Whatever happened last night between Maddox and me is clearly forgotten, which I’m totally thankful for, as I woke up to some kind of party. The castle is full of drunk women and men, loud music, and blood everywhere. I all but tripped in the blood as I escaped and came to sit here, waiting for Maddox’s brother to come.
“Here,” Cross says as he lays something on my shoulders. I pull the soft red material around me and push my arms through the cloak and clip up the five silver buttons. “Maddox bought you it.”
“Surprised he remembers who I am with his party going on to celebrate that I’m leaving,” I mutter. I don’t know why I’m pissed off, but I can’t deny that I am.
“Is that what you think?” Cross questions with a furrowed brow. “And not because he is wallowing that you have to leave?”
Pulling myself to my feet, I think about Cross’s words as we wait in the snow-ridden ground, watching the city at the base of the mountain. It’s nothing more than lights and shapes, but I can make out a certain structure to the city. It’s five squares, thick walls separating the squares, and a river runs down the left side with one bridge going to big houses on the other side of it. As much as I want to escape, I also want to see this city.
“What is the city like? I mean compared to say London, Edinburgh, Paris or New York?” I question, rambling off the cities I have been in.
Cross clears his throat, looking at the city. “It reminds me of history books when they talked of Edinburgh in the 1600s. It’s rough in the city, and many are born there with no understanding of what is outside this island. The Onyx breeds mayhem and pain.”
“Why do you say that?” I question, just as I hear the sound of a car in the distance. A large car if I’m hearing right. How the hell do they have cars here?
Cross sighs. “Without rules or real life to live for, what else are they to do? They know the vamps could kill them, their children, their families and ruin their lives on a whim. They work for nothing more than scraps of food or a chance to be a vamp, which means they would have to leave their families alone. Why would they strive to be better?”
Everything is so wrong on this island.
And I have no answers for him.
“Who makes the rules and laws? Who enforces them?” I ask instead.
Cross shrugs. “Apparently there was more order when the king and queen were alive. When the queen died, the king went into a depression and took the island down with him. The princes haven’t changed much since the king died.” He lowers his voice. “They have their own problems as you well know.”
Frowning, I look away as a big black Jeep comes up the stone path driveway fast, skidding across the snow until it comes to a quick stop sideways in front of the steps. The passenger side door swings open.
“Get in.”
I raise my eyebrows at Cross, who mouths good luck. I take my time getting down the steps and to the door.
Prince Reign sits in the driver’s seat, the passenger seat empty, and looking as uninviting as he can be. Even though he looks so similar to Maddox, it’s so clear they are very different. Maddox looks one switch away from turning into a total psychopath, and Reign? He seems uninterested in the world around him, just here for the sake of it. He stares back at me, his jaw locked tightly in anger, and his eyes drift to the passenger seat and back up again. Getting the hint, I climb into the car and pull the door shut. Before I’ve managed to pull my seat belt on, he takes off at full speed, and I nearly slide off the seat. I shakily snap my seat belt on and look up just in time to see Reign swing the Jeep around a corner, narrowly missing the edge.
“Watch it, some of us are human and wouldn’t survive a face-down dive off a mountain in a car!” I angrily snap.
Reign’s eyes leave the road for a second to meet mine, nothing but contempt shining in them before he looks back, and he actually slows down. “I do apologise. I am used to escaping my brother’s home as quickly as I possibly can. I did not mean