Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1) - Caroline Peckham ,Susanne Valenti Page 0,10

fitted with gym equipment. The stone chamber was always cold, but I never bothered to try and heat it. By the time the room even began to warm, my workout would be complete anyway so there was little point.

At the far end of the room stood a stone archway which led into the catacombs where the dead remained in their coffins, sleeping more peacefully than I ever managed. There was a gate further along the passageway to keep out anyone who found their way in from the caves at the far end of the tunnels down by Sycamore Beach.

I had the only key to that gate and I’d headed down into the dark with Blake and Kyan on more than one occasion. The underground passages crisscrossed beneath the ground surrounding The Temple but there was only one other exit which led out to the secluded cove by the lake. Another locked gate barred that exit and frankly, it was a total maze down there anyway so I rarely made any use of it. Though it didn’t hurt to have an escape route no one knew about.

I tapped a console on the wall and Mozart’s Requiem started up, pouring from the speakers which hung in the corners of the room like a promise of all the things I ached for. I cranked the volume so that the stone walls sang with the perfection of the orchestra as I fell into a set of pull ups.

Nothing banished my demons like music. Real music. I could listen to modern trash easily enough when I had to, but there was nothing in the world like losing myself in the purity of classical music.

I pushed myself as hard as I could then forced myself on after that too. My muscles sang with power that bordered on pain and sweat glistened against my dark skin as my rage finally stilled and the calm I craved fell over me.

I did this every day. Twice a day. Last thing at night and first thing in the morning. The only time I made an exception for that was if I got myself wasted enough to pass out without it. It was my habit, my routine, my ritual. I needed it to function just as I needed air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. Sometimes I needed it more than that.

The heavy thump of the deadweight hitting the floor drew my attention and I opened my eyes to find Blake starting up his own set. He didn’t say anything; he knew better than to tempt the beast in me before I was ready to interact. But his presence was a balm on my soul.

I got to my feet as I finished my push ups and crossed the stone chamber towards him.

“First day back,” I commented, moving to the weight rack and dropping down to start my set.

“This is the year, Saint,” Blake said, moving to spot me. “I can feel it.”

“The year for what?” I asked.

“For us. It’s all going to happen for us this year.” He grinned down at me over the bar as I heaved it skyward. I didn’t know how he managed to look so damn happy all the time, especially since his mom had died at the start of the summer.

His grief had consisted of three weeks of total silence and then poof Blake was back. Just the same as always. Big smile on his face, girls begging to suck his cock every other day, partying harder than any other motherfucker I knew. He just switched it off. Or so it seemed. But I knew him well enough to know that wasn’t the end of it. There was a hardness in him that hadn’t been there before. He had rage in him too now. He just hadn’t figured out where to aim it yet.

“Is everything ready for the party?” I asked between lifts.

Every year we threw a party to mark the start of term. But it was more than that. It was an initiation. Every fucker who wanted to be in with us came and we decided who made the cut and who didn’t through various tests and challenges. Sometimes they didn’t even realise they were being tested. But if you wanted in with the Night Keepers – which everyone did – then you had to make it past our initiation.

“It’s ready,” Blake confirmed. “This will be the biggest year yet. And better than that, we’ve got fresh meat attending.”

“New kids?” I asked.