Page 34 of Soulless Rivalry

It was just an old wives’ tale, but every year a student or two said they saw a shadow lurking upstairs, which was where the boy was killed.

When the Korolovs and their friends decided to make it theirs, people said they were crazy. In my opinion, that’s the whole reason why they did it. They wanted to show everyonethat they trulyweresavages, that they weren’t scared of anything or anyone—dead or alive.

“Come on.” Konstantin continued advancing and I followed, clutching his sleeve a little tighter and willing my heart to slow down.

When he opened the big double doors, laughter came through. There were people in there.

The conclusion made me angry all of a sudden. It was one thing for me to clean this mess in front of Konstantin, it was another to be doing it with his friends and brothers watching. More than that, they would probably ask questions, and wonder why I’d agreed to do it in the first place. And as much as I wished they were, Korolovs weren’t stupid. They would know Konstantin had something on me… unless they already did know about my little secret.

I stopped in my tracks, causing Konstantin to look back at me. My jaw was clenched and I did my best not to cry from fatigue and humiliation.

“You said you didn’t tell anyone.”

Konstantin looked me up and down, then crossed his arms on his chest. “I didn’t.”

I breathed a little easier but I was still unsure that he was saying the truth.

“I will not clean in front of them. I know you have no respect for me—or anyone whatsoever—I know this is a way for you to assert your misplaced authority over me, but I will not debase myself and play submissive little cleaner for your friends. I have more pride than that.”

He stayed staring at me for a while, pensively. Then the ghost of a smirk crossed his lips before his hand came down to clutch mine. It sent a shock wave up my arm and I nearly gasped when he pulled me further inside with him.

“Out,” he decreed as soon as we came into the foyer.

I looked around, seeing the inside of this mysterious building for the first time. There wasn’t much, it was in dire need of some dusting, and spiderwebs were slowly taking over, but I got the appeal. In its own freaky, gothic way, the Church was cozy.

I recognized Mikhail, Royal, and Rhodes lounging around on one of the couches in the middle of the room. The piece of furniture looked like it had seen better days, but it must’ve been comfortable enough for all of them to sit there.

The guys looked like kings, powerful and deadly. Along with Konstantin, the four of them painted a picture so dark yet so attractive it hurt. The four horsemen of the apocalypse were nothing compared to them.

“What’s up?” Mikhail asked before his eyes fell on me and he smirked. “Oh, are you finally gonna pop your cherry,mladshiy brat?”

My eyes widened and I immediately looked at Konstantin in surprise. I could feel my cheeks redden against my will.

Konstantin looked bored as he rolled his eyes. “I said get the fuck out. We have some cleaning to do and she’s too shy to do it in front of you.”

Surprisingly, Mikhail got up, shaking his head in mock reprimand. “Cleaning? Is that what you kiddos call it nowadays?”

Rhodes snorted before getting up too, swinging his arm around Mikhail’s shoulders and leading him out. Royal was the last one to leave. He assessed us silently before smirking at Konstantin and finally getting up too.

Once the double doors swung shut behind them, Konstantin looked down at me and said, “The shit you’ll need is in the corner. Get to work.”

He then sat down on the sofa, legs spread and arms on the back of it, like the royalty his family name implied. His gazewas burning holes into me and I nearly stumbled when I tried walking to the corner of the room.

I couldn’t decide if it was because I hated his eyes on me, or the opposite.

ELYSSA

“I’m gonna tell him.”

My attention immediately went to my cousin who sat next to me in the library. Only, instead of studying her textbooks, her attention was all on the man a few tables down from us, engrossed in his research.

Dominik Korolov was a fine specimen, just like his brothers. He had that signature blond hair that all Korolov men but Roman and Mikhail seemed to have inherited, he was tall and built like a linebacker. His face looked like it had been carved from marble, all sharp edges and high cheekbones. The grey of his eyes looked a lot like Konstantin’s but it was brighter, almost blue.

Most of all, Dominik exuded some kind of quiet, peaceful energy that clashed with the dangerous and lethal vibe that also emanated from him.

Deep down, I think that’s what Mia was most attracted to. Some people tended to believe that the things we craved from other people were things we grew up lacking. That would be true in her case, the calmness and safety Dominik could provide the people who were important to him–that was something Mia never had growing up from her piece of shit father.

“Tell him what?” I whispered, curious about what she meant.

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