Saint finally pulled me in front of a large coffin, the huge rectangular stone box standing as high as my chest. He released me, nodding to Kyan and Blake who moved forward wordlessly like they’d planned this, gripping the edge of the thick stone lid and shoving it aside.
Saint never let go of my arm and my throat became too tight as I stood there, trying not to shake.
“Get in,” he growled when there was enough room between the edge of the tomb and the lid for me to squeeze inside.
I bit back a plea, my lungs compressing with fear as I looked to Kyan and Blake, finding their faces hard, their expressions unreadable.
Saint opened his mouth to order me again, but I wasn’t going to flinch at this. I was never going to let him see me afraid again. And I certainly wasn’t going to be forced in there kicking and screaming.
I yanked out of his grip, climbing up onto the edge and squeezing my way inside. The moment I lowered into it, my heart slammed into my ribcage, the scent of death enveloping me.
No no no no.
My weight pressed down on bones and they crunched beneath me like twigs.
I clamped my teeth into my lip as I held back a scream.
“All the way, Barbie,” Saint purred, his eyes alight as he watched me.
I stared back at him, my jaw locked and my muscles bunching as I forced myself to lie down.
Breathe. Just breathe.
Saint was all I could see with the lid half covering the top and as he nodded his head, utter fear encased me. A grinding of stone on stone sounded as Kyan and Blake started pushing the lid back over and Saint observed me like a hawk. He wanted to see my fear. He wanted to feast on it and devour a piece of my soul along with it. But fuck that. Fuck him. Fuck all of them.
Don’t scream.
Don’t cry.
Don’t flinch.
When there was just a three inch gap left, I lifted my hand and flipped my middle finger at Saint, his lips parting in surprise before the coffin closed.
Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck.
My breathing became ragged.
There wasn’t enough air. There couldn’t be. How long did I have? How long would they leave me here?
Panic sank into my bones and I started drowning in it. As I began to hyperventilate, dust stuck in the back of my throat and I coughed heavily.
I’m going to choke.
I’m going to die.
I don’t want to die!
My entire body started shaking and I shut my eyes, hunting for that safe space inside me my dad had taught me to cultivate. It was deeper than ever, lost in a sea of darkness, but finally I reached it. I let my mind drift into the utter peace of that place where no one or nothing in the world could touch me.
I’m safe. I’m okay. I can handle this.
I fell into a pit of calm, willing my body to fall still, the shaking easing from my limbs. The air was becoming thinner, trying to force my body into panic mode again. But I wouldn’t let it. I would not be afraid.
Time ticked by and I held my hand over my mouth and nose as I fought to keep the dust out. I was inhaling death itself. I couldn’t take this much longer.
The lid eventually shoved open and the glare of an iPhone flashlight made me wince. I didn’t know how long I’d been down here, it could have been seconds, minutes or hours. My thoughts were too hazy to figure it out. Strong hands gripped me, tugging me out and planting me on my feet.
My breathing came heavily as I leaned forward, resting my hands on my knees as I tried to get the oxygen into my body that I needed.
“Fuck me, baby. That was badass,” Kyan laughed and I ignored him.
They may have killed for me, but these boys were as twisted as they’d first seemed. And I wasn’t going to stand for it. I was done being their pet. Done rolling over and taking their shit lying down. Being compliant hadn’t helped me get closer to them. So screw that. I was going to fight them with everything I had. I’d face whatever punishment they wanted to throw at me. And I would push myself to the ends of the earth to ensure they never saw me break.
A hand landed on my arm and I shrugged it off, standing upright with a snarl. I found them standing close to me, unsure which one had touched me.
I turned away from them, marching out of the crypt, rage seeping through my skin and bleeding from my pores.
Their footsteps hounded after me as I made it back to the lounge, striding towards the kitchen and feeling them hounding me like predators as my breaths evened out.
Sadistic, psychotic assholes!
My mouth was overly dry as I headed to the sink and poured myself a glass of water, drinking it down to dislodge the dust from my throat before turning around and finding them watching me expectantly.
My gaze worked over their faces as I measured and weighed them. Their cruelty knew no bounds, and yet in my most desperate moment of need they’d come to my aid. Now there was an undeniable connection between us which I couldn’t ignore. But blood wasn’t the price I wanted in penance for their crimes. My heart was blackened with anger and hate for what they’d put me through. And I was never going to forgive them. So there was only one choice I could make. I was going to make them suffer. Hurt the way I’d hurt. Break as I had broken. I didn’t want an eye for an eye. I wanted a shattered soul for a shattered soul. I wanted their hearts butchered in my hands in the same way they’d butchered mine.
“Things will go back to normal as of this moment,” Saint announced sharply, moving to perch against the dining table and examining his nails like he hadn’t just ordered me to be put in a fucking sarcophagus. Any warmth I’d imagined in his eyes when he’d seen me standing on the stairs had frozen over like frost in the night. He was evil through and through. No force on earth would ever change that. “You will return to your chores from the moment the clock strikes midday. As of tonight, you will rotate which of us you sleep with and will adhere to the rules of whichever Night Keeper possesses you that day. Understood?”
I released a derisive breath. “Actually no, that’s not fucking okay. I’m not sleeping in a bed with any of you. You can fight me into your beds every night if you want, but prepare for the most restless sleep of your lives.”
Kyan’s brows arched and Blake snorted an amused laugh like this was all some joke. Saint’s expression became calculating, assessing, like he was thinking through every word I’d just spoken and running it through some algorithm in his head.
“Alright,” Saint agreed and I would have fallen off my chair if I’d been sitting down.
What does he mean ‘alright’?
He strode across the room, taking a notepad and a pen from a drawer before walking back to the table, placing it down and pulling out the chair in front of it.
“Sit,” he commanded and I frowned, not moving an inch. “Sit down, Barbie,” he snarled. “Or would you rather I left you in that coffin for the rest of the afternoon?”
I weighed my options, figuring I didn’t want to die today. I walked over to the seat, eyeing him suspiciously as I dropped down into it. He picked up the pen, holding it out for me and I took it with a frown.
“You may make rules which will ensure you feel comfortable enough to stick to our rules.”
“How generous,” I spat, slamming the pen down on the notepad in refusal.
“That is the most compromising I will be, Plague. So either take the opportunity or don’t, but I will not have you waste another minute of my morning,” he growled.
I stared at Saint, looking from him to Blake whose dark green eyes seemed almost black as he watched me, then to Kyan who was observing this all with vague disinterest.
I turned back to face the notepad, my mind working over this situation. “So if I make rules…what happens if you all break them?” I narrowed my eyes at Saint, knowing he would be the one to enforce my rules if this was allowed.
He considered me for a moment, running his tongue over his teeth and I noticed his canines were sharper than most people’s. Even his
genetics had forged him into a predator. “You may punish us as you see fit.”
My eyes widened and Blake and Kyan exchanged a loaded look.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Blake challenged Saint, squaring his shoulders at him.
“Yes,” Saint said immediately. “If you don’t want to be punished, Blake, then don’t break her fucking rules. It’s as simple as that.”
“I can make whatever rules I like?” I narrowed my eyes at Saint.
“So long as they fit with our previous rules, yes,” Saint agreed.
Okay…welcome to mindfuck city, Tatum Rivers. One second you’re in a coffin, the next you’re being given a gift. Although maybe this was more about the fact that Saint didn’t want me rebelling against his rules too forcefully. Of course, I’d never agreed to that. So that was just his assumption. Not my problem.
I lifted the pen and felt the three of them crowding in behind me, their combined breaths on my skin making my skin tingle.
I gazed down at the blank paper before me, poising the pen above it as I wet my lips. This page was an olive branch extended to me by the devil himself. Was it safe to even assume that whatever rules I made up they’d really abide by?
“Why would you let me do this?” I asked, hesitating again as I looked up at Saint on my right. Even if I did fight them all the way to their bedrooms, I didn’t really think the threat was enough to make him give in. So what was his angle?
He laid his palm on the table, making a cage with his body as he leaned in closer. Blake’s hands moved to rest on my shoulders and he shifted my hair aside, making a shiver tumble down my spine. I sensed Kyan boxing me on the other side, suddenly drowning in their shadows as they surrounded me.
“It seems only fair,” Saint said with something of a smile on his face. Only it wasn’t full of light, it was endlessly dark.
Something about writing these rules felt like signing a contract with them. I was agreeing to stay here. And sure, now I wanted to do that for my own reasons. To rain hell down on them for what they’d done to me, but what was that really going to cost me?
I let my eyes fall to the starkly white page again, my heart thumping to a wild beat.
What am I willing to give for my revenge?
My breathing became unsteady and I let my eyes fall closed, reminded of that moment back on Sycamore Beach, penned in by these three dark gods who sought to smite me. Who pushed and bit at me until I bled for them, then they lapped at my wounds, savouring my pain in the same moment they healed me. Things between us were messy and unclear. But the one shining truth I could hold onto was that I would give almost anything to make them suffer the way I had suffered.
I laid pen to paper and opened my eyes, sinking into a dark and disturbingly peaceful place inside me, a plan swirling through my mind and lighting me up like a firework.
Blake leaned forward, resting his mouth to my ear. I couldn’t breathe for a long moment, my thighs squeezing together as electricity danced under my skin. I hated the way my body reacted to him. To all of them. “Let’s see the rules then, Cinders.”
I nodded as he drew away, inhaling deeply as I started writing, a thrill crashing through my body. Because if any of them broke my rules, I would punish them as harshly as they’d punished me, make them face the wrath of a scorned queen and see how they liked the taste of their own vile medicine. This list would be a weapon I could wield against them any time they sought to bend or break my rules.
1. No kissing
2. No foreplay
3. No sex
4. No touching while we share a bed
5. No entering the bathroom while I’m naked or on the toilet
6. I am allowed two hours of undisturbed study time at the library on every weekday
7. I am allowed one friend who you cannot be a dick to
8. Once a week we will ALL eat pizza for dinner without cutlery
I shot a glance at Saint who looked more horrified at that last one than anything else. But he said nothing and I smirked as I wrote my final rule.
9. I am allowed to sit wherever I want in classes
I rested back in my chair, folding my arms and they all leaned over me to read the list. Their skin brushed against mine and I was getting entirely too hot as they continued to close in around me. I could hardly breathe for all the testosterone in the air.
“Is the pizza really necessary?” Saint grumbled and my malicious grin widened.
“It is,” I said firmly and Kyan and Blake laughed.
“Looks good to me,” Blake said, stepping back and relieving me from his stifling heat.
Kyan moved away next then Saint dropped into the chair beside me, his arm brushing mine and sending a small earthquake scattering through my body as he took the pen and paper, positioning it squarely in front of him and added to the bottom of the rules. I hated him with all my heart, but craved him with all my soul. It was the most wicked kind of punishment he could ever inflict on me.
1. You will sleep in a Night Keeper’s bed every night on rotation and they will have priority over you for 24 hours (6pm – 6pm the next day).
2. You must cook breakfast every day.
3. You will wear whatever we decide on the day you are in our possession.
4. You will do as we say without complaint unless it conflicts with your rules.
He lifted his head, pushing it toward me so I could read it then he signed the bottom and passed the pen to Blake. He moved forward, scribbling his signature on it before Kyan swiped it from him and added his name in a messy scrawl. Then he held out the pen for me, his eyes glittering hungrily as I took it.
My throat was too tight as I pressed the nub of the pen to the bottom of the page, a moment of hesitation staying my hand. I was already bound to them in more ways than I’d ever wanted to be. But I knew what I was doing by signing this. I wasn’t agreeing to their terms, I was agreeing to mine. And that was a far scarier prospect because who knew how much of myself I was going to sacrifice in the pursuit of revenge? But as I glanced between their smug faces and thought of the destruction they’d caused me, my hand started moving and I painted my name in perfect, curling strokes.
Saint took the piece of paper, walking to the new refrigerator he’d had installed after the three of them had gone and swapped it for the one in the teacher’s lounge yesterday. He pinned it in place with two black magnets, one at the top and one at the bottom. The finality of the act was simple yet powerful, the weight of those rules binding us all.
***
Saint’s maid came and cleaned The Temple from top to bottom even though it was already spotless. He had insisted we all go for a walk around the entire lake after dinner and after we got back, I only realised she’d been because Kyan had made a joke about her being ‘Lady Rebecca, the ghost of the crypt’. I wouldn’t even have put it past Saint to have the ability to employ the dead.
I was sitting in an armchair polishing the freaking silverware like an eighteen hundreds’ servant while Blake and Kyan played video games. Saint was sitting at the dining table on his laptop, tapping out some assignment with a single crease in his brow. My gaze kept drifting to him, observing the angles of his face while he didn’t know I was watching, captivated by the way the tightness of his jaw loosened every time he fell into a pit of concentration.
I hated that he fascinated me, but had given up trying to stop my eyes from straying his way. He never noticed me observing him even once. When he was invested in something, he gave it his full, undivided intention. And there was something admirable about that. Not that he had many fine qualities. But I supposed his precision and thoroughness couldn’t really be ignored. The problem was, he tended to use both for evil.
Saint closed his laptop suddenly, making my heart jolt. “It’s eleven forty five, Barbie. Bedtime.”
“Who says you get her first?” Kyan complained, looking over at me long enough for his Xbox character to get burned alive by a flamethrower. He didn’t even seem to
notice as the avatar screamed and went up in a fiery blaze. His eyes were too busy devouring me while I was too busy glaring back at him.
“I do,” Saint snarled. “You had her when you took her to that fucking fight pit and Blake had her the night of the initiation party.”
“Doesn’t count,” Blake said, his eyes pinned on the screen as he continued to play the game, but the tightness of his lips said he had more feelings on the subject which he wasn’t airing.
I didn’t want to be fought over like a bone amongst hungry dogs so I got to my feet, tossing the last of the silverware down on the coffee table and heading to the stairs.
“Night, assholes,” I called lightly, walking up into Saint’s room and sensing him following.
The second I reached the top, my heart went from zero to a thousand. Sleeping in a bed with Saint was like stumbling across a bear’s cave and deciding it was a good place to take a nap. I was not gonna come out of it unscathed. Especially as I’d messed with his room and he was about to see exactly what I’d-
Oh for fuck’s sake.
Every little change I’d made had been rectified. No doubt by his damn ghost maid. Gah.
“Brush your teeth, I’ll bring you your nightwear,” Saint commanded and a tremor rolled through me at his tone. I didn’t want to like his commands, but sometimes they had a sinful effect on me which was purely chemical. I couldn’t stop it even if I tried. It made the most depraved part of me sink to her knees and part her lips like a freaking whore who loved her job.
I headed to the bathroom, finding that my products had been tidied neatly into order beside Saint’s. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed my toothbrush and squeezed a line of toothpaste onto the bristles. When I was done, I washed my face then caught my gaze in the mirror. I never thought I’d see a killer staring back at me from the glass. But there she was. Perfectly innocent looking and yet her soul was painted black.
Kings of Lockdown: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 2) Page 5