Page 20 of Heartless Prince

I took a deep breath and thought about Halliwell’s class. If I sneaked into a Crown and Dagger initiation ceremony and witnessed what went on, separating fact from legend for my paper, I would get an A for sure. I’d be the first person to ever manage that in her class, and a professor like her was a good one to be noticed by. She had a lot of connections, so if she liked and respected a student, she could easily help them with future internships and jobs.

“I still want to do it,” I said.

Mellie nodded and leaned back, her brows knitted in deep thought. “I’ll have to try and come up with a way to get you in. There must be something I can do,” she muttered.

“Well, while you think about it, can I ask some stuff about the society? I promise I won’t write it down anywhere. It’ll all stay right up here,” I said, tapping the side of my head with a finger.

“Sure.”

I outlined what I’d figured out during the party last night, regarding the different levels and the colors they wore. “Is that right?” I asked.

Mellie nodded. “Yes. Brand new recruits wear brown robes during initiation week, and after that they’re considered first-level and wear dark blue robes. Second is red, third is black.”

“How long does someone stay at the first level?”

Mellie shrugged. “Anywhere between a year and their entire lifetime.”

I crinkled my forehead. “Why?”

“You don’t actually need to progress to the second level, or the third. At the first level, you get financial gifts, houses, and all the connections you could possibly need to succeed. In return, you offer your own connections to current and future members for the rest of your life. If you’re happy with that and don’t really meet the criteria to go up a level, then you can remain quite happily at the first level forever. Several past US Presidents and Vice Presidents have been first-level Crown and Dagger guys.”

“Really?” My eyes widened.

“Yup.”

“Wow. So what’s the difference between the first and second levels?”

Her lips tightened. “I’m not entirely sure, but I know the society watches certain members they think might be fit for the second level. If and when they’re considered ready—as in trustworthy with a certain personality type—they’re selected for initiation into the second level. It happens in a ceremony in fall, a few weeks after Tap Week. That’s the one I’m going to try to sneak you into.”

“So you don’t know what they actually do at second level?”

“No. From what I’ve managed to glean from Dad, they’re privy to certain secrets. No idea what, though.” She shrugged. “Oh, and they get to use this huge vacation house on some private island that the first-levels aren’t allowed at.”

“And the third level?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know anything about it at all. My father would never tell me, so I’m pretty sure those secrets go to the grave with the members who reach it. They can’t let anything slip about it to anyone, not even their wife or kids. Ever. I get the impression that’s the level where they might actually kill you if you revealed their secrets.”

That certainly sounded ominous. “Do you know any details about the ceremony you’re going to try and get me into?”

“A bit. Dad is responsible for organizing it, so he’s told me a few things here and there, and he even showed me a few short video clips once. He burned them afterwards, of course,” she said with a wily smile. “Anyway, I know it’s different to the first initiation ceremony that brand new recruits go through on Tap Night. That one happens here at Roden and involves a bunch of trials, like solving riddles, diving into the moat around Reid Library to find a hidden object, and proving their worth in other ways. But the initiation into the second level is different. It happens way out in the woods on private property, and it’s very… weird.”

I arched a brow. “How so?”

She scooted closer to me, as if she were still worried someone might hear us. “It’s just strange, ritualistic kind of stuff. There’s fire, chanting, music, weird kinds of shows put on for them. Almost like a carnival. They hire actors to play all the people and creatures in their shows, and—” She stopped midsentence and jumped up. “Oh my god. That’s it.”

“Hm?”

“They have to hire actors and actresses for the shows, and half of them have background people, like women standing around in Grecian gowns with wreaths and masks. We could try and get you in as one of them!”

“How? You said security is crazy tight. I can’t just show up and say ‘Hey, I’m an actress, can I come in?’” I said with a teasing smile.

She shook her head impatiently. “Of course not. But my dad organizes it, remember? He’s responsible for keeping track of the people they hire, organizing the payroll and making sure they all sign ironclad non-disclosure agreements. I’ve seen him looking at all the information on spreadsheets before, when he thought I wasn’t looking over his shoulder. So if I could somehow get in his office and get on his computer when he’s not there, I could probably find one of the spreadsheets where the upcoming ceremony staff members are listed with their contact details and so on. I could add you to the list of actresses and say in your notes that you’ve already done an interview and signed the NDA.”

My skin prickled with excitement. “What would happen after that?”

She chewed her bottom lip. “I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think you’d be contacted with some sort of password and instructions a few days before the ceremony, and they’d also send you the outfit they want you to wear. Oh, and I’m pretty sure they’d pick you up on the night. That way they never have to tell you the address.”

I cocked my head to the side. “That all sounds great, but it also sounds way too easy. What’s the catch?”

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