Page 57 of Ruthless Prince

A giant stone statue of an owl lay ahead of me, flanked by two flaming torches. In front of that, the fifteen council members stood in a semi-circle. One of them held a glinting goldenscepter.

With my heart hammering, I headed towardthem.

“Kneel,” someonesaid.

I followed the order, dropping to my knees before thecouncil.

One of them handed me a piece of paper with calligraphic writing. “Please read this out loud. Be sure you mean everyword.”

I took a deep breath and began. “I, Willow Evelyn Rhoades, accept my place in the Order. With this acceptance, I understand that membership is a privilege, and I vow to serve the society above any other entity, including family, church or state. I understand that I am bound to the strictest levels of secrecy, and I will not speak of the Order to outsiders under any circumstances. I understand that I must attend every function and meeting I am invited to, and I will strive to carry out any and all responsibilities given tome.”

The council member with the scepter gently tapped me on the right shoulder. “I hereby welcome Ms. Rhoades as the Order’s newestmember.”

The other council members applauded. Then they removed their masks, finally revealing their identities tome.

“Congratulations, Willow. You made it,” one of them said. I recognized her as my friend Marissa’smother.

The man holding the scepter turned out to be Chuck Thorne, confirming my suspicions from the pledge ceremony all those weeks ago. He smiled at me as he slipped the scepter into a deep pocket in his robes. “What a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday,” he said. “It’s tomorrow, isn’tit?”

“Yes. Thank you,” I murmured. I went to stand up, but Chuck shook his head and held up apalm.

“Stay down for now. It’ll be more comfortable.” He reached into another pocket and pulled out a razorblade.

My eyes widened. “What’s thatfor?”

The council members laughed. “Don’t worry, Willow. It’s fine,” one of themsaid.

They didn’t offer any explanation beyondthat.

Chuck moved behind me and crouched down. Marissa’s mother gathered my hair into her hands and held it up, baring myneck.

“Stay still,” Chuck said. I felt him shave off a tiny patch of hair from just above the nape of my neck. “There we go. It’ll grow back faster than you think. Until then, just wear your hair down or wear a scarf when you’re out inpublic.”

He snapped his fingers, and a new black-masked helper approached and knelt behindme.

“What’s happening?” Iasked.

Marissa’s mother smiled down at me. “Every member receives a small tattoo to further cement their bond with the society,” she said. “It’s smaller than your pinky fingernail, and it won’t be noticeable to anyone else unless they are specifically looking forit.”

I winced as the person behind me started working at my delicate skin with a tattoo machine. Now I understood why the first helper gave me the painkillers in the sugared rose. Without them, this would feel a lotworse.

“What does the tattoo look like?” Iasked.

“It’s the Order’s symbol. You may recall it from the pledge ceremony. A triangle with an eye inside ofit.”

“Oh. What does itmean?”

“It’s the Eye of Providence. It usually represents the gods watching over humanity, but to us, it represents the Order watching over theworld.”

“What about the red skull symbol from the letters?” Iasked.

She gave me an impish smile. “That doesn’t really mean anything. We just like it because it looksdramatic.”

I returned her smile. When I had my first encounter with the Order, I was terrified, but now I was glad I’d stuck with it and pushed myself through the initiation process. While I still had a lot of unanswered questions about the society, I wasn’t scared of itanymore.

“When do I find out what to do?” Iasked.

Her brows furrowed. “What do youmean?”