Chapter 2 002-The Rules of the Game

The Society.

The name echoed like thunder in my chest, hollow and heavy. I lay awake, staring at the cracks on my ceiling, wondering how many of those lines had been drawn by the hands of the powerful-hands that had touched my family, tainted it.

Kellan wasn't dead. Not yet. And if he was, someone had made sure I'd never find out the truth.

But I would.

Even if it killed me.

Breakfast in the dining hall was chaos: voices loud, chairs scraping, phones buzzing. But when I walked in, everything hushed for just a second too long.

Then resumed-too loud, too casual.

They knew.

I didn't wait for a tray. I walked straight to Eloise.

She had two croissants on her plate, was mid-eye roll at a boy trying to flirt with her.

"Oh, thank God. Lydia," she said, waving me over. "Save me from this human beige sweater."

I sat beside her, ignoring the guy who quickly retreated.

"I need answers," I whispered.

Eloise's eyes lit up.

"Finally. You're done playing dead mouse."

We skipped first period.

Eloise led me to the south wing, past the library and the theater hall, to a door that looked like it hadn't been opened since the 1800s.

She pulled a bobby pin from her hair and picked the lock in under twenty seconds.

"I learned from my ex," she said. "He also taught me how to set fires but... one step at a time."

Inside was a storage room: dusty books, broken furniture, forgotten files.

She handed me a flashlight.

"What are we looking for?"

"Anything Society-related. Meeting logs. Blackmail. Human sacrifices. You know, rich kid hobbies."

We found a file labeled Ceremonial Council, 2015.

Inside were names.

Vivian Morrow.

Marcus Cain.

Rosalind Vale.

Rosalind.

Auden's dead mother.

"You okay?" Eloise asked when I froze.

"Yeah," I lied.

Except I wasn't. Because underneath the names was a list of initiation rules, and one line had been blacked out with thick ink. I held it up to the light.

Still illegible.

Eloise pulled out a small bottle from her pocket.

"Lemon juice," she grinned. "Heat reveals ink. My ex was also a drama kid."

I stared at her.

"What?"

A minute later, with the paper held over a lighter, the line revealed itself:

"All blood must bind. No legacy without lineage. No heir without inheritance."

"What does that mean?" I whispered.

Eloise's face paled.

"It means the Society wasn't just about money. It was about blood. Family. Lineage." She swallowed. "They weren't just marrying for power. They were... mixing it."

I stared at the names again.

Vivian.

Marcus.

Rosalind.

The rumor.

The one I'd heard whispered even before I understood what it meant.

My mother had been in a marriage with Marcus... and Auden's mother.

So what did that make Auden to me?

My stomach turned.

I found him in the greenhouse.

Alone, trimming the roses with gloved hands like a villain in a fairy tale.

"You knew," I said.

He didn't look up. "About what?"

"My mother. Your mother. Marcus. The Society. All of it."

"I know a lot of things, Lydia."

"Were they in a relationship?" I pressed. "Was it true? The three of them?"

He looked at me finally. Eyes cold. "Does it matter?"

"Yes. Because I need to know if you're my-" I stopped myself.

He saw it.

"Oh," he said softly. "That's what you're afraid of."

I didn't respond.

Auden dropped the shears. "You and I-we're not blood. My mother lied. Marcus was never my real father. She made that up to stay in the Society."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because legacy matters more than truth here. You should know that by now."

The silence between us buzzed, thick and electric.

Then he took a step closer.

"You and I... we're nothing we shouldn't be. But if you keep digging, you'll find things that break you. Some things can't be unseen."

"I'm already broken."

His hand hovered near mine, almost touching.

"You're not," he said. "Not yet."

That night, I found a letter tucked into my pillow.

"Stop digging or you'll end up like your brother. Or worse-your mother."

Underneath it was a photo.

Of me. Sleeping.

Someone had been in my room.

I barely made it to the bathroom before throwing up.

The next day, I snapped.

I confronted Marcus.

It was after his meeting with the Board, in the old library wing. He didn't expect me.

"Lydia." His smile was a mask. "Settling in, I see."

"Cut the crap. I know about the Society. I know about you and Mom. I know you lied about that night."

His jaw tensed.

"Careful, girl."

"You're not my father. You don't get to tell me what to do."

He stepped closer, voice low.

"You have no idea how deep this goes. You're not ready for the truth."

"I don't want to be ready. I want answers."

Marcus's eyes glinted. "You want answers? Fine. Your brother was going to burn everything down. He betrayed us. He ran."

"Ran where?"

"To the only person he thought could save him."

"Who?"

"Ask Auden."

I stormed out, heart pounding.

Found Auden in the music hall, hands on the piano keys, playing a melody that felt like drowning.

"You helped him leave?"

"No," he said. "I helped him hide."

I blinked.

"He was being followed," Auden continued. "He had evidence. Real proof. But he was scared. So we created a decoy, a fire drill, a window of time."

"Then what?"

"Then he vanished anyway."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know."

I wanted to scream. Cry. Hit something.

Instead, I sat beside him.

The music stopped.

"What if I can't do this?" I whispered.

"You can."

"I'm scared."

"You should be."

I looked at him.

"But you're not alone anymore."

That night, I met Bea.

Well-ran into her. Literally. She was storming out of detention with mascara-streaked cheeks and rage in her eyes.

She looked at me, recognized me, and laughed without humor.

"Of course. The broken heiress."

"Excuse me?"

She smirked. "Don't take it personally. We're all broken here. You're just fresher meat."

"Bea, right? You were at the party."

Her face changed.

"I don't talk about that night."

"Kellan was there."

Her eyes darkened. "So was Damien."

"Damien Vale?"

She nodded. "Auden's cousin. The golden boy. The monster."

"What did he do?"

She hesitated. Then whispered, "He was in love with your brother. And he hated him for it."