The Ritual: A Dark College Romance

The narrative flashes back to Ryat entering the basement with Gunner at Blackout to find the two men who propositioned Blakely and Sarah. When Ryat discovered the drugs, he and Gunner left the men to slowly choke with chains wrapped around their necks.

In the narrative present, Ryat grows frustrated with “hiding out” in Blackout. In the three days since he and Blakely left the cabin, Ryat’s security cameras have seen no hint of Matt. Sarah and Gunner have come to the club to help combat Blakely’s cabin fever. He and Blakely each receive texts that announce that Blakely’s initiation will be the following evening at Blackout. Ryat reassures her that though she won’t see him during the initiation, he will be present. He encourages her to enjoy the rest of her evening with Sarah, causing Ty to tease him about how they are “the cutest couple” (426).

Ty promises to look after Blakely during the initiation and urges Ryat to come to his office later, as he is “expecting a phone call that might have an answer to [Ryat’s] Matt problem” (426). Ryat thinks pityingly of Ty’s “loss” (revealed in Chapter 46 to be the death of his “chosen”).

After dancing with Sarah, Blakely joins Ryat, who takes her to Ty’s office. Ryat enters without knocking, and Blakely is shocked to find Ty inside having sex with a woman. She feels a connection when the woman seems deeply affected by Ty’s praise, a feeling Blakely experiences when Ryat praises her. When the woman leaves, the men laugh about Ty’s preference for voyeurism. Blakely is shocked to learn that Ty’s full name is Tyson Crawford, identifying him as the man who, several years prior, sent video of him having sex with his “chosen” to her boyfriend (as discussed in Chapter 5). Ty reports that there is no further information on Matt but looks forward to Ryat’s revenge against Matt.

Blakely reports the rumors she heard about Ty; Ryat tells her she cannot trust all rumors. When Blakely pushes for more information, he corrects that Ty’s chosen didn’t have a boyfriend but a stalker, though he offers no further information.

Blakely’s phone ringing wakes her; it’s Ryat, calling from an unknown location. At his order, Blakely goes down into the empty club, anticipating a sexual “game.” When she finds him sitting in his mask and cloak, she flees, pleased at knowing he will catch her.

Ryat seizes Blakely and takes her to the basement, planning to use sex to distract her from her nervousness about the initiation. He binds her in handcuffs attached to the walls and attaches a gag that forces her mouth to remain open. He performs manual sex on her, looking forward to the remainder of his plan.

Though her bindings are physically uncomfortable, Blakely enjoys the feeling of being restrained. She appreciates that Ryat does not make her feel ashamed for liking kink practices. She gains satisfaction from knowing that she can do uncomfortable things to please Ryat and that he will praise her for doing so.

Ryat and Blakely have sex in the basement before returning to their apartment, where Ryat washes and massages her to alleviate the aches from her bondage. Ryat receives a summons to a Lords meeting later that evening; he is pleased it is early enough that he can return to Blackout before Blakely’s initiation.

Later, a nervous, tipsy Blakely follows her initiation instructions to flirt with a man she doesn’t know; Ryat will kill him later, and she wonders how the Lords have chosen him for assassination. Sarah appears, leaving Blakely uncertain if her friend knows about the initiation. Blakely goes out to her car, which Sarah has brought from the cabin. Matt enters on the passenger side, surprising Blakely, and smashes her face into the steering wheel, disorienting her. As someone screams in the background, Blakely is shoved into the back of the car, where she falls unconscious.

Ty calls Ryat, urging him to come to the hospital. Blakely is unconscious, and a sobbing, bruised Sarah reports finding Blakely bleeding heavily in her car. A Lord named Dr. Gavin enters with X-rays to discuss with Ryat.

Three days later, Blakely slowly wakes to hear Phil arguing with Ryat. She is groggy and cannot remember the attack.

Ryat, exhausted and worried, puzzles over why Matt attacked but did not kidnap Blakely. Ty has been staying at the hospital, wanting to provide support in case Blakely died, as Ryat did for him when Ty’s chosen died. Ty cautions that “the Lords are only out for themselves” and that the only way Ryat can “save” Blakely is to relinquish her (468). Ryat wonders why Ty has remained a member, if he feels this way. Ty answers mysteriously, implying he is in “hell.”

Frustrated, Ryat punches through the glass of a broken vending machine, ignoring the injury to his hand. He takes two energy drinks and gives one to Ty as a peace offering.

Blakely grows frustrated with Ryat’s attentiveness and her extended hospital stay. Phil confesses his history with a woman named LeAnne Mayes, his chosen when he was at Barrington, whom he loved. His marriage to Blakely’s mother was arranged. Blakely understands hiding the darkness of the Lords from a child but wonders why her father didn’t tell her about being a Lord when she was primed to follow the same path. Phil says Valerie blackmailed him, but before he can explain, Ryat, Phil, and Abbot begin to argue, the latter two asking Ryat to reveal what happened in Chicago (in Chapter 3). Ryat insists he isn’t a “rat.” Ryat tells Blakely that Valerie isn’t her biological mother.

Ryat laments not asking for more detail about the Chicago assignment. He explains that on a “hunch,” he ran a genetic test on Valerie’s hair after she attacked Blakely in her apartment (in Chapter 29). Phil’s revelation about loving LeAnne caused Ryat to realize LeAnne was Blakely’s biological parent. Phil reports that he knew Matt killed LeAnne; he ordered Ryat to take Blakely as his chosen “to save [her] from Matt” while they took “time to prove it” (480). (In Chapter 60, LeAnne is revealed to be alive.) Blakely asks her father to leave, and Ryat escorts Phil and Abbot from the room, angry that neither of them told him this information previously. He orders both men removed from Blakely’s approved visitor lists and goes to comfort his crying wife.

When they return to the cabin, Blakely notes that Ryat has hung blackout curtains to prevent Matt from spying. She refuses to look at her injured face, believing Matt wished to make her “ugly” so Ryat would “throw [her] away” (483). Ryat promises that nothing will make him stop loving her. Ryat offers to tell Blakely “anything,” leading them to discuss the assignment that put Ryat temporarily in prison. She realizes that Ryat married her in revenge for Matt’s attempt on his life, though she is not upset at the idea.

Ryat watches security camera footage through the night until Blakely asks him to have sex with her, which he does with uncharacteristic gentleness given her recent injuries.

Several weeks later, Blakely’s injuries have nearly healed. She prepares for a Halloween party with Sarah, dressing in a provocative costume to “wind up” Ryat. She feels faintly disappointed to learn that she will not have a repeat initiation after Matt interfered with the scheduled ritual; she wishes to prove herself equal to the task of being a Lady. When Ryat sees her costume, he makes suggestive comments, as Blakely intended.

Ryat and Blakely playfully banter about how sexually appealing he finds her costume.

Later, Blakely takes a break from the party outside. She sees Ty getting ready to have sex with a woman and prepares to leave, but Ryat approaches and stops her, urging her to watch.

Ryat enjoys Blakely’s sexual adventurousness as they engage in manual sex while watching Ty and his partner.

After the party, Ryat and Blakely cuddle at home. She admires the brand he received for the Lords (in Chapter 4). Blakely wishes for her own such mark to “prove that [she’s] all in” (505). Though Ryat protests that he trusts her devotion, she wishes for a way to demonstrate that she “choose[s]” the life of a Lady. Ryat heats his Lords ring in the fire.

Ryat presses the hot ring to Blakely’s ribcage, enjoying that she wishes a permanent mark of their relationship. He praises her bravery as they have sex.

Ryat and Blakely enjoy six weeks of normalcy before unexpectedly returning home to find Matt in their living room. Matt insists that Blakely belongs to him and shoots at her, but Ryat jumps in front of her. Ryat collapses, professing his love. Blakely screams while Matt seizes her and injects her with a sedative. As she falls unconscious, she hears Matt telling someone that he “got the job done” (513).

Blakely wakes, feeling ill, to find Valerie and Matt have colluded to kill Ryat and abduct her. Valerie diagnoses Blakely’s nausea as due to pregnancy and morning sickness, not the sedative. Matt threatens to forcibly terminate Blakely’s pregnancy, but Valerie stops him, calling this her “second chance [to] do things right” (516). Valerie and Matt plan for Valerie to forcibly take Blakely’s baby after she gives birth and then allow Matt to abduct Blakely.