Page 327 of Hell Hath No Fury
HEADMASTER TAURIN
ELLA FIELDS
CHAPTER ONE
Rose
If I had to be kidnapped, blindfolded, and dragged through a brine-scented parking lot into some type of shed, then I was glad to at least have my boyfriend with me.
That might sound bad, but we’d been waiting for this day—night, if we’re getting technical—for the better part of a year.
I had to admit, though, that I never expected we’d be allowed to initiate together. If that was what was actually happening right now.
I hoped so, while also wishing for more time to prepare mentally.
“Is this it?” I whispered to Cooper even though I had no idea where he was.
I was met with a firm, “Quiet,” from an unfamiliar, rough voice.
The sound of a door rolling to a thundering close hit my ears like firecrackers—my remaining senses heightened from lack of sight.
“Rose?” Cooper called. “Just do what they say. I can’t see shit—ow, fuck!”
“Open your mouth again, pretty boy, and we’ll see how well your equipment works after it’s met my fucking knee.”
His equipment…What?I’d stopped walking and only realized when my arm was given a firm tug by whoever was leading me deeper into the dark.
A slow dripping accompanied the rest of our short journey to an explosion of light. I might have been blindfolded, but I still flinched at the harsh change.
Then we left the brightness. A door opened. The guy holding my arm muttered, “Watch your step.”
My teeth clacked as I tried and failed to do as he’d suggested, and we moved into darkness once more.
“Here they are,” the guy, who I assumed was holding Cooper, said to someone I couldn’t see. “We’ll be waiting out in the lot. Don’t forget time plays a role in this. Masks.”
Something cool plastered itself against my cheeks, banding tight around my head. The scent of marijuana and Red Bull wafted off a warm exhale blown over the mask as my blindfold was checked beneath it. It hadn’t moved, and the guy huffed, his footsteps fading as a door was closed behind us. I reached up, my fingers encountering what felt like scales.
The initiation mask.
This was it.
We were arriving.
Our parents had warned us for months that this day would soon come. Well, Cooper’s had. My father chose to ignore it with the excuse that he’d never been given a warning before Nightingale came knocking for his soul.
Whatever that meant.
Cooper’s parents, especially his mom, Jackelyn, had been far more forthcoming. As forthcoming as they could be when they weren’t allowed to say much. Supposedly, some higher-ups in the society got away with telling their kids more.Because they can get away with it, Jackelyn had said.
We’d been eighteen for a couple of months now, but we’d been told the call to initiate could come anytime between the ages of seventeen and nineteen. Joining one of the most secretive and ancient societies in the world was not a featjust anyone could accomplish. Unless, of course, they stumbled across a member and married in. Everyone else was born into this diamond-crusted snake pit of wealth, lies, sex, and power.
Those who were fortunate—or unfortunate, depending on how they viewed the opportunity—enough to have full-fledged members of Nightingale for parents weren’t given a choice if they were an only child. If they had no brothers or sisters to initiate, then there was no other option available. We had to join. A sacrifice, if you will, but it kept the bloodlines pure, helped ensure the powerful grew more powerful, and made sure their dealings remained elusive.
An only child myself, I was all too happy to be sacrificed. Okay, so I was a little scared. Who wouldn’t be? But that kernel of fear paled in comparison to how fucking thrilled I was that it was finally our time.
A door somewhere in the distance slammed. Adjusting to the dark brought with it a soft orange light that tinged whatever room we’d been brought into.
“Step forward, initiates,” a deep voice said. “Four steps and your feet will hit a mattress. When they do, you must strip out of your shoes and clothes and then climb on.”
