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My fingers claw at his chest, drawing lines of blood that decorate his new wound. He lifts my ass onto the morgue table, the one where his mother lay only minutes ago. We’re sick. There’s something wrong with our heads.
His teeth scrape my nipple, and I don’t fucking care. If what Noah and I have is a sickness, then I’m down with it.
The stainless steel is cold against my bare skin but Noah… Noah is pure fire. He fists himself in his bloody hand and takes aim at my entrance. I lay back and wrap my legs behind him. Blood smears across the sterilized table.
He slams into me. I gasp as my body jerks against the cool metal. I feel him everywhere – in my spine and in my elbows and scratching and scarring inside my skull. Noah Marlowe is part of me now – he’s more my twin than Mackenzie ever was.
Noah cups my breast, smearing a bloody handprint over my heart. An offering to his queen. A mark of his loyalty. This man who thrusts inside me like a wild animal will die for me. He’ll burn the whole fucking world for me.
He comes with a roar that tears through my soul. Noah Marlowe has always worn a veneer of civility over his brutish heart. But finally, finally, all of that’s been stripped away, and the monster beneath is free.
I fucking love it.
Claudia
Noah’s father’s arrest may have the attention of the news outlets, but Alec LeMarque’s death rules the gossip mill at Stonehurst Prep. By now, the video Gabe took of him burning is circulating freely. Eli’s made sure none of our faces are visible, so we won’t be connected to it. Apparently, Alec’s father saw the bull’s door close and threw up. The police are investigating, but I’m not worried. I’ve got people inside city hall who will make sure my punishment stands unopposed.
No one has noticed that Daphne hasn’t been at school. According to Madeline, she’ll be completing her schoolwork online. I know she’s gone to warn her father, to move him to another safe place before I send someone after him, but she doesn’t know that while Gabe had her tied to that cross singing Justin Bieber songs, George put tracking software on her phone. I’ve got Yara following her, keeping tabs on her movements. She and her dad won’t get far.
Even though the senator’s arrest has dragged Howard Malloy’s name into the headlines again, no one dares say a word to me about my father, not with Noah Marlowe glowering at any student who steps near us.
They don’t know their queen walks in their midst.
In the end, I have a lot to thank Alec for. After my show of brutality at Colosseum, I’ve won back even more of our soldiers. Antony has been fielding requests from anyone shifting their allegiance to us, while Eli takes the testimonies of those who wish to exchange information and services for my favors. Claudia August has shown she’s more than a chattel bride – and I’m setting new standards for what’s acceptable in our world. Men will think twice before assaulting a woman in Emerald Beach.
Now, I need to solidify my power.
Like every other wild story that’s done the rounds at Stonehurst Prep, Alec’s brutal death fades into legend as the next big thing takes over. And the next big thing is Valentine’s Day and the associated dance.
The halls of Stonehurst become awash in red hearts. Eli’s hardly in class because he’s so busy helping the student council deliver roses to students and teachers. Noah should be helping, too, since he’s class president, but he hasn’t been back at school since Grace died.
I receive over fifty roses – from my three guys, from George, from Ms. Drysdale, and from anonymous classmates who got sent the video. I know you had something to do with Alec’s death, one note says. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
I can’t get behind all the excitement, because Valentine’s Day means something much darker for me. Lupercalia is the second event celebrated in the Emerald Beach underground on February 15th of every year. But unlike Valentine’s Day, it’s a blood-soaked, orgy-fueled celebration of loyalty. As well as the usual fights, games, and sacrifices, it’s the time when family ties are cemented – my new soldiers will officially take their oaths of loyalty, and it’s considered the luckiest date for a wedding.
It’s the day I join in unholy matrimony with Constantine Dio and Nero Lucian.
At lunch, I swirl my zucchini spaghetti around my plate, my stomach twisting. I have a plan, but it’s precarious. I need to play my hand carefully, or I could end up losing all the ground I’ve gained against Nero.
“You don’t want your lunch?” George asks, wiping a smear of vegan pesto from her chin.
“It tastes like ass,” I mumble, sliding the tray across to her. “Why can’t this damn school give us food with actual carbs?”
“Blame Cleo. She campaigned for healthy food options in sophomore year.”
I moan. Cleo. Yet another problem we need to fucking deal with. Cleo’s blowing up social media with all her baby talk. A lot could happen to her before that baby’s born, like a bullet between the eyes. I’ve put notice out with some of the British gangs in my father’s network, but none of them are interested in fucking with the duke. So she’s safe, for now. But I know the duke sold Senator Marlowe the Grey Death he used to kill Grace, which means he’s probably also mixed up in Howard Malloy’s pharmaceutical company. For that, he will die. When it’s convenient for me.
Right now, I have bigger crime lords to fry.
“Come to the dance with me,” Gabe begs, startling me out of my thoughts. “You’ve got to be a normal teenager some of the time.”
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” I yawn. I’m barely scraping through my schoolwork as it is. I don’t need a dance to think about, too. “Mackenzie might see it as the perfect opportunity to take me out. Remember, she asked Eli to go with her.”
“I saw Tiberius in English class, and he mentioned he and Antony are in charge of security,” Gabriel says. “That catering company Yara works for is going to do the food, so she’ll be there. Eli has to go, because he’s on the dance committee. And you know Noah’s not going to leave your side. I’d like to see Mackenzie get through them. Besides, I have a surprise for you.” When he sees the look I give him, he pouts. “I promise this is a fun thing. No spirit mediums will be harmed in the making of this surprise.”
I can’t say no to that pouty face, so I agree to go with Gabe. And I wait in the stupid line with Gabe and George for stupid heart-shaped tickets, listening with half an ear as George brainstorms my perfect dress. When we get to the front, Brandy frowns at me and waves us away. I assume this is out of loyalty to Daphne, but when Gabe pushes her, she gives us an answer I don’t expect.
“You already have a ticket.”
