Fate of a Royal (Lords of Rathe, #1)(56)

“No, no. Go.” I clear my throat. “I’m good.”

“Yeah?”

No. “Yeah.”

I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe me, but he nods anyway, tossing his towel over his shoulder and kissing my temple before he walks out the door.

I run to the couch and plop onto it, quickly searching the video app for a specific movie. I hit play, only to fast-forward through most of it until I get to the scene I’m looking for.

Storm’s eyes glow a solid white as she calls on her X-Men shit and lightning flashes around her.

X-Men are fake, right? Just like bloodsucking beings?

My fingers fly to my lips, trailing over the small tough spot from where…

From where he bit me.

The day on the trail comes back to me, and I look to my palm.

My palm that mysteriously healed after Silver touched it, but that’s not what has my pulse in my throat.

That day, Knight licked my palm clean, his tongue taking with it every drop of red that glittered it, gravel and all.

I’m a monster, Little London…

His heady whisper fills my head, and I shudder as fear buries itself in my belly.

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.





Twenty





Knight



I can smell her everywhere I walk. It’s torture. With every step I take, I hold my breath. I need to see her. Pull her in closer. Even if I have to tear her open from the outside and remove all her parts to figure them out.

I will.

Over and over, I will.

“You need to chill the fuck out.” Sin catches up to me, and I turn to blink at my twin brother, annoyed that he’s in my face right now.

“Sin, beware…every time I see you right now, I want to knock your fucking teeth out.”

“Chill!” He throws his hands up. “We get it. She’s your mate.”

Fuck. He said it.

They see it.

My brows dip low and I shake my head.

“Not possible,” I say through clenched teeth.

Sinner’s head tips. “Bro—”

“It’s something else,” I cut him off. Has to be.

Much to my disgust, he continues to follow me through the school and out toward the catacombs. I need some fucking drugs to chill me out. Or just a full-blown blood party.

I like the latter better.

As if it wasn’t bad enough facing Sin right now, Creed suddenly appears at our side.

“Okay, let’s think…” Creed stops me before I can continue my venture.

My eyes flick between my two brothers. “This a fucking intervention?”

“Nah,” Creed says, shifting to his other foot. “It’s a party invite.”

“The Dungeon blew up.”

“Then it was fixed.” Creed waves his hands in front of him. He knows that’s not what I mean. He knows that I mean someone blew the fucking thing up and we still don’t know who.

All of our phones ding in our pockets and we take them out. I open the latest message and my stomach falls to the fucking ground. Fuck. I miss the days where we would never hear from any of our parents. Coming to this school was clearly a fucking mistake.

Mother: There’s been a breach.

“What is she fucking talking about?” Legend asks, bouncing a basketball with one hand and holding his phone with his other. The trail of girls behind him all stay their distance. “Maybe she’s lying.”

“Sure. About what?” I glare at him. “What could she possibly lie about just to get us on edge?”

Another message comes in.

Mother: We need all of you home. Something is happening and we need you safe.

Safe? Is she fucking insane? I hit call and bring my phone to my ear. “Mother?”

“Knight, please. You all must come back to Rathe immediately.” I look to Legend and then to Creed.

Mother doesn’t use the word please often, if ever.

“You saw something again?”

She pauses. “Yes. I did.”

Fuck.

When my brothers and I were a lot younger, a few hundred years ago, our mother once told us that she would never use her gift as a way to manipulate us. We believed her.

Until we were old enough to realize that Mother will always put Father first.

“I’ve gotta go.” I end the call and shove my phone back into my pocket.

“What’d she say?” Legend asks, watching me carefully while going back to bouncing the ball between his legs.

“She wants us home now.”

“The season’s in full fucking swing.” Creed frowns. “We can’t leave, Coach will lose his mind if he’s out one Lord, let alone all four. Why’s she freaking out?”

“Like always, she gave an order and nothing else. She’s hiding something. I can feel it.”

“Since when could you feel anything through a phone?” Sinner spits, still angry with me. “You a High Empath all of a sudden?”

I blink past Sin’s words. What the fuck is he talking about?

“We could fuck a Pixie? Take what we want and let her drown us in Fae dust?”

Legend nods in agreement, looking to me.

“Yeah.” My voice scratches and I swallow. “Let’s do that.”