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EVER
Blood stains my skin, a reminder of the fight that just unfolded.
“I can’t do this right now. You need to give me a fucking minute.”
I leave Alistair and the others to deal with the aftermath – the bodies, the bloodstains, the evidence, and they let me go. My mind races as I trudge up the stairs, the weight of this new knowledge pressing on my shoulders like a lead cloak. I’m not just Ever Knight, untitled nobody. No, now I’m the so-called queen of some twisted sect, a title that comes with more power than I ever imagined.
“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter under my breath, pushing open the door to my room. I don’t know if I believe them or what right now. I only want a shower and to sleep for a week. However, what do these other factions want from me? To recruit me and use me for my influence. Or would they rather see me six feet under? I’m caught in the middle, without a damn clue about who is friend or foe anymore.
“Fucking Crystal?” I can’t believe my housemate, my friend, was against me this entire time.
I strip off my ruined dress and turn on the shower. It hisses to life, steam curling into the air as I step under the spray. Hot water pelts my skin, washing away the blood, sweat and grime. But it can’t cleanse everything.
Tears mix with the water cascading down my face.
It’s a torrent I can’t stop.
I cry for the friends I’ve lost, for the scraps of innocence torn away with each revelation, for every soul snuffed out because I exist. Each drop of water feels like an accusation, a reminder of the cost of this life I never asked for.
My body shakes with the force of my sobbing, but then my mind goes blank, and a frown passes over my face as I wipe the tears away with the back of my hand.
If these other sects think they can come for me, they’ve got another thing coming. I’m not ready to roll over and die – not by a long shot. It’s them or me, and I choose me. With that thought, the tears stop, replaced by something harder, something fierce, something so dark, it terrifies me. I’m done being the victim. I won’t let their threats break me. I’ll fight back with everything I’ve got.
Shutting the water off with a finality that echoes my decision. I wrap a towel around myself, stepping out of the shower as if reborn. I have power now, power I didn’t know I had, and I’ll be damned if I don’t use it to survive.
The bathroom mirror is fogged up, but I don’t need to see my reflection to feel the weight of everything that’s happened. I swipe at the condensation, revealing just a portion of my face — green eyes hard as emerald, jaw set.
I open the medicine cabinet and glare at my birth control pills. For a second, I just stare at them. It’s messed up how no one thought to ask if I was protected before things got wild. But then again, I didn’t say anything either. First with the fear ofthe chamber and then the heat in the moments, and all you can think about is the now.
“Shit,” I mutter, closing the cabinet with more force than necessary. I need a clear head for what comes next.
Drying off quickly and getting in my comfy pyjamas, I cross to my desk and flick on my laptop to start digging into Crystal. I comb through old social media posts, shared classes, mutual friends. I am driven by the need to know, to understand the enemy that used to be a friend. Crystal’s secrets have to be here somewhere, hidden between the lines of her perfect façade.
As I write down everything I can remember of Crystal’s family, everything she told us, which could be a lie or half-truth, I still need it on paper. I’m this supposed queen in the making, even if my crown is one of thorns. I can’t afford to be passive, waiting for Crystal and her faction - minus the few dead guys downstairs - to make their next move. So, I start plotting, my laptop screen filled with names, events, and power plays within KnightsGate University.
Tapping a pen against my notepad, I think. The university’s elite — they’re not just students; they’re chess pieces, and I’m the queen. But is itthequeen oraqueen? Is there more than one? I need the guys’ input on this, but I don’t want to disturb them when they’ve got all that mess to clear up. Suddenly, feeling guilty that I should help them, I brush it aside. My skills are better suited to this. Digging up what I can on this connection between Stanley and Crystal.
I pull up a map of the campus, marking territories like it’s a war zone. Because that’s what it is — a silent war where knowledge is power, and alliances are weapons.
The library. That’s where I’ll find the keys to unlock this mystery. The family trees. The noble bloodlines. The Ashdowns, the Harrises, and god knows who else are tangled up in thismess. There has to be something linking Stanley to Crystal and, ultimately, tothissect.
“Connection, connection... What are you hiding?” I whisper, scrolling through an online archive of the university’s most prominent families. But the surface-level stuff isn’t enough. I need the books, the records, the history that’s not digitised.
“Damn it.” I close my laptop with a snap. I’m going to need to get into the library, and for that, I’ll need the permission of the guys downstairs. “Fucking permission,” I mutter, but I know my days of sneaking past them are long gone.
First, I need some sleep, and tomorrow, I will make my move. The library awaits and with it, secrets that will either save or damn us all.
15
CHARLES
“Shouldn’t someone go and check on her?”
“Not it,” Ben grits out, scrubbing the blood out of his shirt. “Where are the fucking cleaners?”
“Coming,” Alistair snaps. “This is getting ridiculous.”
“Agreed,” Ben states.
