Page 5 of Soulless Rivalry

We stopped briefly at Lorenzo’s locker so he could retrieve something he forgot last year and I took that opportunity to check my phone for a text back from mom. Nothing.

“Oh my God, he’s here!” Mia hissed, grabbing my forearm and causing me to yelp when her nails dug into my skin.

I didn’t have to ask who she meant because only one person could ever cause her to react that way.

“Fucking scum of the earth,” her brother spat, unimpressed as he too caught sight of who emerged from the end of the corridor, before diving back into his locker and ignoring them.

They looked like a pack of deadly wolves. Their tall, dark figures advancing towards us without a care in the world. I don’t even think they noticed people staring at them, that’s how unbothered they truly were.

The Korolov family always had been.

They represented everything people likemyfamily hated: loose cannons with loyalty only to their own. No rules, no alliances, no care for mob-life etiquette.

The Korolov family was royalty in the mercenary world, they were ruthless and heartless killers who made it their life mission to piss off any crime organization they ever met. The Italians hated them, obviously; whether it was the Cosa Nostra or the Outfit, both wanted their heads on a silver platter. The Irish hated their guts. Even the Bratva, whom I heard the Korolovs had been affiliated to at some point, wanted them dead.

But none of them could take them out. The Korolovs were too crazy, too powerful. They had amassed a fortune that rivaled, if not surpassed, that of my family through legitimate and not-so-legitimate ways.

They had built a literal empire.

And their kids never ceased to act like the royalty they supposedly were. Especially their sons.

As the four of them made their way down the corridor, people stopped and stared, whispering among themselves with looks of awe or disgust. When it came to the Korolovs, you either hated them or wanted to be them; there was no in between.

Against my will, I understood why people stared. It was rare seeing them all together, and if I were being honest, it was quite a sight.

Dressed in all black since classes hadn’t started yet, their hair varying from brown to blond, similar in build and height, they looked dangerous but oh so fucking attractive.

The eldest was Dominik, the Heir. In the last year of his master’s in finance and business with a minor in art history.

He was by far the most serious of the bunch, with a charming aura that, I was sure, opened quite a few doors to him. He never really spoke to anyone except his family and professors, not like he was too good for the rest of us, but like he simply couldn’t care less. He was polite but antisocial and somehow my cousin was into it.

Oh yes, because Mia was head over heels in love with Dominik Korolov, even when he had no idea she existed.

It was sad, really, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that. He never looked at her, not even when she stared at him for hours at the library.

At twenty-six, he had that older guy vibe that many guys our age still lacked at twenty-one. I understood her, really, I did.

But I knew she would only end up with her heart broken, which in turn broke mine.

Next to him was Roman, the Enforcer. He was the youngest, that I knew of, at nineteen. He looked nothing like his siblings, his hair was the darkest of the bunch, and his skin was a little tanner—or, at least, what I could see of it, considering it was covered in tattoos. He also didn’t have the signature Korolov grey eyes, since his were green.

Roman didn’t talk, like, at all. He communicated via sign language, and even that was reserved to his siblings only. I remember seeing a professor trying to communicate with him using ASL last year, but Roman only ignored him. Just like his eldest brother, he was antisocial, but unlike him, he didn’t even try to be polite about it.

I’d only ever seen him smile once, and it was to Devina, one of their sisters.

Then, there was Mikhail, the Jokester. You wouldn’t believe this guy was related to the Korolov clan at first glance, because he put on such a good front. From the outside eye, he was funny and charming, a little bit of a manwhore, but friendly and accessible. Until you stumbled upon him outside your dorm at night beating some dude up to a pulp because he dared ask his twin sister, Katarina, out.

By the time he was done, the guy was unrecognizable and never set foot on the island again.

But even then, Mikhail wasn’t the worst Korolov man…

Not by a long shot.

When my eyes met icy pools of blue, I tensed. It was such a deadly gaze, that sucked you in and never let you come back up for air.

The funny thing with the Korolovs was that when Mia fell in love with Dominik in our first year, I fell too.

I fell inhatewith his younger brother, Konstantin.

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