SAVAGE RITES
The morning after the Initiation, the campus felt different.
I walked toward the Science Center, keeping my eyes fixed on the pavement. I was wearing my own clothes guy again the black turtleneck and the gray skirt Nico had provided, because my real clothes were still gone.
I felt like I was wearing a costume of myself.
Everywhere I walked, conversations stopped.
Heads turned.
“That’s her.”
“The girl from the toast.”
“I heard she left with De Luca before midnight.”
My face burned. They didn’t know the half of it. They didn’t know about the dark room, the leather wall, or the way my body had betrayed me for a man who hated my existence.
I could still feel the pressure of Nico’s hand on my skin. I felt branded.
I adjusted my backpack strap, trying to shrink inside my coat. I just needed to get to Biology. Just one hour of staring at cells under a microscope. Cells didn’t gossip.
“Elena!”
The voice came from behind me. It wasn’t the dark, velvety growl that haunted my nightmares. It was lighter.
I turned around.
Julian was jogging across the wet grass of the quad. He looked effortlessly perfect, even at 8:00 AM. He wore a camel coat over a crisp white shirt, his golden hair catching the weak morning light.
He reached me, slightly out of breath. He didn’t look at me with disgust. He looked at me with an intensity that made my stomach flip.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Julian said. He stepped close, creating a small bubble of privacy in the middle of the busy walkway.
“You shouldn’t be,” I said, backing up a step. “Did you hear the toast last night? Did you see what Nico did?”
“I saw a bully marking his territory,” Julian said, his jaw tightening. “And I saw a girl who looked like she was drowning.”
He reached out, his hand hovering near my arm but not touching. Asking for permission.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly. “After you… left the party? He looked aggressive, Elena. If he hurt you…”
“I’m fine,” I lied. The memory of the lounge flashed behind my eyes—the heat, the pleasure, the shame. “He just… he likes to play games.”
“I hate him,” Julian muttered. It was the first time I’d seen a crack in his golden boy facade. His hazel eyes darkened. “I hate the way he looks at you. Like he owns you.”
“He thinks he does.”
“He doesn’t,” Julian said firmly. He took the step I had retreated, closing the distance.
“You aren’t a pawn, Elena. And I meant what I said in the conservatory. I want to be your friend. More than that, actually.”
My breath hitched. “Julian, please. You don’t know the mess I’m in. My father…”
“I know about your father,” Julian interrupted. “My dad is on the Intelligence Committee. I know exactly who the Rat is. And I don’t care.”
He looked around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in closer.
“I see you, Elena. Not your father. Not Nico’s property. I see a girl who plays sad songs in her head when she’s sad. I see a girl who is trying to survive.”
He smiled, and it was dazzling.
“Let me help you,” he said. “Let me walk you to class. Let me buy you coffee. Let me show everyone that Nico De Luca isn’t the only one with power on this campus.”
I wanted to say yes. God, I wanted to say yes. He was offering me a lifeline.
But before I could answer, a shadow fell over us.
“Oh, look. Romeo and Juliet. How tragic.”
Bianca was standing on the steps of the Science Center, looking down at us like we were insects she intended to crush.
She was flanked by two other girls clones with sleek hair and expensive bags, but Bianca was the undisputed queen. She wore a black leather trench coat and stiletto boots.
She descended the stairs slowly, enjoying the click of her heels on the stone.
“Bianca,” Julian sighed, his posture stiffening. “Don’t you have a soul to harvest somewhere?”
“Funny, Julian,” Bianca drawled. She stopped in front of him, ignoring me completely at first. She reached out and straightened the collar of his coat, a gesture that was both intimate and condescending.
“I’m just looking out for you,” she said. “You’re embarrassing yourself. chasing after Nico’s leftovers? It’s beneath a Thorne.”
“She isn’t leftovers,” Julian snapped, swatting her hand away. “She’s a human being.”
Bianca finally turned her gaze to me. Her eyes were black pits of malice. She looked at my neck, searching for the ruby necklace. When she saw I wasn’t wearing it, she smirked.
“Human?” Bianca laughed. “No. She’s collateral damage. Isn’t that right, Elena?”
She stepped around Julian, invading my space. She smelled of jasmine.
“I saw you last night,” Bianca whispered, her voice dropping so only I could hear. “I saw you go into the Red Room with him. And I saw how you looked when you came out. Messy. Flushed. Pathetic.”
My blood ran cold.
“You don’t know what happened,” I said, my voice trembling.
“I know Nico,” Bianca hissed. “I’ve known him since we were five years old. I know how he breaks things. And I know that he doesn’t keep pets for long.”
She leaned back, looking me up and down with a sneer
“You think you’re special because he touched you? Because he gave you a necklace?”
Bianca shook her head. “He’s just using you to hurt your father. Once the money is recovered, you’ll be disposed of. And do you know who will be standing next to him at the altar one day?”
She pointed a manicured finger at her own chest.
“Me,” she declared. “Because the Riccis and the De Lucas are destiny. We are empire. You are just a temporary stain on the carpet.”
“Stop it, Bianca,” Julian warned, stepping between us. He physically blocked her from me. “Back off. Now.”
Bianca looked at Julian, then at me. Her expression shifted from anger to something colder.
“Have it your way, Julian,” she said, shrugging. “Play the white knight. But remember, when you play with fire, you get burned. And Nico is an inferno.”
She turned to her minions. “Let’s go. The air out here smells like desperation.”
She shoulder-checked me hard as she passed, sending me stumbling back a few steps. She didn’t look back. She just walked away, her ponytail swinging like a pendulum.
I stood there, clutching my books, my heart racing.
“I’m sorry,” Julian said immediately. He turned to me, his face full of concern. “She’s… she’s always been jealous. She’s been obsessed with Nico for years.”
“She’s right,” I whispered. “I am just collateral.”
“No,” Julian said firmly.
He reached out and took my hand. This time, I didn’t pull away. His skin was warm. Safe.
“You’re not collateral to me,” Julian said. He squeezed my fingers. “Let’s get you to class. And tonight… meet me at the library. I want to show you something.”
I looked at his earnest face. Then I looked at the retreating back of Bianca.
Nico had warned me not to stand close to Julian. He had threatened to break his hands.
But Nico had also humiliated me, assaulted me, and framed my uncle.
I looked at Julian’s hand holding mine.
“Okay,” I whispered. “I’ll meet you.”
***
The Blackwood dining hall was less like a cafeteria and more like a banquet hall for minor royalty.
I walked in, clutching my tray of untouched salad and sparkling water. My stomach was a knot of nerves, but I knew I had to eat. Nico’s threat about keeping my strength up wasn’t really a suggestion.
The gossip from last night had mutated. The stares were different today.
I found a spot at the very end of a long table near the back, far away from the “Gold Coast” tables where the Heirs and their circle usually held court. I sat down, keeping my eyes on my lettuce.
Just eat. Ten minutes. Then the library. Then Julian.
The thought of meeting Julian later was the only thing keeping me upright.
A tray slammed down onto the table directly across from me.
I flinched, water sloshing over the rim of my glass.
I looked up.
Bianca was sitting there.
She didn’t have food. She had a double espresso and a look of absolute disdain. Up close, her beauty was terrifying, flawless olive skin, lips painted a matte berry shade.
“Enjoying your salad,El?” she asked.
I put my fork down. “Is there something you want, Bianca? Or are you just here to insult my wardrobe again?”
Bianca smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her manicured hand.
“I’m here to educate you,” she said smoothly. “You see, you’re new to our ecosystem. You think because Nico dragged you to a party and gave you a necklace, you’re part of the game. You’re not.”
“I never said I was,” I replied, my voice steady despite the rapid beating of my heart. “I don’t want to be part of your game.”
“That’s the problem,” Bianca sighed, stirring her coffee. “You don’t get to choose. But you do need to understand the hierarchy before you get hurt. Irreparably.”
She gestured around the room.
“This school? It’s a training ground. We are the future leaders of the syndicate. My father controls the ports. Nico’s father controls… everything else. And the Thornes?” She laughed softly. “They are the political shield we hide behind.”
She took a sip of espresso, her dark eyes locking onto mine.
“Nico and I have an understanding, Elena. A strictly business arrangement that dates back to our cradles. Our families will merge. It is inevitable. I will be his queen, and he will be my king.”
“You’re welcome to him,” I said bitterly. “He’s a monster.”
Bianca’s expression hardened. “He is a god. You just don’t know how to worship him properly.”
She reached across the table. I flinched, expecting a slap. instead, she picked up a cherry tomato from my salad with her long, sharp fingernails. She inspected it like it was a jewel.
“You are a distraction,” Bianca stated. “A fleeting amusement. Nico likes to break things. He likes to see how much pressure it takes to shatter a person. Right now, he is obsessed with breaking you because you are the daughter of the man who stole from him. It’s poetic justice.”
She crushed the tomato between her fingers. Red juice and seeds dripped onto the table.
“But once you are broken,” Bianca whispered, “he will discard you. And I will still be there.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.
“Because I saw you with Julian this morning,” she hissed. The mask of cool indifference slipped, revealing the jealous rage beneath.
“And I know Julian. He’s weak. He has a hero complex. If you drag him into this war between you and Nico, Julian will get hurt. And unlike you, Julian actually matters.”
“I’m not dragging him into anything,” I defended. “He’s my friend.”
“Friends get killed in our world, Elena.”
Bianca stood up abruptly. She grabbed a napkin and wiped the tomato juice from her fingers, tossing the stained paper onto my tray.
“Stay away from Julian,” she commanded.
“And don’t get comfortable in the penthouse. The view is great, but the fall is deadly.”
She turned to leave, satisfied with her threat.
But she didn’t get far.
A shadow loomed over the table.
Nico was standing there.
He must have approached silently. He was wearing a black dress shirt, the top buttons undone, and he looked like a storm cloud that had just rolled indoors.
Bianca froze. Her posture shifted instantly from aggressive to submissive.
“Nico,” she said, her voice turning sweet. “I was just welcoming our guest.”
Nico didn’t look at Bianca. He was looking at me. He was looking at the fear in my eyes and the crushed tomato on the table.
“You have a strange way of welcoming people, B,” Nico said. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. A warning.
“We were just having girl talk,” Bianca said, reaching out to touch his arm.
Nico stepped back, avoiding her touch. It was a subtle rejection, but in front of the watching dining hall, it was a slap in the face. Bianca’s smile faltered.
“Go sit with your friends, Bianca,” Nico ordered. “I need to speak to Elena.”
Bianca’s jaw tightened. She looked from Nico to me, her eyes burning with humiliation.
“Fine,” she snapped. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Nico. She’s trouble.”
She spun on her heel and marched away, her heels clicking angrily against the stone.
I let out a breath I had been holding. But the relief was short-lived.
Nico took the seat Bianca had vacated. He didn’t sit on the bench; he straddled it, leaning forward into my space.
“Did she hurt you?” he asked.
“No,” I whispered. “She just… talked.”
“Bianca talks too much.”
He reached out and picked up my fork. He speared a piece of lettuce.
“You aren’t eating,” he noted.
“I lost my appetite.”
“Find it.”
He held the fork out to me.
“Eat,” he commanded. “You look pale. People will think I’m starving you.”
I took the fork from him, my fingers brushing his. The contact sent a jolt through me a reminder of the dark room, of the way his hands had felt on my skin. I pulled back quickly.
Nico watched me eat. His gaze was heavy, possessive.
“I saw you this morning,” he said casually. “With Thorne.”
I chewed slowly, trying to swallow the dry lettuce. “He walked me to class. That’s allowed, isn’t it? Or is walking against the rules too?”
Nico smirked. “You have a sharp tongue today. I wonder if you’ll be this bold later.”
“What happens later?”
“Later,” Nico said, leaning in until his voice dropped to a murmur only I could hear, “we receive the first update from my men in France. They found an apartment rented under an alias.”
My blood turned to ice. My fork clattered onto the tray.
“Did they find him?” I choked out.
“Not yet,” Nico said, enjoying my terror. “But they are close. He left in a hurry. Left his coffee warm on the table.”
He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. It was a tender gesture that felt like a threat.
“So, Elena,” he whispered. “Whatever Julian is promising you, whatever escape, whatever hope he is whispering in your ear, forget it.
Because your father is running out of road. And when we catch him…”
He let the sentence hang in the air.
“Finish your salad,” Nico said, standing up. “I’ll see you at home. And Elena?”
I looked up at him, my eyes stinging with unshed tears.
“Don’t let Bianca get in your head,” he said, his eyes cold and unyielding. “She thinks she’s the queen of this board. But she forgets that I’m the one moving the pieces.”
He turned and walked away, joining his crew at the Gold Coast table.
I stared at my food.
Bianca wanted to destroy me because she loved him.
Nico wanted to destroy me because he hated my father.
And Julian… Julian just wanted to be my friend.
But in this school, being a friend was the most dangerous thing of all. I checked my watch.
Library. 7 PM.
I had to see him. I had to know if there was any light left in this world.
TBC
