Cruel Arbiter
She witnessed a senator's crime. Before she could report it, the Collegia Noctis took her instead. The man who designs the trials is the youngest Arbiter in its history — and he volunteered to train her.
Secret societies. Intellectual trials. The game was never designed to let someone like you win.
“Every institution has teeth.”
Dark academia where every institution has teeth and the heroines learn to bite back. Morally gray, explicit, consensual — the distinction is the whole point.
She witnessed a senator's crime. Before she could report it, the Collegia Noctis took her instead. The man who designs the trials is the youngest Arbiter in its history — and he volunteered to train her.
Two years ago the Collegia destroyed Asha Brenner. Now she's back with a fake name and a match — and the Proctor who enforced her ruin recognizes her immediately. He says nothing. He watches.
The Collegia has been burying money for 150 years. They hired forensic auditor Tess to open the books — and assigned the 6-foot-4 Advocate to keep her alive.