“And that Arabella is not with any of us, especially Soren,” Lex says.
“And we find out who the fuck recorded that video,” Hadrian adds in a sober tone. “We need to know who was watching because there’s a reason they tried to chase Sable away.”
“How do we do that?” I ask.
“I have a plan,” Lex says.
We standin the middle of the cafeteria, looking around the room, taking a quick stock of everyone who’s there. I stand in the center of the guys with Soren at my side. We’re clearly the center, like we’re theirs to protect. People are starting to notice us. The circle around us widens farther and farther, turning into an audience without us even needing to ask for their attention. I guess there are some benefits to all this attention.
“I will never let anyone hurt either of you again,” Orion says from my left, proving my thoughts about their protective formation correct.
“I’m still bruised from you punching me in the face for something you did,” Soren argues.
Orion’s expression twists with guilt, but instead, he says, “Are you really going to bring that up for the rest of our lives? I had no idea you were made of glass.”
Soren laughs, and I can’t describe the type of pleasure-pain I feel at finally seeing them interact again. Things aren’t the same, and I doubt they ever will be, but the rift between them was causing me physical pain. My uncle may have carved into my chest, but that was nothing compared to watching them all fight and fall apart. Now that they’re standing together, things feel more right than I ever believed they would again.
“So how do we do this?” I ask the guys.
“Directly,” Orion says before grabbing me and giving me a rough, wet kiss. This has the attention of anyone who wasn’t already watching. He lets me go with a loud pop.
“We’re here to correct a misunderstanding,” Lex says to everyone and no one. He doesn’t raise his voice, and he doesn’t need to. Everyone is watching him now. The room is so large,with grand arched ceilings that carry the sound. “Arabella Aragona has never been and will never be our Offering.”
A collective gasp goes around the room, and it burns me from the inside out. Rage, jealousy, and a kind of hatred I’m still not used to bearing all flow through me like venom, changing the places it touches.
Hadrian wraps his arm around me. “The five of us are with Sable. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. Anyone who touches her is fucking dead.”
Parker steps forward, eyes menacing as he looks at all of them. “A lot of people have hurt Sable Briarwick, and I want to make it perfectly clear that a move against her is a move against me, and I’m faster than all of you.”
Everyone around us looks intimidated. No one has said a word, and that in itself tells me just how much they fear these five guys, but that doesn’t mean anything. Any one of them could be looking to fuck us over and just needs to be more clever about it. There’s power in numbers and us having each other’s backs, but as these vultures watch us, wonder what we do together, and paint pictures of us that don’t exist, I wonder just how far they would go to ruin us. Do we actually have any chance of making it out of this?
Things are silent a moment too long, and I guess that’s just too much for my darling nutjob to take. “I want to know who the fuck took that video,” Orion shouts. “One or more of you knows, and you’re going to tell me, or you’re all going to pay.” He stomps toward a table, smacking a large guy’s hand away as he grabs the knife from beside his steak. Bellthorn is a high-end school, so they have very nice cutlery. “I will fucking kill one of you right now if someone doesn’t fess up.”
“Orion,” Soren says, a fake smile on his lips as he speaks the warning through his teeth. “There are a lot of people here, enough to stop us if you start gutting right now.”
“They won’t fuck with me. They know I’m crazy,” he says.
The people closest to us are the only ones who hear this part of the conversation, but they put up their hands in surrender, hoping not to be the one he guts. I’ll give him the credit when he’s right. These people are fucking cowards.
“If anyone knows who took the video of Arabella and Soren, I will make it worth your while,” I say.
I guess I should have known the crowd respects and fears the guys, but I don’t benefit from the same privilege. Someone in the distance yells, “What, are you going to suck us off too?”
A roar of laughter goes up, and my cheeks flame. I didn’t see who said it, but apparently, Orion did. Or he’s sure enough to make it someone’s problem anyway. He marches into the crowd, knife in hand, and hunts down a blond guy with a swimmer’s build and a cocky smile. That is, until Orion pulls him out of his seat by his shirt and holds the knife to his neck. The laughter stops dead in his throat as Orion holds the blade to it.
We all seem torn, looking back and forth between each other over whether to stop this or not. If we do, we look weak, but if we don’t, it will take a lot to cover up Orion attacking another student with a knife—not that it would be impossible. Before we can make the decision, something I’ve never heard before interrupts the room. The crackling comes from overhead and seemingly from nowhere. An ancient speaker system announces, “Sable Briarwick, Soren and Orion Rook, Parker Hollow, Hadrian Vale, and Lex Morwen are all needed in the dean’s office immediately.”
The announcement cuts off with another ear-splitting electronic sound. No one says anything as they wait to see what Orion and we will decide. I step out from the guys and walk past all of them with my head held high. I dare any of them to move against me because the guy under Orion’s knife will die that much faster. When I reach him, I put a hand on hisshoulder. Everyone knows how explosive he is, but now they really understand what they’re dealing with. Orion places the knife against his throat, and I watch as a ruby-red drop falls like a crystal down his neck.
“Leave him, Orion,” I say. “The dean must have found what I’m looking for.” Orion turns to me and follows, like the good boy he is, and now everyone understands what I control. What I don’t control is the dean, and that was a complete bluff, but there’s no good reason anyone has to know that.
As we’re leaving the cafeteria, something occurs to me that I haven’t thought about with all the more important things happening all around me. The thought sinks in my stomach like a stone, and I fear the goose bumps all over my arms mean my instincts are correct. I turn to Lex and grab his hand to get his attention amid the riotous noise that now echoes behind us. He leans into me so I can speak in his ear, and I ask a question that’s suddenly burning me alive.
“Did you send Cillian to get me that day? The day Soren was assaulted.”
His entire expression changes, rage spilling off every inch of him. “I haveneverasked Cillian to bring you anywhere near the goddamn dorms, and I certainly didn’t ask him to bring you there that day.” Lex didn’t even look this upset when he stitched me up after what my uncle did.
“He knows something.”
