Page 26 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

Tobey can’t know that my trust in him is still wavering. It will be difficult to get someone as suspicious as them to agree in the first place, and if I seem anything less than confident… forget about it.

“He admitted to being the son of Strode,” they say.

“And?” I lift a brow. “Are my father’s downfalls mine as well?”

“No, of course not?—”

“Precisely.”

“Fine.” They raise their hands in surrender. “I’ll drop it. But why would your father and the immortality ceremony be involved? It doesn’t add up.”

“It doesn’thaveto add up yet. That’s what we’re going to find out.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“Well…” I know they won’t like the answer. “I’m joining the society.”

They groan. “Margaux. You can’t be serious.”

“I am. You dated an assumed murderer to get information. Now, I’m doing this.”

“That was different.”

“You’re right. This is my father. No matter how dangerous he is, he won’t hurt me. I’m the best person to do this. You know that.”

For the sake of my sanity, I must believe my father won’t do anything to put me in danger, but time may prove me wrong.

“There has to be another way,” they say. “We can go to the library, do research, and?—”

“It’s asecretsociety! Whatever they’re doing is a secret. I need to be on the inside if we want to get any actual information from them.”

Their jaw is tight, and they shake their head—but they must know I’m right. If there were another way to fix this, I would do it.

“This sucks,” they say. “I thought your father was a good guy. I thought he wanted to help us. Or at least, that’s what I washoping.”

“I thought so, too. Instead, we’re stuck looking to Jun-seong for help. It feels like a downgrade, doesn’t it?”

“If we’re working together, you should be nice to him.”

“Oh, trust me. I’m trying.”

“I hope you’re right about this. Hell, I hopehe’sright.”

If Jun is right, my father is the reason for the murders on campus. He’s the reason for the death of students. This will destroy my relationship with him and the rest of my family.

In a quiet voice, I say, “And I really, really hope he’s not.”

I step outsideof our dormitory, inhaling the frigid scent of decaying fall leaves. There I stay in the moonlight, with the occasional student passing. None of them is of any consequence to me. I get exactly what I need: a moment away from Tobey’s watchful eye.

Until someone I recognize approaches.

Caldwell, with a cigarette dangling from his lips. I see him before he can see me, easily spotting his lanky figure in the dark. Finally, he stops in front of me, nodding as a greeting.

“You shouldn’t be outside alone,” I say.

“Neither should you.”

Yet here we are.