Page 90 of Wicked Court

I urge her on with a grunt, never taking my eyes off the black expanse below.

“Cav has my ruby necklace.”

“I know.”

She fidgets next to me. “Then why are you here? Why do you still want to be with me?”

“I do what I want.”

She’s not deterred. “Why did you bring me all this way when you should be with Cav? Especially since … it’s only half of the Heart.”

That gets my attention.

She jolts at my expression. “You didn’t know?”

I huff a laugh. “Cav keeps his cards until he’s ready to play them. I knew he’d gone to the portrait and grabbed it, saw your exchange with him in the clearing, but couldn’t hear all of it. I had no idea the ruby wasn’t complete.” I raise my eyes to the black sky. “Fucking figures.”

The realization of Cav withholding the full truth hits me like a punch to the ribs. It’s an acute reminder of his cunning side, one I often overlook because of our shared history. Curling my fingers into my palms, I resist the urge to curse out loud, instead directing my venomous gaze towards the darkened horizon.

Elara’s emboldened enough to ask, “Why is the ruby so important to you?”

I shift uneasily under her scrutiny. My heart-rate speeds up as I recall running with all my might through windowless hallways, trying to outrun the gunshots echoing behind me. I can still hear the sickening thud when they found their mark, my best friend’s lifeless body falling to the ground.

The taste of copper fills my mouth when I remember looking down at her.

It’s a mistake I’ll never forget or forgive myself for making. A mistake that cost not only Teagan’s life, but also any chance at full member status within the Cimmerian Court.

“My first name is John,” I say in lieu of an answer. “John Wilder.”

I cast a glance at her solemn face, taking in the fine bones of her face, the worried kink of her brows, and the timid concern lurking deep within her honey-colored eyes.

“I don’t go by my first name anymore, because the last person who called me John was someone who died eight years ago. And she died because of this damned Court. If we find the Heart, if the four of us give it to the Sovereigns, our various debts are paid. We can avoid doing their dirty work and actually enjoy the perks of being in a secret society.”

I feel her studying me despite my attempt to lighten the confession, her gaze drilling holes in my profile.

Revealing these vulnerabilities is a breach of my self-imposed code, but here, looking into the darkness at the edge of a cliff, it hardly seems to matter.

Elara doesn’t press for more information. She doesn’t snidely comment, All this for the perks of being rich?

She doesn’t flinch or spit in my face. Instead, she offers something far kinder.

A gesture I haven’t received in a long, long while.

She takes my hand and holds on.

Chapter 27

Kaspian

“Shit.”

The word escapes me like an electrical shock, and not the good kind.

Rarely, if ever, am I surprised.

With renewed fervor, I flip through the columns of names on the parchment listing all previous pledges (those vying for a formal invitation to become an initiate), and initiates dating back to 1820. I find my name a few years after Maverick’s.

Maverick both pledged and became an initiate when he enrolled at Titan Falls 7 years ago, making him involved with the Court for a year before he died. Yet, there’s no indication he became a full-fledged member.

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