I yank the bloody sheet off the chair to reveal a man tied to it. Taking it from him, I walk over to the chair bolted to the floor. He holds it out handle first to me, his black eyes almost glowing with excitement. The man steps up to me with a knife in hand. He undoes the cuffs, and I rip the shredded material up and over my head before dropping my hands to my sides when what I really want to do is rub my sore wrists. The guy walks behind me and yanks me to stand by the back of my shirt. The man looks at the guy on my left and nods. Yet our determination will separate us by the time it’s over. We were each raised for this-to be a Lord. “I know what I’m capable of handling,”I say through gritted teeth. He smirks down at me like I’m fucking joking. “I can,” I state, lifting my head to stick my chin out in the warm and sticky air. His black combat boots slap against the concrete floor with each step, the sound echoing off the walls. “You were each given a task,”the man calls out as he paces in front of us. “You will always have to prove yourself,”my father once told me. Our freshman classes at Barrington University start in two weeks, but we already have to show our loyalty to the Lords. We were dragged out of our beds in the middle of the night to serve. It’s hard to hear over the blood rushing in my ears, and I’m sweating profusely. I’m panting, still trying to catch my breath while my heart beats like a drum in my chest. My shirt is torn, and blood drips from my busted lips.

My hands are secured tightly behind my back with a pair of handcuffs. Loyalty Freshman year at Barrington University I KNEEL IN the middle of the darkly lit room along with twenty other men. But like all things, what started out as a game soon became a fight for survival. A way that the Lords manipulate you into doing what they want.Īfter being sucked into the dark, twisted world of the Lords, I embraced my new role and allowed Ryat to parade me around like the trophy I was to him. He made me believe that anyway, but it was just another lie. He offered me what no one else ever had-freedom. I never got the chance to do what I wanted until Ryat Alexander Archer came along and gave me an option for a better life.

My entire life has been planned out for me. People think growing up with money is freeing, but I promise you, it’s not. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. They are above all-the most powerful men in the world. Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment.

The ritual shantel tessier ebook