“What are we looking at, beautiful?”
“Life,” I whispered, placing my hands over his arms. “It’s crazy. You grow up thinking your parents are the ultimate gods, and as you grow up you realize they’re just mere mortals, just like the rest of us, but this thing with my dad? It’s bad, Logan.” I turned around in his arms and looked up at him, blinking tears onto my cheeks. “It’s really bad. I don’t even want my last name. Like, I don’t want it if my dad is really involved with these girls and using his mentorship as something to dangle over their heads.”
“I know.” He leaned down, pressing his lips lightly against mine. “You are who you want to be. Isn’t that what you told me about my shitty family?”
“Yeah.” I felt myself smile a little despite my sour mood.
“You want me to keep showing you around the house? Then we’ll have breakfast and go home. I can’t drive you to the pep rally because I have to be there way too early, but I’ll be waiting for you after.”
“We spend one night together and you’re already planning out my entire day?”
He grinned. “Careful. I’ll plan out your entire life if you let me.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“You think so?”
I nodded.
“I don’t bluff, baby.” He kissed the tip of my nose, slapped my ass and walked toward the door. “You have fifteen minutes to get ready. If I come back and you’re still wearing my shirt, I’ll take it as a sign that you don’t want a tour and you just want me to fuck you again.”
He left before I could respond, but I mean, with threats like that . . .
Chapter Thirty-Six
Logan walked me around the castle, showing me the rooms that others had left unlocked before we took a stairwell. The walls were made of the same stone as the exterior of the castle. The same stone that lay the path to walk up. I touched it as we walked up, admiring the roughness of the rock beneath my hand. I looked up and focused on the arched window, the only thing providing us with enough light to see the steps we took in the winding stairwell. Standing in this spot, I could almost envision myself acting out a part in Beauty & The Beast. I let my hand fall from the wall and continued on.
“When was this built?”
“Late eighteen-hundreds.”
Late eighteen-hundreds. I wondered how many things these halls had seen. Logan said the first owner had killed her husbands here. They must have seen a whole lot of damage. Logan took a large step and started walking beside me, rather than behind, as we reached the top of the stairwell. I gasped as I took it in. I may not have known much art history, but I knew Gothic architecture when I saw it, and this was goth to the max, with a long wide hall made up of ivory arches and walls covered in the same material, that mimicked the arch windows on the other side. The windows were too high up for me to look out of, but the light they provided was enough to stare at the walls and ceilings all day. The floors weren’t anything spectacular, mismatched slabs of black and gold, and even still it was beautiful.
“This is crazy,” I whispered, looking around. I focused on the arched wooden doors up ahead. “Is that a room?”
“Nope.” He was walking faster now, more animated. I followed with the same enthusiasm. When he opened it, it gave way to a library. My jaw dropped.
“How is this place real?” I stepped inside and looked around.
It wasn’t very big, but it had two walls filled with books and a stepladder that glided across each. It was like a real-life Beauty and The Beast library. I walked around and looked at the books. All looked like they’d been here for over one hundred years, and they probably had been. I didn’t recognize the titles, but some of the authors were familiar.
“Does anyone come up here?”
“To study sometimes. Or for meetings,” Logan said. “All of the public areas like this one are fair game, so if there’s a party to plan with the current board members and alumni, they pick a few rooms and host in those.”
“Interesting,” I said. “What else is a public area?”
“Let’s go through here.” Logan grinned.
Instead of walking out the doors we just came in through, he walked forward and pulled a lever beside one of the bookcases. It revealed a doorknob. Taking a small part of the bookcase with him as he pulled, he signaled for me to walk through. I did, completely entranced.
“I told you the lady was crazy,” he said.
“What does that door in the entrance lead to?”
“A similar library, but that one is off-limits. It belongs to the current board. Only they have a key to it.”
“What’s Nolan’s major?”
“Art history. His family deals art.” Logan looked over at me. “Why?”
“I was trying to find a connection between all of us. You and I are business and journalism, so that makes sense. What’s Marcus’s?”
“Accounting, with a minor in art.”
“Another art dealer?”
“Yeah.”
“What about Nora?”
“Political science. I think she just got into grad school.”
“So politician, art dealers, and journalists?” I frowned. “My dad is a media mogul, as are my two older brothers, but they all studied business.”
“Business is our connection, Amelia. And the fact that we all have extremely promising futures. Some because of who their parents are and others, like me, because of my career.”
“In hockey?”
“Sports in general. I play hockey, but I’m not just a hockey player,” he said. “The same way Michael Jordan and Lebron James and Dwayne Wade aren’t just basketball players.”
“That makes sense.”
“You ready now?” he nodded towards the winding staircase in front of us.
“I’m ready.” I smiled, but as I walked down I thought about the secret passageway itself.
Had my father brought Lana in and out of here like this? What about the other girls she’d mentioned he’d been with? He told me he had only had a mentoring relationship with her. I needed to either believe him and back him up or not believe him and . . . and what? Lana was gone and there was nothing I could do about it. God. I wished my brother would wake up already. I needed him here. My stomach growled as we reached the end of the stairs.
“We’ll get breakfast soon, I swear,” Logan said, opening a door that led outside. “This is the garden.”
Unlike the grandiosity of the castle, this was the smallest garden I’d ever seen. The grass had been completely covered with bricks, as if to not let anything grow. There were a few tails of weeds that seeped through, but that was it. The magnificent thing about it was that it was outside, yet somehow tucked between the castle walls and those castle walls were covered in ivy. In the middle of it was a lamppost, which was currently turned off. It was an oddly charming secret garden. I turned to Logan, who was leaning against the only spot not yet covered in ivy. He was watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite understand. It wasn’t lust. It wasn’t amusement or curiosity. The potential of what it could be held me captive.
“I like it,” I said. “There’s minimal upkeep.”
“Which is why we like it.” He smiled. “Come on, let’s go have breakfast. I’m starving.”
He took my hand in his as we walked back inside the house, to one of the common areas that had long tables. There were pastries set up—donuts, bagels, croissants, and coffee boxes. Nolan was sitting in there, talking to Marcus and a pretty girl with beautiful pale skin and short, brown curly hair. She smiled as we walked in, her eyes on our held hands. I wondered if she’d been his partner last year. I didn’t know how partners worked exactly, but for some reason, I was dying to know. Maybe it was the blood oath that did it for me. Maybe it was the fact that my feelings for him were so big they threatened to take over everything else. Maybe it was because last night had been magical or because everything he said to me held promises I so desperately wanted.
We both serve
d ourselves things in the plastic plates provided. I got one donut. Logan got five stacked up. We poured coffees into to-go cups and walked over to where they were sitting.
“I’m Nora,” she said as I sat down.
“Amelia.” I smiled. “But you already knew that.”
“I did. Not to say I’m not curious about the girl who finally made Logan take a blood oath.” She grinned at whatever look Logan was giving her. “Oh, this is cute. She doesn’t know?”
“Nora.” It was a warning.
“He doesn’t even like the word blood,” Marcus said laughing.
“He’s having breakfast. Leave him the fuck alone,” Nolan said, scowling.
“You don’t like blood?” my attention whipped in his direction. He cringed. “But . . . you’re always bleeding. You play hockey, for God’s sake. Not to mention, get in a lot of fistfights.”
“Ironic, I know,” he mumbled.
“More than ironic. It’s plain weird.” I laughed, taking a bite of my donut and chewing. I licked my lips, looking at Nora again. “So he’d never done an oath? How is he here?”
“He had to scale the waterfall by the old Lab. Twice. They told him they’d give him until this year to participate in the oath, which is insane, if you ask me. We didn’t have a choice in the matter.” She rolled her eyes.
“What about his partner last year?”
Nora glanced at Logan and back at me. I could tell she was hesitant about saying anything without his permission, which was crazy since she’d dished out the blood thing with so much enthusiasm.
“His partner last year was only his partner for like a second,” Nolan said. “She was recruited by the Swords before she was initiated here.”
“Swords?” My eyes widened. “There’s a third society?”
“There are probably about five different ones in this university,” Marcus said. “But they’re not very secretive. Only ours and The Swords are.”
“The Swords are the red cloaks,” Logan said beside me. I looked over at him. He was already on his fourth donut.
“Swords,” I repeated, thinking about their red cloaks and the graves they dug. “It makes sense for a medical secret society.”
“Swords and snakes. Definitely apt for them,” Nora said distastefully.
“So they can do that? Recruit from here? Isn’t that against the rules?”
“In The Eight’s Creed, yes. Not in theirs.”
“So she just left? And you just let her?” I asked.
“Well, we kind of had to. It was either that or she’d expose us. She was a little upset because Logan didn’t want to settle down,” Nora said.
“No, she was upset because Logan treated her like shit,” Marcus added.
“She felt like he’d fucked her and discarded her,” Nolan said.
I couldn’t help my flinch.
“Can we stop discussing my sex life?” Logan asked. “None of you know what really happened. Savannah was crazy. We fucked once and she was already planning our wedding.”
“Not unlike some people I know.” My gaze snapped to his. The room filled with gasps and oo’s and aa’s I didn’t care that I was calling him out in front of his friends. In that moment, I felt betrayed. If her night with him had been anything like ours . . . I felt sick at the mere thought of that.
“It’s different.” Logan kept his eyes on me, donuts forgotten. He looked as pissed as I felt. “You’re different. We’re different. And I’m not going to explain myself in front of a guy who can’t even say the word relationship without wanting to throw up, one who breaks up with every girl he finds because she’s not perfect enough, and a girl who can’t make her mind up as to what team she bats for long enough to entertain the idea of settling down.”
“Fuck you.” Nora stood up quickly. “I bat for both teams and you’re right, none of us owe each other an explanation, but if you fuck things up with Mae, I’ll gladly take over.”
Logan’s jaw was working as he glared after her. He looked at the other two at our table. “Anyone else want to try to stake claims on my girlfriend? Maybe I’ll call up Adam and ask him if I can borrow a couple of their gravesites.”
Girlfriend? My hands shook as I grabbed my plate and cup and stood from the table, excusing myself quietly. I tossed the stuff in the trash and walked out of the dining hall. I found Nora a couple of feet away, typing furiously on her phone. When she heard me approach, she put it away and looked up at me. Her brown eyes were shining.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
“If you start apologizing for him now, you’ll be doing it the rest of your life,” she said. “He’s an asshole. I love him to death, but he’s an asshole.”
“He is.”
“He’s never been mean to me before. He always defends me to everyone.” She smiled a little. “He must really be crazy about you.”
I shrugged. I knew how I felt about him and it scared the hell out of me. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions on his end. Not this quickly. I looked at the painting across from us and took a step back. It was my father, wearing a tuxedo, standing behind a woman sitting in a chair. I walked over. It was Ella Valentine. Clear as day.
“I hadn’t seen this before,” I whispered. “Is this . . . are they part of the board? Is that why they’re in the painting together?”
“How much do you know about your father?”
“Not nearly enough apparently.” I turned to face Nora, heart pounding. “How much do you know about him?”
She hesitated. “Come, I’ll show you around.”
“Logan already did. I’m pretty sure I’ve walked this entire thing twice now.” I looked back at the painting.
“Yet this is your first time seeing this painting,” she said.
“Yeah.” I looked at her again.
“Let me give you a tour of the paintings then. I don’t blame Logan for not wanting you to focus on those just yet, but it’s your family. You should know these things. Trust me, I learned about all of it the hard way,” she said. “My mother’s part of The Eight. Well, The Lab Initiative now. You’ll see her on these walls as well.”
“Hey, are you ready to go?” The voice was Logan’s as he walked out of the hall. He walked over to us, his gaze on mine first, and then on Nora’s. “I was an asshole in there.”
“That’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to an apology from you, so I’ll take it.” She smiled. “I want to show Mae the paintings.”
“No.” There was a finality in his voice.
“I want to see them.” I frowned at him. “What does it matter if I see them today or five weeks from now?”
“You’re already fragile, Amelia.” He stepped forward, bringing a hand to my face. “Come home with me. I have to be at the rink in an hour.”
“I want to stay.”
“I don’t want you to see them without me being here.”
“I can handle it,” I assured him. “Nora will be with me.”
“But I won’t be.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I won’t be.”
The concern in his eyes as he looked at me made me smile. I brought my hand to his face, scratching his beard, which he’d let fill out but kept meticulously manicured nonetheless. Suddenly the girlfriend comment felt right. When we were together like this, I couldn’t really imagine being anything except for his. It didn’t mean there wasn’t a long conversation to be had about all of it though.
“I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.”
“I’ll take her,” Nora said behind me. “She’ll be in good hands, and don’t worry, I don’t mean it in a sexual way.”
Logan chuckled. He leaned in and kissed me once, twice, three times, before he finally pulled away and let go. He idled for another minute looking at me with everything he wanted to say but couldn’t and I knew because I felt the same, my chest heavy with an emotion I’d never felt this potently.
“By the way, we’re camping here tonight,” Nora said as Loga
n finally started to walk away.
He turned. “Where?”
“Edge of the woods.”
“Isn’t it hunting season?”
“They won’t come near our tents,” Logan said, shooting me one last look that spoke of longing before walking out.
“Hunting season?” I asked.
“It’s what we call recruitment. The Swords are still recruiting.”
“How do you know so much about them?” I asked as we started walking.
“Hm. I’ll have to draw it up for you. It’s the only way I was able to understand it.” She looked at me. “It’s like a huge brotherhood, split up into a lot of parts. We didn’t used to know much about the other ones before they went public. The Swords share our land though because in an interesting turn of events, when The Eight acquired this house back in the day, the woman’s husband bought the lot next to it,” she looked at me. “The octopus scientist married while she was in college and her husband was a Sword. Instead of hiding it from each other, they were up front about it and he bought the lot beside ours, which used to be a rundown church. He acquired it from some monks. Monks still live there, by the way. They don’t dress in red cloaks though.” She flashed me a smile. “Also, my twin brother, Will, is a Sword. That’s probably the explanation I should’ve given from the beginning. We tell each other mostly everything, so I know a lot.”
“That does explain a lot,” I said. “I used to think Linc and I told each other everything but he didn’t tell me about The Eight.”
“Don’t take it to heart. It’s difficult to explain this to someone who’s not in it. My only wish is that you’d gotten here freshman year so I didn’t have to do this crash course.”
“Yeah.”
She stopped at the foot of the stairs right in front of the main door and took out a key ring. She had three skeleton keys on it and they were all labeled. She started up the stairs that led to that one gold room. I hesitated.
“I thought we weren’t allowed in there?”
“Only the board members and key master have the key.” She dangled the three keys. “Lucky for us, I’m one of those.”
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