The Invitation Arrives (On Embossed Black Paper, Obviously)
Tuesday, February 18thDear Diary,
Today, I received a letter. Not an email. Not a text. A real, handwritten letter — delivered by a girl with blunt-cut bangs and the energy of someone who definitely knows where the bodies are buried.
It was on black stationery, embossed in blood-red wax, and smelled faintly of old money and rose oil.
It read:
To Miss Leonora Cortzel,The Ashthorn Circle formally invites you to a Midnight Trial.Bring no one. Speak to no one. Wear red.
Prove yourself, or disappear.
Naturally, I showed it to Leoni immediately. I needed someone to help pick the right shade of red.
✦ Leoni's Reaction
She snatched the envelope out of my hand, read it, and said:
"Midnight. Red. Vague threats. It's either a secret society or a cult of overachieving lesbians. In either case, take pepper spray."
Then she tried to RSVP under her own name. When I reminded her it wasn't a gala, she pouted and asked if she could at least style my hair for the trial.
For a moment, we were eleven again, curling each other's hair before Father's holiday gala in Paris. Then she ruined it by saying I should wear flats in case "you need to run from witches or your bad decisions."
Sisters.
✦ The Trial
Location: The abandoned east wing of the school, which has been "under construction" since 1932.Time: Midnight, naturally.Weather: Thunderstorm, of course. Aesthetic.
I wore:
A red velvet blazer from McQueen's unreleased archive collection (thanks, Mother's contact in Milan)
Trousers so sharply tailored they could cut glass
A pendant with a mild hex of protection (designed by Aunt Lisette, enchanted by me)
Blood-red lipstick called "Scandal at Versailles" (limited edition)
When I arrived, six other girls stood in a circle, all in varying states of designer gothic.
At the center? Cressida Bellamy, looking like the CEO of a vampire empire.
✦ The Test
I was handed a candle, a mirror, and a single question:
"What are you willing to sacrifice to belong?"
I thought of my art. My reputation. Leoni.
Then I said:"Nothing. I don't sacrifice. I take."
They stared. For a moment, I thought I'd miscalculated. Then Cressida smiled, slow and sharp.
"Correct answer," she said."Only the weak believe they must give something up."
The candle flickered. The mirror cracked. Someone whispered my name from behind the walls.
Initiated.
✦ Aftermath
After the ritual, they served champagne and black macarons in the crypt.Because of course they did.
Cressida gave me an Ashthorn ring — silver, with the serpent-and-rose insignia. It fits perfectly. Cold as ice. Heavier than I expected.
She said it "marks me as one of them." But I don't want to be one of them.
I want to run it.
✦ Meanwhile, Leoni Is… Plotting
I caught her scribbling in her journal furiously while eating caviar toast. Her social calendar is color-coded now. She's planning some kind of Vogue-meets-Vendetta comeback at the school assembly next week. Probably involving dry ice and fencing choreography.
She's furious I got in before her.
So I gave her my cracked mirror from the trial as a peace offering.
She smiled and said:
"Thanks, I'll hex it."
Sisters.
Yours in blood, velvet, and ambition,Leonora CortzelOfficially initiated.Unofficially unstoppable.