Page 32 of Cruel Crown

I had been betrayed. My eyes searched for Bastian, and when they found them, his gaze gave nothing away. The inky eyes were an abyss of deception. Suddenly I had lost my appetite. I grabbed my dagger, the one I had used to bind Gideon to the bed, and left the common room.

***

Gideon

Even if I pretended not to watch her, it wasn’t like I wasn’t aware of her every move. When she walked out, I wanted to run after her, but my eyes caught with Bastian before I could make a move, and he gave me a head shake. It wouldn’t be wise for me to run after her, after telling Damian I didn’t care for her.

“God, one day, that bitch will get what’s coming to her,” the bitch next to me said.

“You don’t like her?” I played stupid. I remember her from the meet in Moscow. She thought she was someone around here because she was Damian’s cum bucket.

The brunette rolled her eyes. “No one likes her.”

My eyes cut to everyone in the room, and I knew it had to be over thirty people, at least, and that was just the ones who had arrived so far. Everyone here was a trained killer, and it didn’t sit right with me.

I couldn’t even say I was surprised that their lair was a fucking castle. The stone building should be visible aerially, but you couldn’t get a clear Google image from these coordinates, and the nearest airstrip was still too far off. Bas said they had a lot of people protecting this secret. I pitied the poor soul who ever stumbled upon these grounds.

“That’s a pretty hefty accusation.” I leaned back and took a sip of my water.

Francesca flipped her hair, then grabbed her fork and took a bite of her salad. Once she was done chewing, she answered me.

“She killed another member with no retribution, and that doesn’t sit right with many of us. Johnny’s cousin isn’t happy about it, and he might just do something about it.” She shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

Fighting the urge to get up and go find my little petal, I forced myself to finish my meal. The room quieted down once they saw Damian take the podium. As I looked around, I watched everyone stop what they were doing and give him their undivided attention. My eyes met Bastian, and he raised a brow.

They feared Damian, they revered him—he was their king. He was also Daphne’s number one enemy, and now I understood a little bit more about her.

“Welcome back home. Many of you haven’t been back here in a year or more. We look forward to hearing all about your travels. Enjoy your night tonight, and let the games begin tomorrow.” He gave a cruel smile that was all sharp teeth. He raised his drink in the air, and everyone else toasted.

“Games?” I asked Francesca.

“Training, hunting, weapons. I mean, who better to train with than each other? We are the best of the best. The most vicious, cunning, and deceiving. What your fellow members can and will do to you might just save your life in the real world.” She took a sip of water and then got up to where Damian was eating and sat on his lap.

“It’s like being back in high school, right? Everyone wants to be prom queen and king,” Bas said as he took the seat next to me.

“Why would he let me join right before your gathering?” I asked the question I should have asked since Chicago.

Bastian put his elbow on the table and brought his hand to his mouth so no one could read his lips. “You’re being tested. One month in close quarters with Daphne. Who will bend, or who will break?”

“And what’s the big deal? Just by looking at these fuckers, I can tell a lot of them are fucking.”

“You’re so stupid, it’s cute.” Bas grinned at me.

“Fuck off.”

“You wish,” the bastard smirked at me.

Grabbing my drink, I looked at Damian, and his eyes met mine, cold, cunning, victorious. He raised his hand, the one with the drink, toward me.

“Why am I being tested?”

Bas got up, patting me on the back. “Settle, and I’ll explain later. Too many prying eyes.”

He walked away to mingle with other members as I ate my meal alone, observing everyone else because they, as sure as hell, were watching me. It was like being under a microscope, and I wondered how they lived like this.

After fifteen minutes, I left in search of a room to occupy. The castle was cold but not as cold as I thought it would be. I noticed that the floor had a lot of little vents, and I assumed they were vents that carried heat from below.

On the plane, Bas said to pick any room I wanted and to make sure I always locked it—any room but the ones in the lower level near the catacombs.

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