Cruel Love (Privilege 6)

“But she’s a new member,” April said, her pen poised over the book.

Ariana’s face turned to stone.

“Sorry. I was just surprised,” April said quickly, noticing Ariana’s reaction. “It’s just … that’s never been done before.”

“Well there’s a first time for everything,” Adam piped up. “And Ana … I mean, Sister Portia, was the MVP of our pledge class.” He raised his hand, leaning forward in the circle so he could see Ariana. “I second the nomination, too. Or third it. Whatever.”

There was a grumble among some of the seniors, but no one objected.

“All right then,” April said with a smile. “Sister Portia has been nominated.”

Ariana held her breath as the tip of the pen scratched across the paper. She beamed at Tahira, her face, she was sure, burning bright red. She couldn’t believe she’d just been nominated for president of Stone and Grave. It was not only the highest position in the secret society, but considering how exclusive S and G was, it was basically the highest position in all the school. And Tahira, Adam, and Jasper thought she deserved to have it.

“Any other nominations?” April asked.

Landon sighed. Christian cracked his knuckles. Otherwise, the cave was silent as a tomb.

“All right then. We’ll hold a special election at our next meeting,” April said, slapping the book closed. “Thank you all for coming at such short notice. Meeting adjourned.”

As everyone scrambled to their feet, Jasper, Tahira, Maria, Rob, and a few other members gathered around Ariana to congratulate her. Ariana tried to look solemn, tried to appear as if this was all a lot to take in—the idea of replacing her best friend. But inside, she had never been so excited. As she looked into Jasper’s proud, admiring eyes and squeezed his hand, she felt as if all her dreams were coming true.

BENEVOLENT

Ariana walked across campus toward the dining hall before lunch on Monday afternoon, feeling as if people were already start

ing to look at her differently. All morning, girls from Stone and Grave had been coming up to her, swearing their allegiance, promising to vote for her at Wednesday’s midnight gathering. With each new promise, Ariana felt her chest inflate a bit more. She looked around at the red brick buildings of campus, the piles of colorful leaves gathered alongside the slate walks, the blue-and-gray APH flag whipping from every hall’s flagpole, and felt as if the crisp fall air was filling her from the inside, bringing all sorts of possibilities.

I’m going to own this place, Ariana thought, pausing near the steps of the administration building. All I need are a few more votes and this school, these students, the world … may as well be mine.

She licked her lips, wondering what sorts of perks the president of Stone and Grave could expect to enjoy. Lexa had never talked much about it, or at all. She had taken her position of power and prestige in stride, as if it was simply part of who she was, not something to be wielded or shown off. Thinking of Lexa’s mature demeanor now, Ariana vowed to herself that she would be the same way. She would not abuse her power, nor would she cause anyone to feel envious or covetous of her position. She would be a good, kind, benevolent leader.

If, of course, she won.

Ariana smiled at Quinn, who waved as she went by. She pulled her cell phone out of her bag to see if Soomie had responded to any of the many texts she had sent that morning between classes. There were some new texts, but they were all from Jasper, Maria, and Tahira.

Biting her lip, Ariana speed-dialed Soomie’s cell. The voice mail had already picked up by the time she’d brought her phone to her ear.

“You know what to do at the beep!” Soomie said brightly.

“Soomie, it’s Ana,” Ariana said, turning and moseying up the walk with a leisurely gait, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her face. “I’m sure you’re tired of Maria and me stalking you, but we’re both really worried. Just … give one of us a call back as soon as you can. We don’t need to have some long, drawn-out talk or anything. We just want to know you’re okay.”

And also, it would be nice if you could come back to campus and vote for me Wednesday night, she added silently.

She racked her brain for a way to say this without really saying it, but came up blank.

“Okay, well. Hope to see you soon!”

She hung up the phone feeling frustrated and concerned. Of course Soomie was upset. First her best friend Brigit had fallen to her death, and now Lexa. Not everyone could take such awful tragedies in stride. Ariana just hoped that wherever she was, she wasn’t going to do anything stupid.

The last thing she needed was another death to avenge.

Suddenly, a dog’s bark split the cold air. Ariana’s pulse completely stopped, then thumped back up to a frightening pace. She whirled around, searching the campus for the source of the noise.

The bark sounded familiar. Too familiar. Every inch of Ariana’s skin tingled. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Where was it coming from? The sound seemed to echo off every wall, coming at her from all angles. She had to see the dog. She had to make sure it wasn’t—

And then, suddenly, the barking stopped.

Ariana narrowed her eyes, scanning the campus, but there were no canines in sight. The fist of fear that gripped Ariana’s heart loosened slightly. She was just hearing things, clearly. All these thoughts of Reed and Briana Leigh and avenging deaths were starting to fool with her mind. That’s all it was.