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When Knox reached the bottom of the stairs, he suddenly seemed to notice me. His eyes widened for an instant, but then his mask dropped back into place, and he was the instantly cool, unruffled eighteen-year-old I’d met two days ago.
“Here’s how it’s going to work.” His voice was smooth and deep, honey combined with rich, dark chocolate but with a vicious bite of venom that he made no effort to hide. “I drive you to school. I’ll stop at the gate that leads to the fields. You’ll get out, and you’ll walk the rest of the way.”
I had no idea what or where the fields were, but I’d already gathered that he didn’t want to be seen with me, so it didn’t take much to deduce that they weren’t close to the school.
“Sounds lovely.” I gave him a false smile to match his own, and we headed outside into the dull grey morning to his poser car—some black SUV. And when I say it was black, I meant that everything was black. Wheels, trim, back windows…all of it.
“Knox?” I injected as much sweetness as I could into my voice once we were both seated in the black-on-black interior. “Is your favourite colour black? Your car reminds me of a hearse.”
His shoulders stiffened, and I had a moment of satisfaction before he shrugged it off, leaning casually back in his seat with one hand on the wheel and the other on the gearstick. He ignored my comment as he started the engine, the muscles in his arms flexing as he reversed out of the parking space, onto the driveway, and then finally, onto the open road.
The deathly silence between us was broken by the sound of the radio, some obnoxious song with a guy rapping about how rich he was. Knox was tapping his long fingers on the steering wheel, and I rolled my eyes.
It wasn’t long before I felt the car come to a stop at the side of the road. Glancing out of the window, I saw that we were next to a field, edged with limestone dry-stone walls. In the distance, up ahead, framed by ominous grey clouds, I could see a huge Cotswold stone building. A sandy, golden colour, it was almost castle-like in appearance, the walls studded with large, lead-paned windows, with ivy curling around the bricks. There was a scattering of smaller outbuildings on its fringes. A huge, sweeping driveway bordered by trees led to the road, where a high stone wall and tall iron gates marked the entrance to the property.
It somehow managed to look both beautiful and foreboding at the same time.
So this was Hatherley Hall. I guessed that we’d stopped at the school boundary.
“Out.” Knox growled the word, low and threatening.
“Should I mention to your mum that you didn’t take me all the way to school?” As I glanced over at him, his eyes flashed with anger, and his grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“You wouldn’t fucking dare.”
“Fuck you. I’ll do whatever I want.”
His hand came flying out, gripping my school tie, and yanking it, hard. I fell, sprawling over the seats, one hand flying to the console, the other landing on the hard muscles of his thigh. His face was so close to mine I could feel his hot breaths on my skin. “Listen to me, because I’ll only say this once. I’m one of the elite. One of the three fucking gods of Hatherley Hall. That means I’m in charge. I can make or break you in this fucking school, so don’t even think about stepping out of line. And if you go telling tales to either one of my parents or any of my family members, your life will become very, very difficult.”
When I remained silent, he yanked on my tie, and I reflexively curled my nails into his leg, then dug them in, my own warning. He could try to intimidate me, but he wasn’t going to get the better of me.
His hand closed over mine, ripping it away from his thigh as he growled at me. “Do I make myself clear? You don’t want to make an enemy out of me.”
“Crystal,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “But you don’t want to make an enemy out of me either.”
“Too fucking late. Now, get the fuck out of my car and stay out of my way in school.” He released his grip on my tie, and I wasted no time in sweeping my bag from the footwell. Almost as soon as I touched the door handle, the rain started.
“Out,” he repeated, gunning the engine.
I got out.
He shot off without a backwards glance.
As I picked my way across the school fields, the rain fell harder. Passing a building that looked like a boat shed, next to a small, pretty lake, I stopped for a second’s breather. I ducked into the overhanging shelter above the doorway, but it was too late to save me from the rain. With a sigh, I moved on. By the time I reached the main entrance, I was soaked through, my previously glossy hair plastered to my head, and after a surreptitious glance in the selfie camera of my new phone, I saw that my mascara had also smeared around my eyes.
Drowned rat chic was so 2022. My new look wasn’t going to do me any favours here, but I’d have to do what I did best and brazen it out. My previous school had taught me enough tricks, after all. If the sharks smelled blood in the water, they’d bite, and I was going to do my best to avoid that happening.
I walked into the grand school entrance, where I’d been told to go on my first day. Glancing around me, I saw a sign for the visitor loos and quickly made my way inside, my shoes echoing on the Cotswold stone tiles. My tights were soaked through, so I pulled them off and then used toilet paper to blot the insides of my shoes dry. I didn’t have a spare pair, but I had my brand-new PE kit in my bag, so I pulled on the white socks, thankful that the waterproofing of the leather bag had been enough to keep the contents dry. Wiping under my eyes, I repaired the damage to my make-up as best I could before sweeping my wet hair into a ponytail.
It would have to do.
When I made my way back into the foyer, the school receptionist glanced up at me, one eyebrow raised. After a moment’s silence, she tutted, coming out from behind the desk and directing me towards a cluster of chairs. When I was seated, she handed me a stack of brochures and papers in a folder. “Sit here for a moment, please, while I get Professor Donnelly.”
She disappeared, and I began shuffling through the papers, just for something to do while I waited. I didn’t have to wait long—a few minutes later, she was back with a tall, dark-haired man in tow, who introduced himself as Professor Donnelly, head of Epicurus house. “It’s good to have you here at Hatherley Hall, Ms. Greenwood. Now, I’ve spoken to the school administrators, and it looks like the curriculum you’ve been following is more or less the same as the subjects you’ll be studying here. You may have to do some catch-up work, but your individual teachers will advise you of what needs to be done.” He went through a whole list of school rules and things I should be aware of, but most of it went over my head.
He came to a halt mid-sentence, his attention diverted. I followed his gaze as he greeted two new arrivals—a boy and a girl who looked to be around my age. The boy had floppy mid-brown hair and an open, friendly smile on his face, and the girl was blonde and beautiful, her pale hair pulled back into a ponytail. When she saw me watching her, she gave me a bright smile, which I returned.
“Elena, meet Katy Peterson and William Fitzgerald-Jones, two of our prefects. Between the two of them, they’re taking all the same A-level classes as you, and they’ll be taking you under their wing while you get settled in here.”
