"It’s just one article," Ivy argued. "It’s still not enough to draw Elsie’s supporters to our side. Elsie Lancaster will marry one of the cardinal alphas after graduation. That alone is enough to keep people loyal to her, bitch or not." She made it clear to Violet.
"A shift is a shift," Lila countered. "People are beginning to see Elsie for who she is, and that’s a good thing. A little drop makes an ocean. Not to mention, graduation is months away. So many things could happen in that span of time."
Everyone caught the implication in Lila’s words, and their faces reflected varying degrees of shock. Violet didn’t let herself get carried away, she quickly schooled her expression.
She wasn’t trying to knock Elsie off her pedestal so she could take her place— Moon Goddess forbid she accept such a twisted fate, even if Elijah himself, in a world of impossibility, agreed.
She wasn’t a prize to be fought over by the cardinal alphas. No, this wasn’t about status or recognition. This was about justice. About taking down a tyrant. The alphas included.
"As much as I need the students’ support to rise up against the injustice humans especially face in this school," Violet began, her tone steely, "my plan doesn’t depend on their backing."
At once, all three girls perked up, eyes alert, hearts racing. They knew that look in Violet’s eyes.
"Parents Week is happening this week. It’s the perfect opportunity to strike."
"What’s your plan?" Daisy asked, her sharp mind already spinning through the possibilities, prepared to dissect, analyze, and fine-tune whatever Violet had in store.
"Micah and I were talking, and he might have hinted that Elsie is harboring a dirty secret."
"What secret? Does he know the secret?" Lila asked quickly.
Violet blinked, the realization hitting her. "I... I don’t know. It didn’t cross my mind. But from the way he spoke, if he does know, he probably expects me to find it out myself."
"Or it might be a ruse," Ivy interjected. "You weren’t exactly in the best state of mind yesterday. He might have said that to comfort you."
Violet frowned as the doubt crept in. No, it couldn’t be. She remembered the look in Micah’s eyes—how deeply he had meant it. Micah wouldn’t lie to her. But then if she could remember clearly, he was half-demon and they were tricksters by nature.
Still, Violet shook her head. "No. I think he’s telling the truth." Her voice was sure now. "And now that I think about it, Elsie’s record is too clean for someone with such nasty behavior. She has to have a weakness."
"Even if she does," Daisy said slowly, "this is Tuesday. We don’t have much time to dig into anything, let alone expose it. I’m all for your plan, Violet, but this might not be it."
"I thought about that,"Violet replied, locking eyes with each of them. "Which is why we’re going to bug her room and spy on her."
"Oh, come on!"
"That’s invasion of privacy!"
Daisy and Lila’s protests overlapped, both of them clearly uncomfortable with the plan.
But Violet didn’t flinch. Her voice hardened as she stepped forward. "Elsie didn’t play fair! She didn’t care about my privacy when she leaked those videos! You heard the Oracle, she fought dirty. I’m not going to fight fairer. I’m going to fight dirtier."
"You don’t have to pull yourself down to Elsie’s level," Daisy tried again, turning to Lila with a desperate look. "Please tell your princess she’s about to sully her royal prestige."
But Lila only shrugged, smiling wickedly. "The princess’s decree is the law."
"Ugh!" Daisy groaned, curling her fingers like claws, as if she were imagining wringing Lila’s neck in frustration.
Gods help her. How had she ended up with this bunch of chaos incarnate? She pressed her fingers against her temples, already feeling the headache brewing.
"Fine," she muttered, exhaling deeply. "But how do you even get a recording device? Jameson’s locked down the school. No one leaves or enters without her permission, unless you’re a wolf or an elite." She rolled her eyes at the injustice. "Even if you could leave, what would your excuse be? And even then, there are too many eyes on us. We’re rogues. They expect us to cause trouble. They’d search us, and if they find a device? We’re screwed."
"We don’t need to go through all that," Violet said with a sly smile. "Natalie will help."
"Have you lost your damn mind?!" Ivy and Daisy exploded in unison.
"Natalie is an elite!" Daisy snapped.
"She’s practically Elsie’s ally! Why would she betray her?"
Violet calmly lifted her phone and opened the comment section under the Oracle’s latest article. There it was:
NatalieAvax: Oracle servin’ it pipin hot ☕🔥🔥🔥
Ivy and Daisy blinked at the screen.
"That doesn’t prove anything,"Ivy protested. "She could’ve just liked the post."
Violet smiled knowingly. "You might not notice the little things, Ivy, but I do. Also, you said it yourself, Natalie and Elsie are allies, not friends. And allies shift with the tide. I’ve studied Natalie and she different from the others. No one hates Elsie’s ass more than she does, but she just hides it well because she’s elite. Elites supposedly has to support Elites, well, Elsie to be precise."
"But she doesn’t have to do much in this case," Violet continued. "All I need is a recording device. Her family’s a tech giant, so getting one would be like breathing. That’s why I need her." She finished, letting her words sink in.
Daisy dragged a hand down her face. "I don’t know, Violet. This is one hell of a crazy and risky plan. We haven’t even thought about the fallout especially not after what we’re planning to unleash during Parents Week. Jameson would skin us alive if she finds out it’s our doing."
"That is if she finds out." Lila said with a conspiratory smile. The Fae probably had a lot of tricks up her sleeve.
Violet placed a hand on her shoulder. "Fear not, friend. They branded us rogues. Let’s show them these rogues are not to be messed with. "