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“No.” I shake my head sharply. “It has to be her.”

His eyes grow wide. “Ithasto be her? What is this?”

I smile lazily. “It will make my sanctification that much sweeter if I have to overcome an obstacle first. Conquering her will be my trophy.”

Hunter shakes his head. “I can’t believe you. You’re about to become Prior, and you’re turning it into a game. What did she say to you tonight?”

“A lot of silly things. She’s so naive, and so righteous.” I laugh softly. “She really thinks she can resist me.”

When I glance at Hunter, the look on his face gives me pause.

Why does this girl intrigue me so much? It’s not like she’ll defy me forever. Once she knows what’s really at stake—what I’m truly capable of—she’ll cower.

And then she’ll grow to crave my affection, because I’ll be her entire world. Once she’s mine, the intrigue will fade.

It always does.

Ava

“You’re insane.” Sienna’s voice cuts through the quiet evening. “Do you even hear yourself right now? This isn’t some fraternity prank. Damian wants you for something. That’s terrifying. You need to stay as far away from him as you can.”

We walk along the brick path cutting through campus. The September air is cool, edged with the smell of dried grass and salt carried from the coast.

California is strange. It carries only the whisper of fall—just enough to remind me what I’m missing. Back home in Nebraska, September bites. The trees blaze red and gold, and the air turns sharp and final, like the year is preparing to die.

Here, it’s like the seasons don’t know how to change, and it creates an odd feeling of isolation within me. As if Ashford is disconnected from the rest of the world.

“I have to do something,” I say. “I can’t just let them pull Rhett deeper into this… This darkness.”

Sienna narrows her eyes. “And what did he do for you when Damian was saying all that stuff? Nothing.”

I shake my head. “He was scared. I heard it in his voice. He tried to protect me.”

“Hetried.” She kicks at a loose pebble, sending it skittering across the path. “This is so like you, Ava. Why is it always your job to save everyone?”

A pang shoots into my chest. I know exactly what she’s referring to.

My failure as a friend, though she doesn’t see it that way.

I shake my head. “When was I ever able to save you from anything your dad did?”

“Did you just hear yourself?” She raises both hands in the air. “It wasn’t your job to save me. There was nothing you could do. There’s probably nothing you can do for Rhett either. And yet here you are, dragging yourself deeper into the mess he couldn’t pull you out of. After hearing that whole conversation, you want to make these people think you’re interested in joining their cult?”

“I’m not going to let it get very far.” I soften my voice. “I’ll never actually join.”

The wind tousles Sienna’s hair. “That’s not how this works. People don’t just walk away from things like this. I’ve been scouring the Ashford Reddit these past few days… Did you know three Ashford students disappear every year? That might not seem like much, but it’s actually huge.”

A chill laces down my spine, but I keep my voice steady. “Well, if it’s on Reddit, you know it must be true.”

She glares at me. “Rumors don’t just come from nowhere, Ava. I can’t believe you’re being so dismissive after everything you heard Damian say.”

“Look, I fully believe these frat boysthinkthey’re in a cult, but making people disappear? That’s a massive conspiracy.”

Ben Cartwright’s death creeps its way into my mind. Would it be difficult to get away with a murder by making it look like a suicide? I just don’t know. It’s beyond my comprehension.

“You don’t know this world.” Her voice cracks. “Rich people get away with things other people don’t. I’ve seen?—”

She closes her lips, probably not wanting to bring up her dad’s abuse again because she knows it will only make me more set on my path to help Rhett.