He grins. “Legacy.”
The chamber is older than the school above. Candles flicker in carved alcoves. A stone circle marked with Latin I don’t understand waits in the center.
Five seats. One for each family.
I wasn’t the only one summoned.
Conor O’Brien.
His jaw is locked, expression unreadable. When his eyes meet mine, something passes between us. Not hate. Not respect. Something colder. Older. Acknowledgment.
Two others are already seated. A boy with silver rings on every finger, Cartel - Felix. I don’t know much about him, but then again we don’t do business with them so I don’t need to. A girl with white-blonde hair and a stare like a blade, Petrov, Russian, Lara. If rumors about her are true, I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of her. The last comes seconds later, smooth and silent, Triad, Han. Like the rest of them, he’s unreadable.
Five of us.
Leo steps forward, four others behind him, part of each family's training staff.
“Welcome.” Leo’s voice is still dead. “You have been chosen by blood, tradition, and legacy. You will represent your families in Ordo Tenebris. This is not a competition. It is a rite. A provingground.” He looks at each of us. “There are no eliminations. No deaths. No betrayals.” He pauses on me. “Only survival. Growth and understanding who you are when no one else is watching.” Leo puts his hand out for us to follow.
One by one we step into the circle. A blade passed around, each of us press our thumb to its edge. A drop of blood. Onto the stone. Then the seal glows faintly, just for a second. Enough to remind us that this is older than any of us, and deeper.
“You begin Monday night,” Leo says “Five trials. Five random nights. Five lessons.” He hands each of us a small black coin. The mark of the Ring, and then we look in the middle when something from the ground appears. A pedestal rises and in the middle is the ring. The ring everyone wants, the ring which gives you the name to fear no matter what, and the corner of my lips lifts, itching to touch it.
I turn the coin in my palm, and there is only one thing I know. I don’t play to lose. Not now. Not ever.
Something happens around us, the lights flicker as a cold wind hits me, and Leo stands tall in the center of the chamber again, his voice heavier now.
“There are five trials,” he starts. “You will not know the order. You will not be told who designs them. Each family oversees them, us five will watch you.”
My stomach turns, not from fear, but from anticipation.
Leo looks at me last. “You are the eldest. The weight falls heaviest on your shoulders. Lead like it matters.”
Each trainer walks over to a family member, and I look at Leo.
“You look like you’re ready.” He smiles.
“I am.” I look down at the coin again then smile at him. “Isn’t this why we're here, to win.”
“And you better win. My father’s students won, I can’t be the one who doesn’t,” he says, making me laugh.
“Looks like we both have something to prove.” He nods in agreement then tells me to go back to the dorm and fill my brothers in on what’s coming, since they’ll announce the players at training tomorrow. He hands me a rolled sheet sealed with the same black wax that marked the parchment on my pillow.
I walk into my room. No surprise they’re both there.
Marco glances up from his laptop. “Where the fuck have you been?”
Milo tilts his head. “See her?”
I don’t answer, just toss the black coin at them.
Marco catches it, eyes widening. “Shit.”
“Is that?—”
“Yeah.”
“Holy fuck.” Milo grins. “The Ring."
