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“Wait.” I turn back to Kaizer. “Killian is your cousin?” Kaizer leans forward, his arms flexing under his weight. His face is an inch away from mine. “You surprised?”
“Do you know what happened with Killian and why he’s flipped all of a sudden? Or should we add him to the list of psychopaths that Kiznitch breeds?” “I fucking knew it.” Kaizer grins. “You’re Saskia.”
Kenan flops onto his stomach, his eyes on mine. “Shut up, Saskia. Of course. And I would totally try to fuck you right now, but I actually value your friendship more than I need to try out my fantasy.”
Fury ate mischief.
Kenan smiles, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. “Wish I could take credit, but I’m afraid that scary motherfucker right there.” He points toward a painted portrait of a middle-aged man dressed in soldier attire. He resembles Kenan in a way. Loud features but timid eyes. “Would probably haunt me if I did.”
“You okay?” “I’m fine, Ken. You can stop checking now.” He scrunches his face. “No! No to Ken.” “What?” I deadpan. “So you can give me ridiculous pet names but I can’t give you one?”
I hate when people don’t communicate their problems.
It’s said that every single person will meet someone who will test them. When I say test them, I mean this one person is directly planted in that other person’s life specifically to test them. Saskia Dragavei is that person for me.
“Perse picks up on this shit and she’s already grilling my ass about your sudden change toward Sass.” “So tell her.” I gesture toward the hallway with my glass. “Might make her understand more and stop fucking shoving past me every time she sees me. Bro code ain’t got shit on girl code. Chicks are feisty as fuck.”
“God! Are you trying to kill me?” I scold her. Her face falls. “No. You’re the only real friend that I have here.” I pause, placing the glass of poison on the bathroom bench. “You have so many friends, Val.” She shakes her head, her eyes coming up to meet mine. “I don’t really. The only true ones I had was Maya and Mischa. I fucked Maya, and Mischa took her side, so… I have you.”
“You know, when we all first saw you, we had a hard dick for you.” I swipe my mouth from the alcohol, slowly lowering my glass to my lap. I squeeze it tightly. “Ah…” Ky laughs, turning over his shoulder. I follow his line of sight—heading straight to some commotion happening on the patio.
“Oh my god!” Callan stumbles down the stairs and makes her way to us. Perse steps forward, a snarl on her mouth, but I reach out and stop her, shaking my head. Spinning around, I walk straight up to Callan until we’re chest-to-chest. “Back the fuck up.” Callan glares at me in shock, before laughing like a psychopath. “Or what? Pretty girl. What are you going to do?” I search her eyes, a dark smirk on my mouth. “You take one more step near him, Callan, and I will fucking drop you.”
“You’re mine, Little Dragon, even when you don’t want to be, and especially when I don’t want you to be.”
“Is my Little Dragon a little fucking jealous?” He raises a perfect eyebrow, and I finally see a crack of the Killian I know. “Jealous? Pretty sure I didn’t hit someone…” “No.” Kill comes forward, his hands coming to my ass as he pulls me into his crotch. “But I fuckin’ did, and Saskia, I’d kill any motherfucker who touched you.”
“Listen.” He clears his throat, his arm hooking around my back. “What I’m about to tell you, I’m telling you here because there’s nowhere for you to run and there’re no weapons that you can use against me—or at the very least access to use against me.”
“You don’t remember me?” I shake my head. “No?” “Fuck.” He runs his hands through his hair, reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his phone and hits dial on someone’s number. “Yeah, you awake? I wouldn’t if it wasn’t important. I need you to come to Saskia’s house.” Pause. “So she doesn’t kill me when she finds out.”
The reason why I didn’t realize it was you at first was because when you were a kid, your parents called you Zaika, and your last name was Dragavei then, not Royal.”
“I was two when you were born. Your parents were already working for my parents. You were born in my damn bedroom because your mother went into labor while cleaning my bathroom.”
“Open your fucking eyes, Saskia, I’m not even halfway done.” I do, and he stands from his position on the floor. “When you were born, I saw you open your goddamn eyes for the first time ever. I was the first fucking thing you ever saw on this earth.”
“Why—why—would I—” I shake my head. For the first time ever. Ever. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. “Are you crying?” Perse asks, shocked. “She doesn’t cry,” I hear her whisper to someone. “I’m not lying, Killian. I’m not sleeping with you for revenge. I don’t remember any of this.” Killian releases me. He looks to King and then to Delila. “Who fucked with her?”
“Your father didn’t do it.” “I know he didn’t,” Killian answers smoothly. “I fucking asked him. Who do you think I’d ask first? He’s not bad enough to do that shit to her.” Delila puffs again. “There was only ever you and the Four Fathers who could perform telekinesis, hypnosis and coercive persuasion to the extreme of it manipulating memories, Killian. No one else. And telekinesis only comes into play when we’re needing to move memories around inside someone’s head. It’s almost the same as moving real objects, only more, you know… realistic.”
“I don’t remember the driveway.” My eyes fly to Killian. “Why don’t I remember the driveway?” My legs begin to shake again and my throat tenses. There’s ringing in my ears as I hold back a scream. “She’s going to freak out, Killian, stop,” Perse snaps. “Because they haven’t wiped your memories.” Killian stands back, squaring his shoulders. “They’ve only removed me from them. In her mind, I didn’t exist. My parents didn’t exist.”
“Seems legit.” Killian shrugs, taking a seat on the bed but facing me, with his knee pulled up and his elbow resting on top. Delila laughs. “Sometimes I find it truly fascinating how similar you are to your grandfather. He would be proud.”
“Is this official?” Perse asks, gesturing between us but pointing her question at Killian. “Because if it is, I have the right to chop off your dick if I see Callan hanging off your arm next time.”
She kisses me on the head and glares at Killian. “Take care of her, Trickster. I mean it about your dick.” “Oh come on,” he jests. “The one time you say something about my dick and it’s in the context of chopping it off.” “Snip, snip!” she sing-songs while closing the door behind her.
“Don’t take too long. A lot of people are after her.” I freeze.
He sucks on my neck, enough to leave a bruise. “Good girl.” “Did you just give me a fucking hickey?” I reach for his dick and squeeze it in the palm of my hand, keeping a smile on my face. Anyone in front of us can’t see because I’m blocking the view. “Babe,” Killian coughs, pushing my hand away.
“Listen, if that bitch murders me, it’s your guys’ fault,” Kenan declares. Killian groans. I look up at Killian. “Nope. No, fuck you.” He shoves past me and heads into the RV. “I tried.” I shrug at Kenan. His eyes turn to slits. “Tried what?” “To get him to agree to you coming with us in here.” He looks confused for a brief second. “You both had a conversation without having a conversation? Yeah, you’re both fucked. I’ll see you in eight hours!”
Kaizer walks farther into the RV, shutting the door behind himself. “I’m your new fourth.” Perse is smiling at me but it’s forced. As if she knows she’s going to be in trouble for this, but she’s going to act innocent about it anyway. “And what does King think of this?” Perse chuckles. “Trust me, it took some convincing, but he’s fine with it if—” Perse takes a deep breath. “If I partner with Kenan and you partner with Kaizer now.” Her smile widens. “I hate you,” I deadpan. “And your possessive boyfriend.”
“Get the fuck out, Kaiz.” Kaizer pauses and then looks at me. “I was wrong. He is losing his shit.”
“Are you forgetting the plan?” King murmurs. “Because if you’re not equipped to do it, I can send someone else in.” I freeze, the cigarette just short of my lips. “You can’t actually, because Saskia isn’t someone who lets anyone in. She has walls so high that no motherfucker can climb.” “You did.” King glares at me. I grin. “I didn’t actually, I just tore the fuckers down.”
The way Persephone came into Midnight Mayhem was a little savage, and the things that happened to her during her early initiation wasn’t kind either, but I admire her tenacity to remain soft and kind. That’s Perse. Her heart is too good for this world. Too fucking good for Kingston Axton too.
You know that feeling in your gut when you know that something bad is about to happen? Yeah, well that is basically my fucking constant right now, especially as Perse walks back to us without Sass beside her.
“Perse!” I growl when she doesn’t answer. “Where the fuck did she go?” Her eyes come to mine. “Fine. She’s gone to see her godmother—okay? Leave her alone, Kill.” I freeze.
“Saskia can’t be going to see her godmother.” Perse massages her temples. “Oh, really, Killian? How do you know that?” I smirk. “Because I killed her.”
“What’s wrong, Killian?” I absently hear a car pull up behind me. Turning around, a black SUV skids up beside me and the doors swing open. “Get home. We need to talk.” “I’m sorry for stealing your truck, okay? I just have to see her.” “Saskia, I swear to fucking God, get home now. I don’t give a fuck about my truck. Fucking get home.” My mouth opens just as an older man in an immaculate suit steps out of the black SUV. “I’ve—” “—Drop the phone, Saskia,” the man orders, and I watch as he unbuttons his jacket and fluffs it up. His hair is short, greying on the sides, and his neck is covered in
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I freeze, recognition slamming into me at a hundred miles an hour. I shuffle back, but the chains that are locked around my ankles restrict my movements.
My fingers flick the metal claw, flipping the lid open. I’ve lost my ability to speak, but the scream that tears out from my lips is primal and unnatural. My scream is loud enough to reach Hell, which is good, because all of my friends live there. My limbs shake, my lips trembling as every single memory infects my brain at once…
That night, my mother died. I wasn’t there to watch her take her final breath. I wasn’t there to kiss her warm cheeks one last time. I wasn’t there. Because of Killian. Because he’s a stupid trickster who likes playing games. Because of the stupid Brothers of Kiznitch.
Killian Cornelii killed my father. At eleven years old, he killed my father. Instead of shooting me, he lowered the gun and let us drive away. Once again, the Cornelii family took something from me. They took everything away from me that made me, me. They took away all that I loved, and instead of killing me too, they made me live with the emptiness of having no parents. I hated him.
“It’s time. They’ll be here soon.” “What, today? But it’s Monday!” Hope offered a small smile. “Sorry, Sass, but you know the life.” I sighed, leaning my head against the top of the couch. “I knew it. But how did Kosta?” Hope pushed off the wall. “He knows everything. Will you be okay? It’s not that bad.” I nodded. “I’ll be fine.” I was used to this. I was groomed for this life since I was eight years old. That night, Kosta raped me. That may have not been directly Killian or Midnight Mayhem’s fault, but everything avalanches into one eventually.
What’s the point of trying to be the good guy in someone else’s story when they’ve opened the book knowing that you’re the villain? That’s what is going to happen with Saskia now, and it goes both ways.
Kohen is at the top of a tree with a smirk on his face. He’s right in his element. I’ve fucking missed the unhinged maniac.
“Did you not think that both myself and your nephew would do something about that?” She tilts her head. My eyebrows pull together. Kosta doesn’t have a nephew. He only has Lilith. Delila runs her perfectly manicured finger down the side of his face. “We knew she would fall in love with him.”
I killed her father, I ruined her life, there was no way anyone was that good of an actor, and above that, I could never tap into that pretty little head of hers. Not completely, anyway.”
“Yes.” I watch slowly, the corner of his mouth tips up, curving around his teeth. No one knows what that question means. Only us. Him asking if villains have hearts is him asking if I’m still in there. He knows that I didn’t know what was happening.
“You’re a bad person, too,” I whisper, as a small tear slips from the corner of my eye. “Fuck,” he grunts, catching the tear with his thumb and bringing it to his mouth to lick it off. “Yeah, babe, I am, I’m the fucking worst. But to beat the monsters, one must become one.” “Killian! Get them out!” Kallisto screams from the background. I spin around to see Kyrin throwing a feisty Lilith over his shoulder.
I looked up from watery eyes, directly at another boy opposite me. He was wearing a hoodie, covering his face. He was chained. Before I could think too much about him, I drifted off to sleep as the onslaught continued.
