Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,241

He looked straight into my eyes. "I will destroy them for you. I swear it on every scrap of my sullied soul."

His words lit a bloodlust in me that was yearning to be sated. "I want to be there when that happens," I said firmly, no room for negotiation.

"I guarantee it," he said simply and I knew he'd keep his word. "One thing we have deduced is that Toby Rosner is not and never was your stalker. He was framed."

I gasped, thinking over all the awful things that boy had been through since they'd outcast him into the Unspeakables again. "Are you sure?" I asked desperately.

He nodded simply, no room for error in this decision and I believed him.

"Fuck…that's awful," I said heavily. "We have to make it up to him."

"We have already come to an arrangement which ensures he is well compensated for our mistake. It is unfortunate, but there is always a margin of error in corporal punishment. That does not mean the death sentence should be revoked."

I gaped at him for a long second, the cold detachment in his eyes reminding me that I was in the bed of a killer. But that didn't scare me like it should have. It made me feel like I was right where I belonged. Because I was one too.

“Ok…good,” I said, trying to cast my mind back over what had happened last night but everything just seemed so muddled that all I could really remember was running through the woods, fearing for my life while the stench of gasoline overwhelmed me and then…then I was safe again, held in the arms of my Night Keepers. I was almost certain that they’d all been there, holding me close at once. But maybe that had just been a dream. I certainly wasn’t going to ask Saint about it to find out.

“Do you remember anything about the man who took you?” he asked, holding my eye and keeping his tone soft.

“I…” I tried to think back on what had happened but all I could really remember was the library before anything had happened and then running. “Maybe a guy’s voice,” I said but I wasn’t sure and it made my head pound to try.

“That’s alright,” Saint said softly. “Don’t force the memories. But if anything comes to you then let me know.”

“Thanks. Umm, how did I end up here?” I asked, looking around his room in confusion. “I thought I was sleeping on the couch at one point.”

“I carried you up here when it was clear you still needed more sleep after we returned from our hunt,” he explained. “And I volunteered to be the one to stay and look after you while the others went to class today in the hopes of flushing the culprit out.”

“Oh,” I said, which didn’t really progress the conversation, but my head was still spinning and I wasn’t sure what more to say on the subject while my memories were so hazy.

"So..." Saint got to his feet, striding over to the balcony railing and clasping his hands behind his back as he gazed over The Temple like an emperor gazing across his land. "I have something I would like to discuss with you, siren."

"What's that?" I asked, leaning back against the pile of pillows behind me and letting my eyes flutter closed as I waited for the Advil to take effect on my headache.

"I suppose you have considered the fact that the dynamic between us all might change once we have graduated from Everlake," he said calmly, but there was an undercurrent to his voice that set the hairs prickling across my arms.

I opened my eyes, frowning at him, but he didn't turn to face me. “Yes,” I admitted.

"Leaving here unsettles me greatly. As I am sure you have noticed, routine is key to my internal state remaining tranquil. But there is one thing that unsettles me far more than leaving this school does - I already have a plan in place for where me, Blake and Kyan will go and have amended that plan to include both you and Nash - but the question is..." He turned around, his eyes a roiling sea of darkness that made my heart skip a beat. "Will you run from us once we leave here? When the world opens up once more and there are no more chains binding you to us?”

I took a deep breath, needing to be honest and let him know that I’d been grappling with this