Page 53 of Ruthless Prince

I looked back at Teddy, wishing I could punch the smarmy cocaine-addled expression right off his face. “Nope. Trust me,” I said, setting my glass down with a clatter. “There’s no one I hate more than WillowRhoades.”

11

Willow

“Wake up,Willow. We’re nearlythere.”

I rubbed my eyes and yawned as Simone jostled my side. “Huh?”

She jabbed her fingers toward the plane window. “We’re landingsoon.”

I stretched my tired limbs in the buttery leather seat before looking out the window. Our plane was dipping lower by the second, and an island was slowly coming intoview.

It was bigger than I expected with swathes of thick forest and a ribbon of chalky cliffs stretching along one side. Below the cliffs were rocky beaches and sandbanks, their outer edges kissed by the foamy crests of breaking waves. In the distance, a wide sandbar stretched out to sea, flanked byrocks.

Sunset was close, and the sky was lit with bright hues of orange and gold, like a winter’s hearth. The clouds had turned a brilliant shade of red, and the water surrounding the island reflected all the colors in glintingsplendor.

“Now I know why they call it Fire Island,” I said, eyes widening at the spectacularview.

“Apparently it looks even cooler at night,” Simone said. “Dad told me the moon and stars look incredible out here. ‘Reflecting on the inky water like a million brightly-shining diamonds’were his exact words.” She snickered and rolled her eyes. “I think he wanted to be a poet when he was a kid, but he kindasucks.”

I turned back to her. “So your dad is in theOrder?”

She nodded. “Yeah.Yours?”

“Yes. I can’t believe how good he is at hiding things. I never suspectedanything.”

“Me neither. What about yourmom?”

I shook my head. “Dad told me she’s not amember.”

“My mom isn’t either,” Simone said. “God, imagine if your mom actually was, though. How would she explain to the White House staff that she needs to take the weekend off to fly to a secret island for a clandestine initiationritual?”

I laughed and turned my gaze back to the distant island. I couldn’t see the other side of it yet, but I could safely assume that was where the Order buildingstood.

After the pledge ceremony two weeks ago, I received a letter from the society inviting me to take part in a private retreat for the final initiation ceremony. The instructions said to pack warm clothing and meet at a private airfield thirty miles out of D.C. at exactly five p.m. on Friday the 19thofOctober.

Someone at the airfield told us about our destination—an island off the coast of New Hampshire which didn’t exist on any regular maps—and then we were hustled onto a private plane for the short flight. All the baggage handlers and flight attendants wore black and gold masks to disguise their identities, but I wasn’t freaked out by it. I was already getting used to all the Ordertheatrics.

During our hushed discussions over the last couple of weeks, my father had told me that the upcoming retreat was for all society members, not just pledges. Apparently it was one of the Order’s biggest annual events. He couldn’t fly with me, though, seeing as he was already fully initiated, so he left for the island several hours before me. He told my mother he had ‘business to attend to in another state’, which she didn’t question, and I told her I was going to a college retreat. She didn’t care. She simply waved her hand and told me to sort it out with my securitydetail.

I was told during the pledge ceremony that I wouldn’t need a Secret Service protective detail when the Order held private retreats, but seeing as I wasn’t a fully-fledged member yet (and might never become one if I failed the initiation) I had to take Mal and Adam with me on this one. They didn’t seem to mind. It was essentially a free island vacation forthem.

“Did your dad tell you anything about the final initiation ceremony?” Simone asked, lowering her voice to awhisper.

I shook my head. “Not really. He said they aren’t allowed to talk about it. But he told me not to worry. Apparently it looks a lot scarier than it actuallyis.”

“That doesn’t help my nerves one bit.” She let out a deep sigh. “I hope they don’t give us more of the stuff they made us drink in the pledgeceremony.”

“Same.” I flattened my lips into a straightline.

“That whole night was freakingbrutal.I spilled my entire life story to them, along with every single skeleton in my closet.” Simone shook her head slightly. “I didn’t even mean to. It just floodedout.”

“It was the same forme.”

She waved a casual hand. “I guess that’s the point. They want our deepest secrets, and that’s how they get them.” She leaned closer and nudged me. “What did you tell them,anyway?”

“I can’t tell you,” I replied. I was forbidden from doing so, given my status as a mere initiate, and I didn’t want to repeat my secretanyway.