Page 43 of Desecrated Reign

“What,” Meila—a girl from the Munster sector, who is sitting next to Hannah—pipes in. “Surely we did. We got here first.”

Finn raises a brow in her direction. “What gave you the impression that this was a race?”

“It wasn’t?” Alex chimes. “If it wasn’t a race, what was it?”

Keelan stands taller, addressing Alex, the only one of his own Ulster initiates to not have stuck with their group. “The second trial is based on respect. Something which you seemed to’ve forgotten, wain.”

“We’ve been watchin’ closely the last few days,” Lorcan adds. “There are hidden cameras spannin’ the length an’ breath of his island, documenting your every move. If you shat, we know about it.”

The room bursts into a chorus of whispers while internally, I’m cringing, knowing that my daddy had probably seen more of me than he ever needed or wanted to, all while hoping there were no cameras behind that waterfall.

“If your name is called,”—Finn lifts his iPad—“please stand to my left.” He clears his throat with a cough. “Saoirse Ryan.” My nerves kick in, rattling my bones as Finn Connelly—Cadden’s father—continues to read from his iPad. “Rohan King. Brodie Kavanagh. Shannon McIlveen. Cadden Connelly. Beibhinn Devereux. Lucas Daly. Dillon Reeves.”

As my anxiety grows, it becomes harder to ignore the knowledge we have of Finn’s role in Liam’s death, even though deep down, I know his karma will be delivered when the time is right. So, I tamp it down for now, needing him to believe he’s in the clear.

He finishes by listing the last four names who arrived with us. “Jack Keogh. Aodhán Brady. And finally, Orion Murphy and Kade Lynch.”

One after the other, everyone crosses the room, everyone except Hannah, Sibhe, Meila, and Alex.

With a broad smile, Lorcan addresses the twelve initiates Finn named. “Congratulations, you completed the second trial and are one step closer to becoming members of the syndicate.”

Bounding off Alex’s lap, Hannah’s feet hit the floor with a thud. “What? That can’t be right. We got here first and didn’t need the stupid map to do it.”

“Aye,” Lorcan agrees with her. “That may be so, wain. But the second trial is a team trial, as stated when we were on the mainland. You”—he waves a hand at her dismissively—“and the rest of your posse took it upon yourselves to disregard your leader’s orders and instead opted to wander off blindly.”

Keelan flanks his side, hands deep in his pockets. “Not only did you veer away from your teams, you also didn’t make it to the halfway point. Those”—he tugs his hands from his suit pants and curls his fingers, punctuating his point—“stupid wee maps, as you so elegantly put it, had a purpose, and if you followed the directions your leaders gave you, you’d be aware of that.”

“The syndicate is a nationwide organisation.” Lorcan folds his arms across his chest, somehow broadening his chest further. “It comprises four quarters, each of which has its own role. Without respect, the dynasty the founding kings built would crumble. This trial was to test how well you’d work together. The maps you received upon arrival were designed to put you on a path that would crossover with each other. We wanted to test how well you’d work together, not only in your chosen groups, but also when faced with other leaders. And that,” he addresses the four initiates who failed, “is why you failed.”

“Upon arriving back to the mainland,” Keelan continues. “You will no longer be involved with any syndicate events and are hereby banished from ever holding a place on the syndicate council.”

“This is outrageous.” Hannah spirals, sounding much like Rohan’s dad after his toys were thrown from his pram. “This is clearly favouritism.”

“Ack, no. Rules are rules, Hannah,” Lorcan finishes. “I didn’t write them, but it’s my job to enforce them. Bow out gracefully.”

Hannah’s shoulders drop as a pout pulls across her lips, giving me great satisfaction.

Karma might be a bitch, but I do enjoy it when she decides to slap one of her own in the face.

27

ROHAN

There aren’t many times in life when nerves get the better of me, and although showing my fiancée my house for the first time shouldn’t be one of those times, believe it or not, I’m nervous as fuck. Until now, I’d never put much thought into my personal space, but as soon as I asked Saoirse to spend the night, I was struck with an all-too-domestic revelation—showing a person your living quarters is like opening a window and allowing the outside world to catch a glimpse of your soul. All the most intimate objects in my life reside within these walls, and although Saoirse knows me better than most, there is still so much of the normal, everyday shit we haven’t shared, mainly because we’ve been too busy trying to stay alive.

Tonight is our first official date night. No fancy syndicate parties or events, just two people doing normal, mundane relationship shit—hanging out, maybe dinner and a movie.

On our way back from the island, this seemed like a stellar idea, but now that Lorcan has dropped us off, I’m not so sure. Not because I don’t want to spend time with Saoirse, because fuck knows I do, that’s why I asked her to marry me, twice. My anxiety stems from something else… the fact I’ve no idea how shit like this works. I’m not husband material, I’m a red flag at best, but for her, I’m willing to try on a different style. She deserves the full wardrobe, someone who can be a versatile piece, worn to any occasion. A guy who is willing to have quiet nights in but also a man who would walk through fire with her on his back so she’d never have to feel the heat of the flames.

I swallow the nervous lump in my throat and moisten the roof of my mouth with a swipe of my tongue. Then, entering the code for the digital keypad lock, I push open the front door of my guest house, and ease Saoirse forward with my palm. “Ladies first.”

It’s hard to believe she’s never been here before tonight, but with Gabriel residing on the same property I never felt it was safe enough to bring her into my space without putting her in danger.

But now Gabriel has lost all rights to the King estate, he no longer has access to anything beyond the gates, so I can rest easy knowing Saoirse is safe, far away from my father’s clutches.

Putting the loss of everything Gabriel owned aside, he is still currently rotting in the Kill Castle’s cells awaiting his fate, and now that we’re back on the mainland, we need to decide how to handle his demise.

But not tonight. Tonight is about showing Saoirse the place I call home, the only space, apart from when I’m with her, I feel free to be the truest version of myself.

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