Page 295 of Vicious Saint
“You speak a phrase.”
“Ahhhhhh…” I wiggle my eyebrows. “So what’s the phrase?”
He snatches the bottle from me, guzzles half of it down, then relays satisfaction in the form of an obnoxious burp.
So gross.
But an even grosser part of me kind of likes it.
“It’s actually adorable you think I’d tell you.” He takes another sip. “Like almost as adorable as the pink hearts you got goin’ on your granny panties.”
“Oh my God!” I wretch the bottle back from him. “They’re my first day period underwear.”
He grimaces. “Good thing I didn’t try sticking it in this morning, then.”
“Can we focus on the tour?!”
“The tour of what?” Saint holds an arm out behind him. “This is it. A hidden row of metal boxes aligning the floor for our families’ safety. Sliding down doors. Sliding up fridges. Sliding horizontal windows.” A moment passes before he says, “Oh, yeah…and a secret escape through the fireplace.”
Curiosity getting the best of me, I peek my head inside it, finding handles climbing up the stone chimney to, you guessed it, another steel trap door.
“How the hell do you get out of here?”
“Another code.”
“Facial? Or voice?”
Saint grits out, “Digital.”
When my entire body is back in the room again, I blow out a breath. “Would’ve never been able to tell…”
Or imagine anything was able to drop down or pop out of this old ass castle-building. Let alone scan your damn face and expect conversation.
“That’s the point, Jimi.”
Duh.
“Why didn’t any of you guys stay in yours until now? I mean…even without the secret gadgets and trap doors these rooms are nice.”
Saint has clearly had enough of the conversation, because he collapses backwards onto my bed, covering his face with his hat. “Because even though they’re hidden, we can’t risk exposing them by bringing people in here.”
“By people…you mean girls.”
“By people…I mean anyone the Royal families don’t trust.”
I plop next to him on the bed. “Guess that says a whole lot about me, then.”
He replaces the hat with two hands scrubbing down his face, then shoots to his feet. “Fuck, Jimi. That’s not what I meant.”
“Then elaborate because right now all I’m taking from this is that you see me as an outsider.”
“You are anything but an outsider.”
I fold my arms and wait.
“I don’t know. I guess I felt like telling you would be relinquishing my control over protecting you.”
“How?”
