Page 31 of The Kings
“Queen of Castle,” Raphael says, that deep gaze searching mine.
“Queen of Castle,” the others murmur.
“Time to reign,” I whisper, the taste of iron in my mouth as I press my bleeding palm to my lips, sealing the oath with a kiss.
18
ELIZA
“Shit hitsdifferent when it comes from your own blood,” I mutter, squinting at the glow of my phone screen in the gloomy light of my bedroom. The message is cryptic, a string of numbers and letters that would appear nonsensical to anyone who hasn’t been raised by my dad. But to me, it’s clear as day—Dad’s roping me into some dangerous game, and this time, it’s against the Scotts, one of our many rivals.
Closing my eyes, I try to think if there is anyone here at Castle from this family. The name doesn’t ring a bell for next gen counterparts. I don’t know whether that’s good or bad.
“Eliza, you up?” Raphael’s voice is soft on the other side of the door, but no less deadly.
Part of me wants to stay quiet, but in the end, I murmur, “Yeah.”
He pushes the door open but doesn’t enter, instead lingering in the doorway like a fart in a thunderstorm. His hand is wrapped tight in a thin strip of bandage as he crosses his arms over his chest and gives me an intense stare in the late-night darkness, lit by the hallway light behind him.
“I do remember,” he says eventually.
“Remember what?”I mean, fuck you, asshole. Two can play at this game.
He snickers. “Don’t be coy, it doesn’t suit you.”
“You’re gonna need to lay some details on me,” I reply, being a stubborn bitch because he deserves it.
He moves into the room and closes the door, plunging us back into darkness.
“Too shy to speak to my face?”
He lets out a low chuckle. “Maybe. A man doesn’t forget a pussy like yours wrapped around his cock, sweetheart.”
“Then why pretend?”
“To torment you. I think I did that, but then you surprised us by coming to us so soon with your alliance plan.”
“You mean you expected it?”
“Eventually. It’s kind of a given, seeing as who we are and you are here.”
“Hmm.”
“It showed guts and brains, Eliza. I’m impressed. I figured you’d try to battle on by yourself, getting deeper into shit we’d have to pull you out of.”
Mouth agape, I glare at him in the darkness. “Tarquin didnotpull me out of any shit. I had that handled. If anything, I saved his ass.”
“Yeah, you just dragged him into it. You should come to all of us.”
“That’s not how this works. You know that as well as I do.”
“Maybe. But this alliance has changed things now.”
“Yeah.”
The silence is deafening as neither of us is willing to move forward with this conversation. What do we talk about? The sex? Or the alliance? Or my dad’s text? It’s a minefield.
“Got something hot.” I decide to go with Dad’s text. It’s easier. “Dad has sent me a mission. He wants me to infiltrateRyan Scott’s HQ and grab some docs. And before you ask why the hell he wants me to do this, I’ve zero clue. Another test, I guess.”
