Page 44 of Cruel Crown

“I’ll have you feeling young, and who knows, you might show these new kids a thing or two.”

“Kids nowadays have no honor.” He scowled, referring mainly to Damian. “Did he do that to you?” He pointed to my hair.

“One of the new kids,” I said as I reached for a needle and filled it with cortisone. I flicked the needle a few times to make sure there were no air bubbles.

“Tell me about this boy,” my dedushka asked as the needle pierced the skin between his middle and pointer finger.

“He’s British with lots of tattoos and some territorial issues,” I told him.

“He wouldn’t be the same British lad from Chicago?” I cut my grandfather with a look that could melt a glacier. He simply shrugged. “The American boy is a bit chatty.”

“I shouldn’t have introduced you two,” I mumbled.

“You didn’t; he followed you and introduced himself on his own.”

“His tendency to fall out of line is going to get him hurt.”

My grandfather nodded, then gave me his other hand. “Is the British boy one of yours?”

“No, he’s Damian’s,” I replied nonchalantly.

“Does he know to which devil he sold his soul to?”

“I think so.” I shrugged it off like Damian introducing Gideon to the Sekt wasn’t a big deal. Then I patted my grandfather’s chest. “All done. Don’t you feel better already?”

“Like I might not die today, and in my book, that’s a win.”

All I could do was roll my eyes.

“I must go before you-know-who gets paranoid.” I said it lightly, but we knew the weight of the words. Damian would think I was conspiring against him.

As much as I wanted to stay here and be with my grandfather and enjoy his lucid time, it wasn’t safe for him. I could take care of myself, but he couldn’t anymore. So I stared at the gray eyes that were identical to mine for a second longer, then kissed his forehead and left his room.

Tomorrow was a rest day from any physical activity, which meant it was time to start sharing our information with each other and learn a thing or two.

When I made my way down the corridor, I debated just going down to my room and locking myself up to take an ice-cold bath before getting some rest. I stopped as I made it to the hallway where I knew Gideon’s room was located.

With me I brought a needle with steroids which would help with the pain and inflammation I had made to Gideon’s hand. The internal battle in my head lasted a few seconds.

The door to his room was locked, and instead of knocking, I pulled two picks from the pocket of my pants and started to work on picking the old lock. They were a bitch, but I had mastered breaking out of these rooms since a young age.

My heart sped up when I heard the click of the lock. Slowly, I pushed the lever of the door until the door opened.

Walking into the room, it almost took me back to a time when I was helpless. As far as I knew, no one had chosen Gideon’s room, but it was one hell of a coincidence he was staying the room I had once called my own. He’d chosen the room of a scared little girl.

Gideon sat on the bed, facing the fire. He was shirtless and wearing only boxer briefs. He held his messed-up hand with his other and massaged it as he turned his torso to look at me.

I took a step in, looking around and noticing how not much had changed. All my personal belongings I’d either taken with me to the dungeons or I’d burned the shit out of them.

“Funny how you made my old prison your home,” I told him as I made my way toward him.

Gideon didn’t say anything. He just stared at me, which made it somehow uncomfortable and made me want to keep talking to fill the void of silence.

“After my sixteenth birthday, I left this room and never looked back,” I added.

His whiskey eyes widened a bit with interest, but he remained silent. I pulled the syringe from my back pocket, and he spread his legs a little wider, giving me room to work.

Taking a deep breath, I knew what I was going to do, and I didn’t care. Not now. Maybe it was because it was him, or perhaps I was just feeling particularly vulnerable today. I took a step closer between his spread legs, and slowly I got to my knees in front of him. My heart pounded so hard I felt the beat of my heart stuck in my throat. I didn’t dare look at him as I reached for his hand.

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