Page 28 of Santiago's Conquest (Four Dark Horsemen 1)

Which means any small thing can shake the unity and bring the downfall to all four involved, one of the reasons we’ve agreed to vote on decisions.

If a vote is not in someone’s favor, it means one of the four is on his own and deals with his situation separately, never endangering anyone else.

Sitting up straight and pushing my glass away, I twist the sapphire ring on my finger glistening in the harsh light and think back to the day Florian made it.

“What the fuck is this?” Remi asks, picking up one of the rings with a black jewel, examining it closely.

“These are our rings.” Florian gives us the rest, each one of them having a different color stone in the middle matching our eyes while the overall shape and the platinum surrounding it is identical. “With this, we are part of the Four Dark Horsemen, our unity.”

“Isn’t it like a chick thing?” Octavius wonders, slipping a ring on his hand. Oddly, they all look good on us, not standing out as unnecessary accessories. “I vote for matching tattoos.”

“We’ll do that too.” Remi shows us the design on his pad along with the quote. “In chaos do we thrive.”

“That’s what makes us feel alive,” I reply, and we all laugh while the darkness slowly settles into our hearts when the full meaning of this hits us.

Those rings forever represent one simple truth.

We’re murderers.

Taking off my ring, I throw it into the bowl, where it rattles loudly, and wait for their decision.

The clock hanging on the wall ticks loudly, the only sound filling the room, and I slide down in the chair, resting my head on the back of it while my eyes close, not rushing them.

And smile when I hear three distinctive rattles in the bowl, announcing to me their choice that I never doubted in the first place.

Once upon a time, a group of boys made a decision.

Form two groups of best friends who would be able to defend each other if a fight erupted inside the four.

And connect each other with one brotherhood.

A brotherhood that would seal their fates together and friendship that nothing would be able to break.

Even death.

Chapter Seven

“Achilles got Briseis by force.

She was a war’s spoils, his possession, his prize and reward.

With time, she grew to love him.

Or maybe she learned to accept her fate instead of dreaming about the impossible.”

Briseis

From Flora’s diaries

5 January

Sobs shake my entire body as I write this entry, the tears falling drop by drop on the paper and washing away the ink.

Happiness no longer wraps around my heart. No, now despair and agony fill every artery and the organ brings me so much pain I want to cut it out of my chest and throw it out the window.

Last night, I gave my body and soul to my Paris, and what a magical night it was… or so I thought anyway.

After it was all done, I told him my dreams about marriage and having his kids. He tensed in my arms, but I didn’t pay attention to it.

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