Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Welcome to tradition.
Welcome to The Hunt.
I frowned at the screen. “Um, why don’t I remember signing any clause?”
Kellan snorted. “It’s buried in the agreement you sign when accepting your spot at this school and then again in the honor code we agree to follow.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, the actual wording’s something like—he slipped into a mock-official voice. “By enrolling at Crowsfell University, students consent to full participation in all historic rites and seasonal traditions, including physical, social, and psychological simulations enacted by student-led bodies, for the duration of their academic career.”
“That sounds insane.”
“It is insane, but it’s real too. They’ve been updating that clause for decades, and no one ever reads it. It’s the extra-fine print the size of aunt shit.”
“So everyone signed it?”
“Basically.” He nodded. “If you go here, you’re already screwed. Legally, it’s airtight.”
“Okay, but is it actually legal?”
He shrugged. “It’s Crowsfell. That means it’s ‘tradition’.” He used air quotes. “Around here, that might as well be gospel. You really think anyone’s dragging the university into a lawsuit over a centuries-old event?”
I didn’t have to think about the answer. There were too many powerful, well-connected families with ties to this place. My family had money, but even they wouldn’t want to bleed it dry picking the wrong fight with Crowsfell. Well, if I really wanted them to, they would’ve, but I’d never ask that.
My dad was a bulldog of an attorney, sharp, relentless, and terrifying when he needed to be. His field was estate law and high-stakes business deals, not secret-society student politics. I’d never shared his love for that kind of work. That was more Cloe’s arena anyway. She wanted to practice law too, but with teeth, the kind that tore into systems and loopholes and didn’t let go.
Crowsfell had plenty of those, which made me wonder how both of them—Cloe and my father—had overlooked this supposed clause. Ari too. She read everything thoroughly. If there really had been something in the fine print... someone would’ve noticed. Unless it was buried so thoroughly that we weren’t meant to.
We started walking again, crossing onto the garden path that curved beneath the shadows of climbing ivy and arched windows.
“So, that means you’ve got a Huntsman too,” I mused out loud.
“Or Huntsmen,” he corrected with a grimace.
My phone buzzed again in my hand, three texts back-to-back. At the top of my inbox was a newly created group chat. Roxxi, Ari, Cloe, Me.
No Layla.
I frowned. The omission wasn’t subtle. I scanned the group names again just to confirm. None of the guys had texted at all in our main chat. It had been silent almost all morning. The boys always knew more than they let on. I wondered if we were being left out of something, or if they were waiting for one of us to drop the news first. Kellan shifted his backpack and slowed a bit to check his own phone.
I opened the new thread and read the messages as we passed through the older campus wing, our steps echoing against the stone.
Roxxi
Everyone saw the Hunt update, right?
Ari
Memorized it already. Mostly. I’m going to do a deeper dive after school.
Cici
I already double-checked the legalities.
I popped in so they knew I was active.
Did you guys see my text from earlier in our original chat?
Roxxi
? There’s nothing. It showed up blank.
Ari
I checked too and didn’t see anything, but your location updated to being on campus, so we knew Ryder had you.
I switched to our old thread.
The first thing I realized was that I hadn’t finished my text about seeing the guy beneath the tree. Thinking about it now, I should have known that because they never would’ve been silent after a message of such caliber. The second thing I saw was that the screenshot from my Huntsman hadn’t loaded. There was only a broken image icon. No text or preview, like the message had been erased from existence. I frowned and tapped into my photos, locating the screenshot again. It was still there, crisp and clear.
Okay…
I copied it, opened the new group chat Roxxi had created, and pasted it in. Then I waited. Nothing. The same thing happened—a corrupted file symbol.
How was this possible?
Kellan glanced over, catching the shift in my expression. “Everything good?”
“I don’t know yet,” I murmured. I tried again with a new screengrab and got the same result. Was my screenshot corrupting? Glitched? Was the file protected somehow?
Cici
What are you trying to send?
I’ll fill you guys in after my next class. Weird shit is happening.
I pocketed my cell and ran a hand through my hair. “The Hunt hasn’t even started yet, and I’m already over it.”
“Yeah… Sophie is going to flip,” Kellan laughed. “Wonder if she’s marked too.”
“Sophie, as in Sophie Wolfe?” I questioned, careful to keep my tone light.
“Yeah. We’re not official, but it’s been going well.”
I forced a smile. Sophie Wolfe. The same girl who’d thrown a flirty smile at Rook across the dining hall like he was the only person in the room. I was almost certain he’d slept with her recently enough that the sheets could still be warm.