Sweet Deceit (Privilege 4)

Ariana’s hand automatically gripped her forearm, her fingers cutting off all circulation as she squeezed. Brigit was dead for no reason. No reason. No reason at all. Ariana’s vision started to prickle over with tiny gray dots. She was going to faint. Or worse. She had to get control. Now.

Just breathe, Ariana.

In, one . . . two . . . three . . .

Out, one . . . two . . . three . . .

Thick, waxy air filled Ariana’s lungs and her vision slowly began to clear. She had to concentrate on her current purpose. She had to concentrate on Kaitlynn. Kaitlynn, who had to be freaking out right about now. Because Kaitlynn needed Stone and Grave even more than Ariana did. While Ariana had Briana Leigh Covington’s past to build on, Kaitlynn had nothing. No money, no family, nothing. Her very identity was a complete fabrication. Ariana knew that Kaitlynn was hoping that Stone and Grave would offer her stability, a sort of de facto family—a network to rely on for money, places to stay, college recommendations—her whole future. Which was why she’d gone so far as to kill to get in.

Slowly, Ariana turned her head so that she could see Kaitlynn from the corner of her eye. Kaitlynn’s skin looked sickly pale in the candlelight, like she was about to throw up. For a split second, Ariana’s heart almost went out to her.

“Over the next two weeks you will be led through a series of tasks,” April said, shaking her red curls back from her face. She pushed her glasses up on her nose and gave the pledges a no-nonsense glare. “And I want to be perfectly clear on this. When it comes to these tasks, failure is not an option.”

Behind April and Conrad, the members of Stone and Grave stood still and hushed. This was a serious directive. If ever the pledges wanted to be standing on the other side of this ceremony, they had better not screw up.

“We will meet tomorrow night at midnight, on the steps of the chapel,” Conrad said. “Don’t be late.”

With that, a hood was yanked over Ariana’s head again, and she was unceremoniously dragged up the stairs with the rest of the pledges.

PROVE IT

Ariana was the first to arrive at the foot of the chapel steps on Wednesday night. There was no sign of Conrad or April. Tahira and Allison were on their way—she’d heard them gabbing in their room about what to wear as she’d left the dorm. The guys would probably be the last to arrive, because they’d want to look cool and blasé about the whole thing. But the person she was most curious about was Kaitlynn.

Kaitlynn, whom Ariana hadn’t seen all day.

She’d been up and out of the room before Ariana’s alarm had ever gone off and she’d been MIA ever since. During the two classes the two of them shared, her desk had remained vacant and she hadn’t shown up for any of the day’s meals. By the time the dinner dishes were cleared, Ariana had started to suspect that Kaitlynn was gone for good.

Was it even possible? Had the news that her spot in Stone and Grave was not guaranteed sent her over the edge? Maybe she’d taken what was left of her money and gone off to start a new life. Ariana knew the very prospect should have sent her screaming gleefully across campus, turning cartwheels and hugging every person she met, but instead she felt an odd sense of disappointment.

A cold breeze tossed a yellow leaf across Ariana’s foot. She looked down at it as it blew off into the night, and sighed.

“You’re early.”

Ariana whipped around, heart in her throat. Kaitlynn was standing directly behind her.

“You’re here!” Ariana squealed. She threw her arms around Kaitlynn’s neck and squeezed.

“Okay. What was that?” Kaitlynn asked when Ariana released her. There were dark circles under Kaitlynn’s eyes and her short blond hair was frizzy and unkempt. She wore her black wool coat over jeans, and her sneakers were caked with mud.

“Where have you been all day?” Ariana asked under her breath. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tahira and Allison tromping down the hill from Privilege House, dressed in black from head to toe. Adam and Landon were close behind.

“Why? Were you worried about me?” Kaitlynn cocked an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I was,” Ariana said under her breath. “I wanted to talk to you about the meeting last night,” she said, tugging her coat closer to her against the cold. “I’m sure you were as freaked as I was by this whole no-guarantee thing.”

Kaitlynn avoided Ariana’s gaze, looking down at the ground and shoving her hands into the pockets of her coat. “You were freaked?” she said dubiously. “Don’t you mean pissed?”

Ariana clenched her jaw for a moment and took a deep breath. “Why? Because of Brigit?”

Was that why Kaitlynn had stayed away all day?

Kaitlynn simply stared. “Aren’t you?”

Blowing out a sigh, Ariana tugged her wool gloves out of her pockets and pulled them on. “Look, what’s done is done. But I thought about what you said the other morning and I realized something.”

“What?”

Ariana swallowed hard. The others were fast approaching. This conversation had to get where she needed it to go and she needed it to get there fast. “Brigit’s gone. I can’t bring her back. But you and me . . . we’re still here. And you were right. We were best friends once.”