Page 83 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

This time, it’s clear I’m not the killer, right?

That should bring comfort, but it doesn’t. This means the killer will go for me next, surely.

“Augustin is out,” Professor Fairweather says. “Stop the dance and prepare for the next round of games.”

Jun finds me before I can look for him.

He bends low, his lips brushing against my ear. “I know who it is. Come on.”

The room is a whirlwind of students shuffling around, and Jun leads me to the professors.

“Who is it?” I ask.

Jun doesn’t answer. Instead, he leans in to whisper to my father.

Other people won’t notice the shift in my father’s face, but I do. A small smile tugs at his lips, and while he doesn’t say it, I already know we’ve won. “Off to the side with the others, then.”

Jun and I settle into our seats, and our heads press close to each other.

“I think we made it to the next round,” I whisper.

“Only if it’s Selina. That was my guess.”

We look out to the remaining three: Selina, Arthur, and Gio. She only needs to kill one of them, and she wins. It’s over.

I say, “That was my guess, too.”

Out of our group,only Selina moves forward with the trials—and us. Our guess was right after all. Selina wasn’t particularly slick, but too many people fell for her games. My father promises the rest of the students an opportunity to try again next semester, but the air in the room isn’t one of victory.

It’s a realization of how tense the trials are. The night isn’t dangerous, but one slip up, and you’re out. You lose a year of immortality. For me, it’s nothing. For the people who are genuine about joining the Order, it can be everything.

We’re one step closer to solving the mystery, and for a night, the deaths are fake. It’s a relief. We relax after we’ve won, and we even have a bit of fun.

Jun and I finally have a few drinks, and we enjoy a meal with the winners while watching the two remaining groups play. It’s three in the morning when the group of winners ambles back to our dormitories.

How are so many students getting away with breaking curfew?

Jun and I remain close, paying no mind to the others.

“We fucking did it,” Jun says, wearing a cheeky smile.

I roll my eyes. “Youdid it. All I did was almost get drawn into her game.”

Selina would have killed me if our dance had continued for another moment. I’m sure of it.

“You did not. You knew it was her from the second you saw her—I could tell. That’s what made me so sure of my guess.”

“Howcould you tell?” I narrow my eyes. “You think you know me so well?”

“I think I’m getting to know you.”

It’s not the answer I expect. He could say that I’m obvious, that it’s easy to know me, but he doesn’t. And, I realize, it’s true. Jun and I are doing something I never would have imagined—we’re giving each other a chance.

“I suppose I’m getting to know you as well,” I say. “And you’re a lot less annoying than I expected.”

“Oh, really?”

“I may be overstating it, but… sometimes you’re tolerable. Especially when you’re helping solve a murder, fictional or otherwise. You have your values.”