Page 71 of Divine Oaths

“A few years after Westfield was founded,” Luke answered. Which, again, explained even less how they’d managed to keep the answers to the riddles a secret. “Sigma has enough clout that no one cheats,” he added, reading my questioning look. “Don’t want to get banned.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Entirely,” Luke said. “They docked a freshman guy and girl a semester’s worth of points just for getting a Sigma and Theta chant wrong. And the school lets them.”

“What happens when you get in?” I asked.

“You mean besides getting accepted into a national organization whose members have connections with Fortune 500 companies and politicians?”

“Sounds culty to me.” I shrugged.

Luke laughed. “Sign me up, in that case.”

“You don’t mean that,” Vivian said.

“Bids earn a boatload of merit points. And pledges get access to restricted areas on campus.”

At that, my heart leaped. More access to campus locations. More of a chance to uncover where Jay and Pete might be hiding.

“It’s a signal of the school’s trust with Sigma and Theta above other Greek life on campus,” Luke continued. “That’s how much power they have. And more.”

I’d heard enough.

I stood, slipping Luke’s feathered invitation into my pocket and walking over to the table where Alaster, Jojo, Kasem, and the fourth man were still stopping freshmen. Luke and Vivian hurried after me, weaving through the crowd of freshmen too. Next thing I knew, I was standing before the four men, leaning over the table with my heart pulsing against my chest as Kasem stared back at me.

“I’d like to rush Theta,” I said, deciding then and there what I was going to do.

His eyes lit up in surprise. It was a muted response in front of the other three, but I hoped he understood my meaning beneath the words. Next to him, the other guy—Dayton, I learned, from a name tag on his chest—spoke before Kasem could.

“Theta’s the other table.”

“I’m aware,” I answered, not looking away from Kasem. “I just wanted you to know. That I’d like to rush Theta.”

Kasem quirked an eyebrow. Across the table, Jojo shifted in his seat. He was talking to a student, but I could tell he was watching us.

“Are you sure?”

No.

“Yes,” I lied.

Without looking away from me, he gestured for Dayton to get me an invitation. Confusion filled Dayton’s expression, and, reluctantly, he crossed the threshold to Theta.

Jojo clenched his fist, writing another student’s name on the sign-up sheet without looking at us. But beneath his angry sighs, his thoughts were clear.

“This isn’t you, Sianna,” Jojo said. “Don’t let him ruin your life like he does everyone else’s.”

I clenched my fists.

After all his lies, after choosing himself back at the estate, he kept trying to tell me who I was or what choices I could make. It was infuriating.

“Harsh, brother,” Kasem said, pretending to laugh to break the awkward silence at the table. He leaned over to me, whispering in my ear. “But seriously, we could find another way to fix your powers.”

Honestly, before the night at Theta House, I hadn’t been sure that ghosts or possession was even real. And yet, here we were, caught in the path of the curse and all the horrors that came with it. Kasem probably thought that because Jojo had determined it, I wouldn’t rush or follow the only thread we had to breaking the curse and me regaining control of my powers. But he was wrong. Both of them were.

Something overcame me then, something raw, and angry, and aching. Before I could stop myself, I closed the distance between Kasem and me.

And then I kissed him.