Remington jumps by the side of the ring, calling out and cheering him on. Soon after, Landon joins him, a bored expression covering his face.
Both Cecily and Bran go still at the sight of him. Only Ava continues jumping up and down. “Get him, Cray Cray! We love you!”
“Do you now?”
Ava comes to an abrupt halt, and her mouth remains slightly parted as we all turn toward the gravelly voice.
The newcomer is none other than Eli. I’ve never met him, but I’ve seen him around, and Ava made me follow him on IG so she could stalk him.
He followed me back, so we’re in that awkward situation where we’re mutuals but have never spoken.
Besides, he’s Creighton’s brother and his IG is one of the few places where there are any updates of him. Some of them are within family settings, but most are selfies where Creighton is sleeping in the background and Eli has captions like:
Documenting the Sleeping Beauty chronicles. Day 100.
The cheeky bastard fell asleep while I was talking. The audacity is presumptuous.
I asked him to choose between me and sleep. He covered his head with the sheet. Revoking brotherly rights as we speak.
Eli King looks nothing like his younger brother. They’re both handsome, but while Creigh looks like a beautiful prince, Eli is more like a serial killer prince. His build is leaner, his features sharper, cutting even. And he has black hair and dark gray eyes that could compete with pure metal.
I thought maybe the drastic difference in their looks was a case of someone taking more after one of the parents, and that’s true in Eli’s case. He does look like a carbon copy of their father. Creighton looks nothing like their mother, though, so maybe he resembles someone else from the family.
Ava’s face has gone red in the span of seconds, but she still says, “Shouldn’t you be hiding in the dark to do some satanic rituals?”
“I’m missing an important ingredient.” His expression doesn’t change. “Blood.”
Wow. Okay. Maybe the King brothers are more alike than I initially thought.
“Annika, right?” He offers me a hand and I shake it. “I’m sure Creigh talks about me all the time.”
“He actually doesn’t.” I grin, then follow up with, “But I’ve heard about you.”
His brow furrows. “Not from him?”
“No?” I answer awkwardly, thinking that’s probably not what he wants to hear.
“That cheeky bastard.” His gaze flits to the fight that’s getting heated. “Want to get out of here?”
I cast a glance at Cecily, but she pretends the fight is more important than the nuclear war currently happening.
Ava grinds her teeth, but she stares ahead, too.
Brandon has been so engrossed in the fight that he hasn’t moved an inch. Hell, he’s been so silent that I’d forgotten he was here in the first place.
“Leave her alone,” Ava finally grits out.
A cruel smirk curves Eli’s lips. “I have a few things to ask Annika. It won’t take long.”
The two of them glare at each other, or more like Ava does, while he keeps that perfect smirk in place.
I’m distracted away from whatever is going on between them, because something’s changed in the ring.
The crowd goes wild and it’s because Creighton has backed Nikolai in a corner.
Punch.
Punch.
Punch.
His expression has turned savage as he plows over and over. Nikolai bursts out laughing, maniacally, not even attempting to protect himself.
I catch a glimpse of Bran lifting his hand to his nape and tugging at the short hairs so violently, I wince.
The harder Nikolai laughs, the more savage Bran’s hair pulling turns.
The referee announces that Creighton has won by points. REU’s crowd goes crazy, shouting his last name.
Cecily claps. Bran turns around and leaves without a word.
Eli and Ava are still in that weird stance that even made her lose focus on the fight—and that says something since she’s the most enthusiastic about these types of scenes.
I throw a glance behind me and gasp when Creighton jumps from one of the ring posts. He completely ignores Remi and Landon and jogs in our direction.
The crowd parts for him, and some slap him on the back while others attempt to shake his hand. He pays none of them any attention. His sole focus is on me.
There’s a cut on his lip and his face looks like that of an underworld lord who’s fresh out of a battle.
“Oh, hi—” Whatever I had to say dies in my throat when he grabs me by the waist and slams me to his side.