Page 60 of A Blackened Bond

The thought of Mallyn flipping through the pages of some fantasy or romance novel while sitting in a dark corner of the bookstore brings me joy. The image instantly suits the deep, hooded boy.

Most of the places we spent time revolved around food; the guys seemed to enjoy their meals almost as much as I did.

We make our way into ‘Elles’ and Annex makes a beeline toward the blades as I head over toward the jewellery section.

Ezra and Mallyn are about to follow me when they notice Annex getting annoyed at one of the staff members. They head over to help and tell me they will be back in a minute.

I peer around at all of the jewellery. There are rows upon rows of silver and gold metal pieces on small velvet black cushions and of all shapes and sizes. From delicate heart designs to larger snakes and skull pieces. There seemed to be a bit of everything here.

My necklace comes to mind as I see a small sword charm and wonder if they do repairs in the shop.

I pull one of the staff members walking by aside and ask if they fix broken chains. He glances toward a black door near the back and nods.

“The blacksmith here is the best. He can do almost anything. Something like that would be a breeze for him.” The blonde-haired man gives me a smile before being called by an old man across the shop about their ‘Christmas sale items’.

I make a mental note to grab the precious gift from my room tomorrow and bring it to the blacksmith here. Hopefully, he can fix it soon.

After a few more minutes of looking around and Annex buying two new blades and ordering some custom pieces, we left the shop, and I headed toward the bus stop. I had to make itback before that stupid curfew and didn’t want to put the guys out asking for a ride back. They had already done so much for me today.

The old metal lights begin to flicker on as the sky grows dimmer. Time has flown by, and night is already falling as I see the bus stop in the distance.

Ezra calls my name, stopping me in my tracks. I turn around as his gaze meets mine.

“Don’t go back to the dorms tonight, Micai. Stay with us.”

“Wedohave bigger beds,” Annex adds, his hand falling on Ezra’s shoulder, leaning his head against it as a playful grin laces his lips. “It would be a lot more comfortable than us squeezing into your single one.”

My brows narrow toward them, my lips biting back a grin.

“Who said you were invited?”

Annex rolls his eyes, his grin widening.

“We both know I’m gonna follow you wherever you go, Red. And as much as I love being wrapped around you, a bigger bed would mean we wouldn’t have to leave Ez on the floor.”

Ezra shakes his head. “You would be the one on the floor asshole.” He narrows his gaze, a playful grin pinching his lips as he pushes Annex from his shoulder. The ass just chuckles in response before turning back toward me. Three sets of eyes are now watching me expectantly and awaiting my answer.

Itwouldbe better than being stuck in the dorm…and it’s not like anyone would check my room for me anyway.

“What about Creed?” I ask, remembering the grumpy asshole who doesn’t appreciate my wonderful personality or presence.

“What about him?” Smirks Annex.

“Wouldn’t he be pissed that I’m invading his personal breathing space?”

They all chuckle, even Mallyn.

“Leave Creed to us.” Calls Ezra, raising a brow. “So, is that a yes?”

I give them a small nod, their grins growing as a small smile pulls at my cheeks.

Annex wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer as we pass the large fighter cage in the old slaughterhouse. My eyes instantly fall toward the blood stains dripping from the bars and leather mat.

Looks like someone had been fighting recently.

We move to the far back of the abattoir and toward two thick metal black doors. The boys lead me through them, the space completely transforming once we’re inside.

A velvety black paint covers the walls in every direction, with black wooden lacquer frames lining them every couple of metres. The floor was a contrasting white and black checkerboard design with a large silver ornate staircase to the right. A few feet to the left sat a single black door, and in the centre, it opened up into a long hallway with two doors on each side and one at the very end. Each door was a varying shade of grey and appeared almost like metal.

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