Cassius chuckled. “That thing… When Valerius tried–”
“Oh, right! I remember.”
Oh, screw you all right to hell.
“Good times.” Thaddeus mused.
My legs were beginning to cramp, and I was hoping they’d get more loose-tongued as they continued drinking. I tried squatting, but it only made my thighs burn, my muscles stretching, and so I stood back up, quietly huffing. I peered into the room but could only see half of Cassius’ face, asBow’s back covered most of him, and the side of Thaddeus’ profile.
“So, they’re a good batch this time around?”Bowasked.
“Mhmm.” Thaddeus nodded along. “They passed their first test with flying colours. My plans are set in motion.”
“Funny, you never mention these plans until they’re done and their rewards are coming to fruition,” Cassius retorted.
Thaddeus ignored him forBow’s remark. “I’m not sure why you asked for a vial of blood, though. The first test has always been that god-awful ceremony. So why break tradition?”
Cassius cringed audibly, most likely at the memory, but I only furrowed my brows. Not following where their minds had gone.
Thaddeus sighed. “Gentlemen. My mind is, regrettably for you all, ahead of its time, and I just don’t think strapping kids down and torturing them to the brink of their limits helps me figure them out in any way.”
My heart faltered in its beating, my stomach dropped. I wanted to go back to my dorm, clean my ears, and come back to check if I’d heard that right.
Yet they remained unaware, speaking as though it was a casual conversation. “So, what did the vials do for you?” Cassius asked.
“I gained their trust for one, or at least, they don’t look at me as if I’d skin them at any moment. And two, I get their darkest truths without the hatred and tears.” It sounded like they didn’t believe him, because he elaborated, “Look, Marigold brought the blood of a rabbit. The girl is a natural killer. Rain brought the blood of her secretary, a natural leader, Paris brought the blood of one of her father’s suitors. Drugged him and drained him. The poor fella doesn't even know.
“That is all I need to know about them. Besides, I hardly believe the ceremony would do us any good. We’d only be putting targets on our own backs.”
Cassius shook his head. “We turned out just fine.”
Whose side is he on?
Thaddeus shot him a blank stare. “You’re a school teacher, Cas. Before that, you were a lobbyist, and beforethat,an art collector. ‘Board member’ was never on your resume. No, that, you gave to your brother.”
“He’s older.”
“He’s incapable.”
“Careful.”
That meant the vials were a calculated move on his part, divorced from the Founder’s Society and the board, for Thaddeus’ own plans. What those plans were, I didn’t know.
And Cassius has an older brother, exactly as Rain said.
But… isn’t that prohibited?
Bowwas the one to break the stifling silence and pull me from the short moment in my thoughts. “I still don’t like that Miroslav kid. He’s a liar and a thief, a bad influence on Lu, and– Oh! He drugged me.”
Liar!
I don’t even know the bastard.
When have I ever drug–
Oh.
Oh.
