew is my best hope.”
“Silvia, I…” I trailed off. What was I supposed to say? I was really in over my head and felt like it was getting deeper with each new thing that I learnt. Silvia wiped a stray tear from her eyes and forced a smile on her face.
“Anyway,” she said with a fake cheer, “That’s why I think you should tell the guys about the notes. Protecting their Consort is in their best interest.” I let out a bitter laugh.
"Protect me? They're the ones I need protection from half the time." I rubbed my temples, remembering yesterday's revelation about the contract loophole.
“Besides, I’m not convinced that this isn’t just another one of their sick games.”
"What do you mean?" Silvia leant forward, her brow furrowed.
"They love playing mind games," I explained, keeping my voice low despite the empty room. "Making me feel helpless, out of control. These notes could just be another way to make me dependent on them."
"But what if they're not?" Silvia pressed. "What if someone really is threatening you? The notes keep getting more violent." She pointed to the notes in my hand. "That last one literally threatens to make you disappear."
"I know," I sighed, opening the note up and studying the angry scrawl. “But I can't-”
Before I could continue, footsteps echoed in the hallway. I quickly gathered the notes, shoving them into my bag just in case anyone else came into the room. When whoever it was passed by the room, I turned back to Silvia.
"I'll figure something out," I whispered to Silvia. "Just... please don't tell anyone about this. Not even Matthew." Silvia squeezed my hand under the table.
"I won't. But promise me you'll be careful." I nodded, forcing a smile on my face. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. Between the guys and whoever was sending me these notes I felt like I couldn't turn a corner without someone watching me.
"Speaking of hidden things," Silvia hesitated before she continued "I spoke to my mum about your mother.
" My heart skipped a beat. This was the lead I'd been waiting for, the reason I'd risked asking Silvia to help me dig into the past. I leant closer, desperate for any information about the woman who'd abandoned me.
"You found something?" I whispered, my heart racing. After weeks of dead ends, any information about my mother felt like a lifeline. Silvia nodded, glancing toward the door before continuing.
“She was definitely a Courts girl, like we suspected. My mum knew exactly who she was as soon as I mentioned her name. Mum said that they were both in the house together, although in different years, but your mum went for Consort but didn’t get it.
” Silvia shrugged as she spoke “Mum said she was pretty bitter about it, but the last she heard she had graduated with a Masters in Political Science and then went back home. But my mum did say that she remembered a-”
The door burst open, cutting off whatever Silvia was about to reveal.
Megan and Melody swept in, deep in animated conversation about decorations and costumes.
My shoulders tensed at the interruption, but I tried to keep my expression neutral.
Now wasn't the time to draw attention to myself or my questions about the past.
"The haunted house is going to be absolutely amazing!" Melody gushed, her blonde curls bouncing as she practically skipped to the table. Her eyes landed on me and brightened. "Oh, Cade! I just saw it, Logan's been working so hard on the construction. He should be up any minute with updates."
My stomach clenched at the mention of Logan.
After yesterday's revelation about the contract loophole and last night's tense dinner, the last thing I wanted was another encounter with any of the Regents.
I'd managed to escape to my room before Ryder returned from his family dinner, though that hadn't stopped Cole from bringing me Ryder’s customary hot chocolate later that night.
"That's... great," I managed, though my lack of enthusiasm must have shown because Melody's smile faltered slightly.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice. I forced my lips into what I hoped was a convincing smile. "Just tired. Lots of studying."
Silvia, bless her, jumped in before Melody could press further.
"So what are the different houses wearing for the event?" Melody instantly perked up at Silvia's question, her earlier concern forgotten.
"Oh yes! Each house has their own interpretation of the masks theme. As you know all us Courts girls will be wearing these gorgeous masquerade masks, I found from this amazing boutique in the city." She winked at Silvia and Silvia grinned in response.
"Syndicate House is going with ski masks, as in bank robbers," Megan added with an eye roll. "Because apparently they can't help but reference banking and finance in everything they do."
"And Covenant House?" Melody turned to me expectantly.