Here, we were Sons.
Cruel men with no reason to pretend otherwise.
Later, they’d leave the tunnels and crawl back into their respectable lives aboveground. Well, they pretended to be respectable. None of us were.
Elder or Current Son.
Arisono watched me warily, concern tightening the lines around her mouth. She knew more. I could see it in the way she held herself too still. She knew who Blair’s stepfather was but refused to tell me.
Her protecting him made sense. She knew the rules to stay in her place.
In exchange, she had become the headmaster. Saint Vale only allowed headmasters from First Benefactor bloodlines.
She was also the first woman to hold that title. Saint Vale didn’t thrive in progressive ideals. Traditions here leaned heavily toward old-fashioned bullshit.
Personally, I didn’t care if someone had a pussy, a cock, or a fucking Lego between their legs. I treated everyone the same. I was equal-opportunity cruel.
“You let her in, you’re responsible for her,” I said, my icy stare locking on to hers. “If she falls out of line, you know who pays for it.”
Arisono lifted her chin. “Which is why I’ve decided to expel her.”
Keeping my composure in check, I slowly straightened and turned my head, glancing at her framed accolades lining the wall.
So many credentials, yet no common sense.
My father always said education didn’t equal intelligence.
“And go against a former Son?” I asked, tapping my chin. “Depending on his influence, you wouldn’t only lose that vote, but you’d loseyour position.”
She went quiet, and silence grew as she looked past my shoulder at nothing.
When she finally spoke, her voice was steady but strained. “I’ll risk it to get rid of her.”
I moved before she could start whatever carefully worded bullshit she’d try to feed me. Leaning forward, I planted my palms flat on her desk, right over her meticulously stacked paperwork. The paper edges ripped under the force.
“You’re not expelling her,” I said, my tone harsh as I curled my upper lip.
Her chair rolled back as she pushed herself away to widen the distance between us.
Nice try.
I stepped away from the desk and circled it in two long strides.
Her breath hitched when I shoved her chair from it until I had enough room to stand in front of her. I set my hands over hers on the armrests, pinning them there, and dipped my head to put my face level with hers.
I kept my voice low and calm, but it carried enough venom to poison anything it touched. “If you do, losing your position will be the least of your worries.”
She held my stare, her features tightening with more spite and less fear.
Arisono didn’t just resent me. She resentedallof us.
“She’ll be the demise of this university,” she said.
I lifted my hands from the chair, one at a time, and adjusted my collar.
Her gaze followed me as I moved back around the desk. I stopped, bending just enough to pick up a shard of broken metal.
“You should worry about yourself, Arisono.” I flicked the shard at her.
