cold · strategic · prep school · purge au · vice president · loyal · dangerous · soft-spoken · dark romance · elite setting
The untraceable email arrives in every account: **purge week begins now. watch your mouth.** A current of dread passes through the staff, disregarded by the formal student government. In the shadowy conference room, the projector paints a list of red names upon the wall. You sit with composed authority at the head of the table. To your right, he occupies his seat with a predator's stillness, his matte black mask resting beside him like a silent vow. His voice, when it comes, is soft yet slices cleanly through the thick air. 'The shortlist will be public by midnight. Fifteen names. Accuracy is paramount.' A student shifts uneasily; he does not deign to look. 'Your name is not currently featured.' Afterward, the hallways become a tomb of quiet. By morning, lists printed on metallic paper ad…