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I’d aced my test, but playing the part of the girl who never stepped out of line was crushing me. Keeping everyone at a distance had worn me out, but I couldn’t risk letting them see the real me or what I’d been hiding.

Maybe that was why the invitation had been so seductive.

I wanted one night where I didn’t have to be careful.

The group of girls bunched together, and the air squeezed from my lungs. The gates were opened by a tall man wearing a mask that barely covered his face. He looked young, probably a freshman.

“Back up,” the guy shouted and stepped forward until the entire crowd took a step back.

He took out his phone, looked at it, and then scanned the crowd. One by one, the girls approached the gate. The first few entered without pause.

The blonde in front of me passed a black card to the doorman and smiled brightly. He checked his phone and then her face.

“No.” His voice was firm.

“What do you mean, no?” She leaned over until her breasts were practically falling out of her dress and pointed at the card. “I have an invitation.”

The doorman smiled at her. “According to my phone, you aren’t on the list. The Regents won’t be happy you tried to use a forged invitation.” He checked the card. “Sidney.”

She sucked in a breath, going pale even under her fake tan. “It was just a chance. I thought they’d want me there.”

The doorman cocked his head to the side. “If they wanted you, you’d be there. Now, fuck off.”

She visibly flinched at his tone and took a step back and to the side, but didn’t move further, as if frozen in place.

Fear spiked through me, and my breath caught in my lungs. Suddenly, I was very unsure about the validity of my invitation. I took a step forward and held out my card. His eyes flicked to my face, then back to his phone, before he waved the invitation away without checking it. “You’re good. Follow the path. It’ll lead you to the NDA tent.”

I took a tentative step forward, and when he didn’t stop me to tell me it was all an elaborate lie, I picked up my pace, ignoring the surprised gasp from behind me.

Don’t worry, girl, I’m as surprised as you are.

Two girls sat at a table in a black-and-red striped tent. They were both dressed in harlequin costumes that made them look like sexy jesters. The girl with striking deep blue eyes smiled at me and handed me a clipboard. “First time here?”

I swallowed and nodded, scanning over the paper. It seemed like a pretty standard NDA. Don’t repeat anything that you see or do while at this party, or you’ll face legal repercussions. At least it stipulated that it follows the confines of the law. I paused on the last clause. I can revoke my consent at any time and request to be removed from the location.

The girl seemed to read the hesitation on my face. “You’ll be safe here. Whatever you do is one hundred percent your choice. The second you say no, the encounter ends. You can leave whenever you want. Corvus guarantees it.”

The redhead beside her gave me a knowing look and laughed under her breath. “Don’t worry, sugar. You’ll want to.”

Want to.

My fingers clenched on the clipboard, crumpling the corner of the form beneath my palm. It had been a long time since I’d done anything simply because I wanted to.

Before I could analyze her words to death, I signed the form and handed back the clipboard. The blue-eyed girl offered me a small black card. The light caught on three gold symbols.

A key, a ring, and a crown.

A crowd had formed behind me. Mortified for taking so long, I followed the path lit with red lanterns that cast the ground in an eerie glow. There was an otherness to the scene that made it seem as if I were stepping into a completely different world. One that maybe I didn’t need to be myself in.

My eyes went wide when I walked around the corner. It looked like an old-world traveling circus. There were several large, colorful tents, with more lanterns lighting the path between them. There was an almost intoxicating atmosphere to it all.

Moans pulled my attention to the right, and I could just make out the sight of a guy slamming his hips into a girl pinned against a tree. Her fingers curled into his neck, her mouth dropped open on a cry as he pushed harder. Warmth bloomed low in my belly when her cries broke free. The wrongness of watching them wasn’t lost on me, but I couldn’t force myself to turn away.

People could see them. That fact should have horrified me more than the sex itself. Tomorrow, everyone here would know exactly what they’d done, and neither of them seemed to give a shit.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that free.

The guy caught my eye and smirked, as if he knew I was there all along, and I stumbled back. Shit, what the hell are you doing, Gwen?