Page 39 of Ruthless Chaos

She hesitates. “Mostly.”

My eyes narrow. She glances at me briefly, then continues to speak.

“The Peace Treaty is a delicate balance.” Tara pauses, as if searching for the right words. “It only works when everyone has skin in the game, otherwise, it just falls apart.” Her grip on the steering wheel tightens. “So, they kill people who threaten that balance.”

This conversation is wreaking havoc on my nerves, but I need to understand this.

I need to know the stakes.

“The balance only exists when someone has something to lose.”

Put that way, it sort of makes sense.

It’s not protection for each student, but more of a protection of the collective interests of everyone. Disrupting the peace would create a domino effect, and even the vilest criminal can understand that’s bad for business.

I worry that I’m too quiet. Uncle Laurent consented to this on my behalf when I got admitted. Now I see why keeping my identity a secret is so important.

“Has someone ever broken the Treaty?” My voice is low.

I’m a glutton for punishment, I realize. My question hangs in the air, taunting me. Is the answer something I really want to know?

Knowing this won’t do me any good.

“Two years ago,” Tara says nonchalantly.

My mouth goes dry, but I play off my horror with a chuckle. It sounds more like a wail, but Tara doesn’t seem to notice.

“What happened?”

She looses a hand from the steering wheel to root through the center console for her phone. “They found out someone had lied during the admissions process.” The blood in my veins freeze over. “Usually, the Executive Body investigates, but someone killed him before they could.”

Tara plops her phone in my lap. I recoil the moment I see what’s on the screen.

It’s the mutilated body of a man, hanging from a maypole. His eyes are gouged out, and his entire body is soaked in blood—I can’t even tell if he has skin. His scalp is missing, and so are some of his fingers.

“That’s him,” she says while I’m frozen in horror.

I can’t hide my mortification. “Why didn’t they wait until the investigation was complete?” Everyone deserves a fair trial.

I know I would want one.

“The treaty rewards the person who kills the trespasser.” She puts a finger to her lip, thoughtfully. “They either get some money, or admission into Hemlock, Chaos or Kingmaker.”

So, it’s like a hunting competition, then.

My eyes travel back to the picture on Tara’s phone. My eyes burn. I know I should look away, but it has me transfixed.

This is what will happen to me if I’m found out.

It’s like there’s no more air left in the SUV.

Everything is moving in slow motion, and I feel like I’m floating outside of my body. My chest is tight. This whole thing is worse than anything I could have ever imagined.

If I came here and told the truth, the people who want to kill me because of my father will probably find me. But, if I don’t pass the Hemlock House initiation, I’ll end up in a dorm filled with savages. Worse of all, if I can’t keep up this lie about who I am, then the whole school will hunt me like a fucking animal.

And whoever kills me will berewarded.

That bunker in Moscow seems more appealing with each passing hour.