Sweet Deceit Read online

  Control, Ariana . . . control.

  She closed her eyes and started to breathe.

  In, one . . . two . . . three . . .

  Out, one . . . two . . . three . . .

  In, one . . . two . . . three . . .

  Out, one . . . two . . . three . . .

  There was a sudden knock at the door. With one last breath to steady her quaking nerves, Ariana got up. As soon as she opened the door, Palmer Liriano cupped her face in his hands and brought his full lips down on hers, backing her into the room again and slamming the door with a backward kick of his foot. Ariana giggled, the sound almost foreign to her own ears, and tripped backward, letting him lower her down onto her bed and settle in next to her, kissing her the entire time.

  A few weeks ago, Palmer had broken up with Lexa so that he could go out with Ariana, but Ariana had insisted on keeping their relationship secret—at least until she could be certain that her new friend Lexa was truly over Palmer. On the night of the NoBash, Palmer had challenged Ariana about taking their relationship public, but he hadn’t mentioned it since. So for the past week the two of them had been sneaking around as usual, stealing moments together after class or during study hours. These moments were Ariana’s refuge and she cherished them like they were gold.

  “Hello,” Palmer said, finally parting his lips from hers.

  He was so insanely handsome, with his jet-black hair and warm brown eyes, his tanned skin and easy smile, that sometimes it was almost impossible to tear her eyes off him.

  “Hey,” she replied with a grin. He trailed kisses down her neck and she placed her hand against his chest, feeling his muscles through the soft cotton of his T-shirt. “What would you have done if Lillian were here?”

  Palmer’s brow knit. “Kicked her out on her ass, of course,” he said. “Nothing keeps me from you.”

  Ariana laughed at the visual. “How very chivalrous of you.”

  “I’m a chivalrous guy,” he said jokingly. He ran a fingertip down her cheek, sending pleasant flutters through her chest. “So, what were you doing when I rudely interrupted?” Palmer leaned on his side and crooked his elbow under his head.

  “Trying to study for our government quiz,” Ariana replied, sitting up and gesturing at the book. It looked so massive and foreboding just sitting there.

  “Trying?” he asked.

  “Having a hard time concentrating,” Ariana admitted, averting her eyes.

  “Oh.”

  Palmer swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up. He leaned over her open laptop and scrolled through what few notes she had taken. “I can e-mail you my notes, if you want.”

  “Yeah?” Ariana said, standing up to face him. “That would be amazing.” She reached for his hand and took it lightly in hers, toying with his fingers. “But . . . haven’t you been distracted too? With the whole Brigit thing?”

  A shadow passed over Palmer’s handsome features. “Yeah, but that just means my notes are even better than usual. That’s how I deal. By staying busy.”

  Ariana used to be that way too. Back at Easton Academy, whenever something bad happened, her grades only went up and her extracurriculars became her solace. What had changed? Why was she different now? Maybe it was because back then the bad things that had happened had seemed manageable. But now . . .

  “Hey. Are you okay?” Palmer asked, reaching for her hand. “You just got sad.”

  Ariana attempted to smile. “Yeah. I just—”

  There was a quick rap at the door and then Lexa walked in. Ariana dropped Palmer’s hand, but stopped herself from springing away from him. She froze instead, gripping the back of the desk chair, realizing that moving away from Lexa’s ex would just make her look even more guilty than she already did. Still, Lexa’s eyes darted between Palmer and Ariana. Ariana’s fingers tingled. Had she been too slow? Had Lexa seen?

  “Hey, Lexa,” Palmer said smoothly. “What’s up?”

  Lexa looked from Palmer to Ariana and back again. “Nothing . . . What’s up with you?” She glanced around the room suspiciously. Her eyes paused briefly on Kaitlynn’s torn poster.

  “Not much.” Palmer turned to Ariana. “So you’ll e-mail me those notes, right?” he said, backing toward the door.

  “Sure,” Ariana said. “No problem. Glad I could help.”

  Palmer winked and smiled at Ariana as he slipped into the hallway and closed the door behind him. Ariana’s heart fluttered around in her chest like a caged bird. If possible, she loved him even more for being so suave under pressure.

  “Notes?” Lexa asked, raising her perfect eyebrows.

  “Yeah. We have a quiz this week,” Ariana said, closing her laptop so Lexa wouldn’t see that her notes document was practically empty. “We figure between the two of us we may have absorbed most of the information.”

  Lexa nodded and took a couple of steps toward Kaitlynn’s bed. “What happened?” she asked, gesturing at the poster. “Were you guys wrestling in here?” She laughed, but her eyes were flat and dead serious.

  Ariana blushed. “Uh, no,” she said lightly, rolling her eyes. “It was like that when I got here. I guess Lillian doesn’t like that one anymore.” She added a shrug for good measure, but silently cursed her own carelessness. Now she was going to have to run to the student store and replace the poster before Kaitlynn got home.

  “Weird.” Lexa sat down on the edge of Ariana’s bed and Ariana perched on her desk chair, finally feeling the residual blush from her encounter with Palmer fading from her cheeks.

  “So, what’s up?” Ariana asked.

  Lexa blew out a sigh. “I just needed to vent,” she said finally. “I mean, if you’ve got a minute.”

  “That’s what I’m here for,” Ariana said with a smile, even though every cell in her body became tense. What, exactly, did Lexa want to vent about? Did it have to do with her and Palmer?

  “It’s my parents,” Lexa said. Ariana’s shoulders relaxed. She even felt a thrill over the fact that Lexa had come to her and not Maria or Soomie—over the proof of just how close she and Lexa had grown. “I just got off a conference call with Keiko and my mom’s new assistant, Cassandra, trying to plan a time that all three of us can get together and have brunch. It was like a meeting of the U.N. Security Council or something. Just to have brunch with the folks.”

  “Well . . . it’s good that they want to get together at all, right?” Ariana said, trying to find the positive angle.

  “I guess.” Lexa studied her nails. “Whatever. I’m sure they’ll both have their own photographers present. Maybe I should hire one too.” Then her eyes lit up and she sat up straight again. “You want to do it? It could be fun. You could be my very own paparazzo.”

  Ariana laughed. “Thanks for the offer, but I suck with a camera. Not to mention I’m not much of a stalker.”

  “Oh well. It was worth a try,” Lexa joked. She looked Ariana in the eye, her smile softening. “Thanks.”

  “For what?” Ariana asked.

  “Listening. I’m sure you don’t want to hear about my family crap.” Lexa averted her eyes and smoothed out one of the wrinkles in Ariana’s bedspread.

  Ariana swallowed hard, hoping Lexa couldn’t somehow divine that Palmer had made those wrinkles. “Of course I do. That’s what friends are for.”

  Lexa blushed and her smile widened. “Is it? I keep forgetting,” she joked.

  Ariana laughed.

  “Anyway, there are other way more fun things to talk about,” Lexa said, her green eyes sparkling.

  “Like what?” Ariana asked.

  “Like Halloween. Conrad came up with the best idea for our costume,” Lexa said. “We’re going as Heidi Klum and Seal.”

  Ariana laughed. “I love it! But isn’t Connie a little bulky to be Seal?” Lexa’s new boyfriend Conrad was built like a pro linebacker, with a thick neck, broad shoulders, and muscles to spare.

  “He’ll dress slim,” Lexa replied. “And all I need is a blond wig, a short skirt, an
d a serious leg wax. What are you going as?”

  “I don’t know,” Ariana said, feeling suddenly exhausted. “Halloween’s never been my favorite holiday. I never really got the fun of dressing up.”

  “Oh, but you have to!” Lexa said. “You can’t go to Soomie’s party without a costume. Everyone’s going all out. You know, for Brigit.”

  The name hung in the air between them. Ariana looked at Lexa, then quickly turned to gaze out the window. Old-school torchlights glowed all across the campus like a handful of low-hanging stars. Lexa sighed and leaned back on her hands.

  “Was it wrong of us to convince Soomie to have the party? Everyone’s still . . . I mean, I’m still spontaneously bursting into tears all the time. And Soomie’s been so depressed,” she said, squinting and chewing on her bottom lip. “Is it, I don’t know . . . too soon to try to have fun?”

  Ariana took a deep breath. “No. You guys were right. It’s what she would have wanted. Maybe it’ll cheer everyone up a little. I think if we do it right, it’ll be good. It’ll be like . . . keeping her spirit alive.”

  Lexa nodded slowly. There was a long moment of silence. “I really miss her.”

  “Me too,” Ariana said, her heart heavy.

  “I’m so glad you transferred here, Briana Leigh,” Lexa said, reaching over to hug Ariana. Ariana stiffened at the use of her full fake name. Lexa had known the real Briana Leigh Covington when the two of them were kids, and every once in a while she would drop her full name, reminding Ariana of how fragile her assumed identity was. One slip and Lexa could realize she was an imposter. “Having you here and becoming friends again after all this time. It’s like . . . I don’t know . . . it makes me think life can’t be that bad, you know?”

  Ariana hugged Lexa back, staring blankly over her shoulder at the framed photo of Briana Leigh’s ranch back in Texas—one of the personal items Briana Leigh’s maid had mailed to her at the beginning of the school year. Ariana knew exactly how bad life could be. Her very presence here at APH, the very fact that she was walking around masquerading as Briana Leigh Covington, was the result of how bad life could be. And she knew that as long as Kaitlynn Nottingham was here, getting her way, life was only going to get worse.

  NO GUARANTEES

  Ariana hustled across campus on a still, cool Tuesday night, headed for the library, hoping that a change of scenery would help her concentrate on her homework. She was so stressed she didn’t even take the time to notice the gorgeous shades of the changing leaves around her or turn her head at the sound of shouts and laughter from one of the dorms. She couldn’t believe the number of assignments that had been piled on her that day. With all she had to deal with, schoolwork had fallen woefully low on her list of priorities. Which really wasn’t going to cut it if she wanted to fulfill her lifelong dream of getting into Princeton.

  A few yards away from the double-oak doors of the stately redbrick library, Ariana heard a crack, then an under-the-breath curse and the telltale crunch of leaves underfoot. She paused and looked around. There were a few people crisscrossing the campus, but no one near enough to be heard that distinctly. Someone was hiding nearby, watching her. A buzz of fear-tinged excitement raced through her and she clutched the strap on her bag, taking a deep breath and trying to appear calm. This was it. Hell Week was here.

  A moment passed and suddenly, two dark figures sprang out of the bushes and threw a black hood over her head.

  “Come with us,” a gruff voice said in her ear.

  Ariana didn’t scream or struggle. Instead she concentrated on not tripping as two hands gripped her arms and hurried her forward. She took long, deliberate breaths, which wasn’t easy given that her face was covered and the sour scent of mildew filled her nostrils. At first it seemed as if they were headed for the library, but then they took an abrupt turn, and another, and another, until she was completely confused and dizzy. By the time she heard a door creak open and was hurried awkwardly down a set of hard, shallow steps, Ariana was sweating profusely and panting unattractively. At the very bottom of the stairs, one of her two kidnappers tripped. She flew forward, but they caught her before she could fall flat on her face. The tripper muttered something unintelligible and they kept moving.

  For one blissful moment, cool air rushed in around Ariana, but as she and her captors shuffled on, the atmosphere gradually grew warmer, and she could sense the glow of warm light through the tiny holes in the fabric of the hood. Her shoes made scratching sounds on the floor, as if she was walking across silty concrete. Suddenly, someone grabbed her, holding her in place.

  “Don’t move,” a male voice growled in her ear.

  Ariana bowed her head but said nothing. A shoulder knocked hers and she almost tripped sideways. Somewhere off to her right, a guy cursed.

  “Quiet, plebe!” a gravelly voice shouted.

  Someone yanked something over Ariana’s head. For a second she thought they were putting another hood atop the first one and the lack of air was stifling. But then, the sack was pulled down over her clothes and she realized it was a robe of some kind. It was thick, itchy, and suffocating and smelled of onion and mothballs and dust. Ariana breathed through her mouth as nimble fingers worked quickly to tie something around her waist. Then, mercifully, her hood was yanked off from behind.

  Ariana took a deep breath. Her throat itched with a cough, but she held it in. She didn’t want to appear weak in front of the members of Stone and Grave, all of whom were standing in front of her—a sea of black robes, faces obscured by silver and black masks. Surrounding the membership were shelves and shelves of books. Thousands of them lined the walls, stretching off into the darkness. The glow Ariana had sensed while still blindfolded emanated from a collection of black candles that littered every surface. Ariana glanced around and saw Kaitlynn standing directly to her left. Lined up next to her were Tahira, Allison, Landon, Adam, and the blond guy she’d seen talking to Christian at Brigit’s memorial. These, apparently, were her male counterparts. All of them were wearing roughly hewn burlap robes over their clothes, and each was tied with a plain white rope belt. Ariana could feel the itchy material through her light wool coat, and sweat began to prickle under her arms. Whoever had removed her blindfold still stood behind her, and the knowledge that someone she couldn’t see was hovering so close made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

  “Welcome to the Tombs.”

  A broad, obviously male figure stepped away from the rest of the Stone and Grave membership. He was followed by a petite female member.

  “Welcome to Stone and Grave,” she said.

  Ariana recognized their voices and statures. They were the same two Stone and Gravers who had greeted them in the woods on the night of their first kidnapping. The night they’d first found out they had been tapped. The guy’s Stone and Grave name was Lear and the girl’s was Miss Temple. Just as she was wondering if she’d ever find out who they really were, they both reached up and removed their hoods, then their masks.

  Ariana’s breath caught. Lear was none other than Lexa’s boyfriend, the athletic, dark, and handsome Conrad Royce, and Miss Temple was April Corrigan, the intelligent, no-nonsense editor of the Ash literary magazine. April’s red curls spilled out over her shoulders in stark contrast to the black velvet robe, and the candlelight was reflected in the lenses of her small tortoiseshell glasses.

  “I am Lear,” Conrad said, his deep voice reverberating through the room. “This is Miss Temple,” he added, gesturing at April. “We will be your pledge educators.”

  Ariana pressed her lips together to keep from smiling to herself. She already had an in with both of her pledge educators. She sat next to Conrad in English class and was the one who’d hooked Connie up with Lexa, and she and April had totally bonded at the Ash meetings.

  “You have all completed your first task, and completed it admirably,” April said, looking each of them in the eye with an imperious scowl. Her Irish accent came through loud and clear, and Ariana
was impressed that she had been able to disguise it so well. “You have taken your first steps toward full membership in Stone and Grave.”

  Ariana felt a smile playing around her lips and struggled to keep a straight face.

  “But your journey is just beginning,” Conrad added, his voice deadly serious. He paced along the line of pledges, dwarfing even Landon, the tallest of the boys. “It’s a journey that can reap for you the greatest rewards. Membership in Stone and Grave means power. It means prestige. It means success in anything and everything you wish to achieve. Your brothers and sisters in Stone and Grave will be there for you to celebrate your greatest triumphs, but even more important, they will be there to lift you up if ever you should fall.” He paused, back at the center of the line, standing directly across from Ariana. “Membership in Stone and Grave means you will never want for a thing.”

  The rest of the Stone and Grave membership stood as still as statues, but Ariana couldn’t help shifting from one foot to the other as a skitter of excitement went through her. She was so close she could taste it. Princeton, here I come.

  “But it is not guaranteed,” April added, ducking her chin as she gazed at them. “As you know, we have four open spots for female members, three for male . . . but that does not mean that we have to take all four women, or all three men.”

  Ariana’s heart plummeted. She felt Kaitlynn tense up next to her. Not guaranteed. Not guaranteed.

  Even with Brigit’s death, their membership was not guaranteed.

  “This is an exclusive society,” Conrad said. “We are not about quantity, we are about quality. If you don’t measure up, you don’t get in. It’s as simple as that. We’ll take all of you . . . or some . . . or none.”

  A lump as hard as a rock formed in Ariana’s throat and she suddenly felt the extreme heat coming off the candles. Kaitlynn had murdered Brigit to ensure herself a spot in Stone and Grave, but her spot was not ensured by Brigit’s absence. No one’s was.

  Ariana’s hand automatically gripped her forearm, her fingers cutting off all circulation as she squeezed. Brigit was dead for no reason. No reason. No reason at all. Ariana’s vision started to prickle over with tiny gray dots. She was going to faint. Or worse. She had to get control. Now.