Hey guys, we are slowly finishing up this story. How are you guys feeling? Hope you all are doing well! College been stressul, so I am lucky I wrote this story over the summer beforehand! And update them whenever I could after schoolwork.

Sehun grabs my cloak from the closet and drapes it around my shoulders. "Last change to change your mind or let me go in your place," he says, pulling my hair out from under the collar. I shake my head wordlessly. Even that simple touch sends a shiver through me.

"Stubborn," he whispers, and for just a moment we stare at each other.

He put on his cloak and the mood shifts. "I'm not going to take the same route or Rosé will spot me. I'm going to go around and enter through the garden lounge."

"Okay," I say, and I hate that just the mention of Rose made my voice catch. I secure my cloak at my neck and lift my hood, not enough to obscure my vision, but enough to hide me in the shadows.

Sehun opens the door. "Count to twenty-five and then go." He takes one long last look at me. "And be careful," he says before silently slipping into the hallway.

I force myself to breathe to get more oxygen into my muscles, like Sehun said, and to focus my racing mind.

Here goes nothing.

I step through my door and move silently into the hall and then down two flights. I stay in the shadows as the guard in the foyer exists the courtyard door, and I wait a beat before slipping out the door myself.

I stand in the pitch black of the hallway, the stone of the archway cold beneath my warm fingers, and count off a few seconds like Sehun did. When I'm sure the guard is far enough away, I slide behind the curtain, careful not to rustle the fabric, and into the dark courtyard.

The grass is spongy beneath my boots and silences my steps as I run toward the trees. I stop at the vine near the middle of the back wall that Sehun and used last time and scan the dark branches above me. But there's no sign of Rosé.

I climb up the vine and make my way through the branches at a measured pace, being extra cautious with my footholds and listening for noise of my any kind. The sky bench is empty when I reach it, so I position my back against the tree trunk, eliminating one direction I need to watch. I sit in a relaxed way, even though my my nerves are buzzing like a hive of bees. I make note of all the benches I can move to and the nearby vines I can grab, in case I need to run for it.

"Well, well, the note was real," Rose says, and drops down from a higher branch onto the bench.

My heart skips a beat. Sehun's warning about Rose's talents and her ruthlessness rings in my head.

"You wouldn't have come all the way out here if you thought the note wasn't real, would you?" I say, trying to show her that I'm calm and comfortable.

She balances on one foot, like she's walking on a thing ledge. "It's not really all the way out here. If you'd wanted to make it challenging, you should have asked me to meet you in the dungeon."

I look at her sideways.

She smiles and drop into a sitting position about three feet away from me. "I can see by the look on your face" - she points at me, moving her finger in a circle - "that someone told you they didn't know where the dungeon is . . . Sehun, maybe?" She takes a dramatic breath, like "Isn't it such a shame that you're so gullible?"

My stomach twists. Sehun knows where the dungeon is and didn't tell me. Wait, this is Rose, I remind myself. Don't let her distract you right off the bat.

"Lisa -" I say, determined to bring the conversation back under my control.

"Yes, Lisa. Let's talk about Lisa." Something dangerous flashes in her eyes.

Talking to Rose is like walking a tightrope.

"It's no secret that Tigers are killing off the best students from the Families that won't follow them," I start, trying to keep my voice neutral.

Rose picks at the bark with her fingernails like she doesn't have a care in the world. "Did you really call me up here to tell me things I already know? I've concocted a few colorful reasons for this meeting in my head, and if the truth proves less interesting than those, I'll just need to find another way to amuse myself." She turns to look at me like a cat that just saw a mouse, and I force myself to lean back against the trunk in the most relaxed pose I can manage.

"Lisa is one of the best students at the Academy," I say. "I know you know that. Which puts her directly at risk. Sejeong believes someone here is trying to prevent the Tigers from killing students. I want to know who it is."

Rose tilts her head, and I know I've finally got her attention.

"But Sejeong's in the dungeon right now because Kang thinks she killed that guard -"

Rose scoffs. "Yes, right, that's clearly the reason she's locked up."

I stare at her, confused. "Do you know something about Sejeong being in the dungeon that I don't?"

Rose looks at me like I'm an idiot. "Everyone knows Sejeong didn't kill that guard."

I frown. "Then why would Kang put her in the dungeon?"

Rose rolls her eyes at me.

"So you don't know," I say, and shrug. "You're just trying to pretend you have information that I don't."

Annoyance flashes in her eyes and I can tell that she hates that I just doubted her. Then all of a sudden her expression calms. "You should really ask your boyfriend why she's in there. Or do you guys not talk about the deals he makes with the headmaster?"

My stomach twists, and something must show in my expression because she looks far too amused.

"It seems someone's about to have a fight. I should have brought popcorn." She laughs. "Do you need a minute? Are you going to cry about it?"

My fist clench. I can't let her get under my skin like this. "You want to talk about screwed-up friendships?" I ask. "What about Jimin?"

Her eyes widen ever so slightly. "What about Jimin?" she says, and gets to her feet in one sudden movement.

I focus on maintaining my composure. "Just that it must be difficult being friends with him when he's clearly aligned with the Tigers, who probably have Lisa on their target lists?"

I know I've hit a nerve when I see her nose flare, and I instinctively look for Sehun.

"You think Sehun can get to you before I can punch you in the lungs?" she hisses, and I hate that she's able to read me so well. "Because I seriously doubt it."

My heart pounds for all it's worth. "No, I don't," I say evenly, because it's true and because threatening her won't get me anywhere. "Believe what you want, Rosé. But first knows this: That guard's throat was slit with a piece of broken glass. Then Jimin had a cut on his hand the morning after the guard was killed. Now, maybe there's an explanation for that cut, but maybe there isn't."

She moves every so slightly toward me and I wince. I can't tell by her expression whether she believes me. And even if she does believe me, maybe she doesn't care and will stand by Jimin no matter what he did. But he's a Tiger. Can she really think he wouldn't help his Family if they demanded something of him?

"As far as I can tell," I go on, "that throat slitting was actually meant for me. Maybe you don't care about me, fine. But if Taemin and the other Tigers are pressuring Jimin, how long do you think it will be before he's pushed to do something to harm Lisa?"

"He would never," she growls, and her chin juts in my direction, telling me that even though she may not think Jimin would do anything to Lisa, she also isn't arguing with me about his role as a Tiger.

"Maybe not," I say quickly, and stand, spreading my hands out to show her I'm not challenging her. "But as long as the Tigers have a strong network within the Academy, people like Lisa are in danger. I'll do everything I can to stop them, but I need you to keep Jimin off my back."

She starts to laugh, and I'm so surprised by her reaction. I almost fall off the branch. Except there's nothing funny in her laughter; instead, it has an undercurrent of viciousness. "I'm shocked. Didn't Sehun tell you I would never make that deal? Not in a million years. And whatever fantasy world you're living in that made you think I would give you information is amusing, but completely warped - which, coming from me, is saying something."

I main eye contact and don't back down, even though I'm a ball of nerves. "Sehun told me exactly that. And I told him he was wrong about you. Lisa saved your life that night in the teachers' lounge. She cares about you. And you care about her, too. I don't know why everyone in this crazy school acts like that's a bad thing. You should care about her. That's what friends do. And yes, you're definitely off your nut, but as far as I can tell you're also one of the few people who haven't bowed to the Tigers. You're brave and you do give a , as much as you pretend you don't. Even Yoo -"

"If you think you can stop Yoo when even Kang can't stop him, then you're completely unhinged," Rosé interjects. "This optimistic cluelessness is getting old. Find a new act."

My eyes widen. Yoo? For a moment I'm speechless, considering I was about to say that Yoo had warned me about trusting anyone. But that's not what Rose's saying at all - she's suggesting that Yoo's in league with the Tigers. I mean, if some of the faculty members were trying to send me warning signals, others - like Yoo - might have had altogether different, maybe even malicious intentions. I look at Rose, wondering if she could possibly be telling the truth. Yoo was helping to inspect swords the day Jennie tried to skewer me. And the day that Kai stood accused at the assembly, I swear Yoo looked at me like I was to blame. In fact, when I stop to think about it, he's somehow been involved with everything that has gone wrong since I got here. The weight of the realization shakes me.

"Oh, great, now I have to suffer through waiting until you piece together what a Yoo is?" Rose sounds like she might push me off the sky bench. "Let's get on with this. You say Jimin tried to kill you. Then what's the reason? There must be a reason."

I don't hesitate. "Revenge. Jimin's father was sent to assassinate my parents and my parents killed him."

Rosé snorts. "That's not a reason - everyone knows the risk they're taking when they're sent to assassinate someone. I find it hard to believe that Jimin would help the Tigers because his father failed at his duty." She sounds angry. She watches me and her lips. "No, I think there's more."

I do everything I can to appear calm.

"There's something you don't want me to know," she says, and tilts her head, like she's trying to see me from different angles. "Jimin knows who you really are, doesn't he? And it must be something terrible, otherwise you wouldn't be here trying to make ridiculous deals with me."

For an awful second, I blank on what to say. I haven't even had time to process this myself.

"Nailed it!" she says. "I have to admit I'm a little miffed he kept his discovering from me. But I'm sure that can be corrected." She stands and turns.

. . .

"Wait," I say, and I grab her arm, even though I know it's a bad idea. She turns around and pushes me back into the tree trunk, grabbing my wrist and twisting it, sending shooting pain up my arm. I know what if I try to get free of her grip or fight her, Sehun will be here in a second and my opportunity to talk to Rose will disappear.

"If you walk away after what I told you about Jimin," I say through clenched teeth, "it's the same thing as helping the Tigers, and it'll be on you if they decide to go after Lisa next."

She applies more pressure, and I have to force myself not to yell out in pain.

"I would never help the Tigers. Do you hear me?" she seethes, and releases my wrists just at the point I'm convinced it will snap.

I pull my wrist into my body. "You're angry about the Tigers, yet you won't tell me what you know and help me stop them? And don't bother saying you don't know anything that will make a difference, because you're way too good for that."

"I'm not taking your ignorance on as a pet project. Don't confuse me with Sejeong," she says.

My heart pounds. I can't believe I'm about to do this. "You want to know who I am? That matters to you so much? Well, I'll tell you. Maybe it will compel you to stop being so selfish!"

She looks at me like I'm a species she's never heard of before. "You're going to tell me who you are even though you don't have an agreement from me that I'll help you?" She sound genuinely confused, but I can tell by her tone that she's at least listening.

I know the gamble I'm taking and I also know that it's my last card to play. "Yes. Exactly. Because even if you won't do the right thins, I will. Everyone at this school who is talented and won't fall in step with the Tigers is in danger. Lisa is. Sejeong is. You are. You know this better than I do. And if I can't save my own , maybe at least I can save theirs. And yours."

Rose frowns.

Even though the night air is cold, I wipe sweat from my forehead and take a deep breath in an attempt to calm my heart. "My parents are the ones on that scroll in the library who took all those titles - the firstborn Eagle and Tiger who fell in love and then disappeared."

She opens to say something, but I stop her.

"Wait. I know you're going to say it's bull. I get it. But just ask Jimin. Or Jungkook and Taemin, Kang or Yoo. You asked me once how I got in midsemester at seventeen. Now you know - my parents were the best Strategia the Academy has turned out in generations. And yet no one knew I existed before I showed up here. I didn't even know who my parents were." I swallow, and Rose blinks, just once, so I know she's listening. "So why are these people trying to kill me - some girl no one's ever heard of?" I continue. "It's not because my parents fell in love. It's because my mom killed Taecyeon's brother and the Tigers told everyone some bull story that my parents were dead to cover up the fact that they'd failed to track my family down. Except they eventually succeeded. They killed my mom when I was six years old, and since then my dad has been hiding me . . .right up to the point that he sent me here."

I take a deep breath and fix her in my gaze. "I can't change the past. But if there's one thing I'm going to do before I leave this school, it's stop the Tigers and anyone who's colluding with them from blotting out the good parts of Strategia. Because a world without my mom, with no Sejeongs or Lisas and all Taemins, is a terrifying place to live. So I, for one, am going to fight back." I can't believe the words that are coming out of my mouth, but the moment I say them, I know I mean them.

Rose stares at me for so long that I think she might be frozen.

"Rosé?"

"Shut up, Suzy. Just shut up."

I swallow, wondering if she's planning to punch me in the throat after all. But after a few more seconds of deadpanning, she sighs and her shoulders drop.

"I broke into Yoo's office not that long ago, okay? I've never trusted that bastard. Kang caught me, but as far as I know, she never told Yoo I broke in. I've always wondered why." She pauses. "He keeps a knife hidden under his desk and he has poison in one of his drawers. Not the amateur assessment poison that will give you a stomachache, the real deal." She looks at me and I get the sense that she's expecting a big reaction. When it doesn't come, she rolls her eyes like I'm an idiot. "Obviously, students aren't allowed to keep weapons, but it's not unusual for us to try. But faculty really shouldn't have weapons. It makes them a threat and undermines the entire point of keeping this Academy hidden. And he's the head of assessment. No. My creepy tolerance is high, and his soared right past it."

I shift my eyes from Rose to the tangled tree branches, trying to process what she's saying. This has all been so foreign to me that the difference between the students and faculty having weapons didn't occur to me as a particularly huge deal. However, anything that freaks Rose out is enough to send your average person into a faint.

Rose snaps her fingers in front of my face and I look at her. "Yoo's bedroom is attached to his office through a door behind his desk, so if he thinks you're after him, chances are he'll wait for you in his office, where his weapons are stashed, and then you're as good as dead."

I stare at her, stunned. I don't doubt that she'll find a way to hurt me with the information I just revealed about my family, but she actually told me something she didn't have to. Somewhere under all her meanness, she actually has a conscience.

"And if I ever hear that you've repeated what I told you, Susu, I'll make you suffer," Rose says, and turns around.

I gulp and she climbs to a higher branch and disappears into the blackness of the trees.