Page 32 of The Initiation

I head up the stairs, but the closer to the top I get, the more my curiosity seems to make me forget about how cold I am.

The muted gray walls of the entrance and stairs carry on through the long landing. Up here, there are seven doors. All exactly the same, all closed, and not one of them has any kind of clue as to what’s behind them.

I turn to the first one and knock. When I get no response, I push the door open. The first thing I notice is the mess before I see Gemini at his computer on the far side of the room. He’s got his back to me and a headset on, completely engrossed in a game.

The room is big enough for a giant four-poster bed, his desk, which has three large monitors on the top, and a sofa. But everything is buried under clothes, stacks of books and papers, and spreading out from the overflowing trashcan is a circle of mainly crushed energy drink cans.

Backing out of the room, I softly close the door before I let out a long sigh. Cleaning the house—that was also my responsibility…

It would take me a day just to get Gemini’s room clean. But this house was huge, and there was just one of me. With all the time I had to spend in the dining hall, as well as classes, assignments, and now being Dr. Wright’s stupid T.A., how the hell am I going to find time to do anything else?

I’ll have to focus on searching rooms as I clean them, which will at least give me a good excuse to be in any room in the house…

But I’m not the one wrongfully imprisoned.

“At least you can leave,” I mutter to myself as I push the rising feelings of hopelessness back.

Sucking in a breath, I straighten my back. I’ve got six more doors, and a rare opportunity to explore. But as I turn, a door further down the hallway opens, and Syn steps out.

“What are you scheming?”

So much for that…

“I was looking for you,” I say as I walk over. I stop in front of him and raise my chin. “May I have the collar removed so I can have a shower, sir?”

He says nothing but walks back into his room, leaving his door open. As he’s not told me to wait outside, I follow him in, quickly trying to look around his room.

Syn’s room is bigger than Gemini’s, and not just because I can actually see the wooden floors. Like Gemini, he has an enormous four-poster bed with rich green bedding. His walls are almost as bare as mine in the basement, but these are painted a pale green. Opposite the bed is a small area with a comfortable looking couch, a coffee table, and a television taking up a good chunk of wall space.

I’m trying to work out what the glass enclosure is when Syn steps in front of me and blocks my view. “You look like you’ve already had a shower. Are you desperate to get naked in front of me again?”

“It’s raining,” I say, my tone dry.

He arches an eyebrow.

“Sir.”

“I find it amusing that you say that like I’m the idiot, when I’m not the one who chose to walk in the rain without a coat on.” His lips twist into a smirk.

“My coat, like all my belongings, disappeared the moment I walked in here,” I say. “Sir.”

“I do not like it when I have to keep repeating myself, so as I have already said, you are representing the Elite. Your presence here is already an insult, and you think I’m going to allow you to walk around in those rags you own?” His voice is low and level. “While you are living in this house, your clothes have been replaced. Including your coat. It’s not my fault you’re too stupid to ask.”

“Then where is my coat, sir?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“In the cloakroom.” A strange smile is on his face, and I can tell he’s seeing this as a win of some kind.

He was probably waiting to see how long it took before I came begging.

Syn’s gaze moves to my hair, and then drops to my shoulders. “If your stupidity causes your clown hair to ruin any of the clothes I’ve gifted you, not only will they not be replaced, you will have to wear them with the damaged parts removed.”

The maid outfit is a dress that has been made to look like it’s several items. The blue dye hasn’t run from my hair after a shower, so I doubt it has stained the white parts of the dress. But if I have to remove any of the white, I’m left with a short black skirt and a faux apron that barely covers my breasts.

If he’s after a reaction, it’s not the one I give him. With a sweet smile, I tilt my head. “Considering you’re so eager to get me out of these clothes, would you mind removing the collar so that I can shower?” I flutter my eyelashes. “Sir?”

But his reaction is not what I am expecting.

Syn’s twisted grin grows. Before I can turn around or lift my hair, he reaches for my collar, tugging me towards him. Then he’s turning the leather around my neck to bring the padlock to the front. Once unlocked, he unfastens the collar and tosses it to the side. It lands with a soft thud on the wooden floor.

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