“I’m sorry, Anni.” Being a mafia princess must be a lot of pressure, too. Just different from the type our family names and our parents’ accomplishments put on us.
She throws up a dismissive hand. “I’ll think about that when the time comes. Now, I’ll just be a normal college student.”
“You should probably stay away from Creigh, though. He is really as you saw yesterday. There’s no hidden door or a secret path.”
A gleam of mischief passes through her eyes. “Or that’s what you think. There’s always something to discover.”
“What if you’re disappointed by what you discover? What if it’s way different from what you bargained for?” Not sure if I’m asking for her or someone else.
“That’s what makes it even more fun!”
“Suit yourself.”
“Can you invite them over later? Or wait, I can ask Remi.” She types a message in a conversation that seems so long. Wow. Did these two start talking only yesterday? That’s basically the length of my conversations with people I’ve known all my life.
Anni pauses mid-typing, her expression falling. “I forgot that I have to stay with Jer tonight.”
“Jeremy willingly invited you over? I thought he was actively keeping you away from his club.”
“He is, but this time is different. He needs to keep an eye on me within the mansion they live in because Papa’s guards have full access there.”
“What’s going to happen tonight?”
She searches her surroundings. “The Heathens’ initiation ceremony. It happens, like, twice a year. They did a mockup at the end of the previous semester and the attendance was huge. It’s brutal as hell, let me tell you.”
My fingers shake at the mention of Jeremy’s friends and I force them back into stillness.
Of course Killian will be the first in line for anything brutal.
“How brutal are we talking about?”
“Whatever you can’t imagine. Just leave your life and dignity at the door if you want to get into this. You also need to receive the invitation text, or you can forget it.”
“So they choose their potential members?”
“Of course they do. Otherwise, they’d be wasting their time with weaklings. It’s why most participants are the toughest ones from The King’s U. I heard they’re sending a few invitations to REU students this year, but that’s probably so the Heathens can use them as spies. Not sure.”
“Does it get dangerous?”
“I’m sure it does. The original members would wear these neon purge mask things and terrorize the potential members so that only the strong remained. I heard that some student drove himself off a cliff after the last initiation.”
The half-eaten sandwich remains suspended near my mouth as blood drains from my face. “W-what did you just say?”
Annika is completely oblivious to my state and digs her fork in her salad, the sound heightened in my overly simulated head.
“Not sure what happened, but I heard he almost got into the club, but didn’t, and the next day, he drove off a cliff. They ruled it as a suicide, but you never know with these things. Like it’s so easy to disguise death as anything when you have the right resources. Maybe they killed him, maybe they played with his brakes, or maybe it was just suicide. You can’t dismiss any option… Oh my God, why are you crying?”
I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. Annika gets close and pats my shoulder. “Are you okay? Did you actually know him?”
Slowly, I nod. “He was my friend.”
Her expression morphs to one of horror before she winces. “I’m so sorry, Glyn.”
“You don’t have to be.” But the people who made him drive off that cliff should be.
I always wondered what made Devlin take that drastic decision, but now that I know he was part of some satanic club’s initiation, it all makes sense.
Hidden hands pushed him off that cliff.