Page 21 of The Pretty Savage

She looked at me and slowly started walking to the right side of the building, looking back to see if I was following. I caught up with her, walking side by side, when she started talking again. "They were created shortly after the Academy opened its doors."

"Yeah, you told me that earlier."

"I did, didn't I?" She smiled weakly. "What I didn't tell you is that they were created to preserve the purity of the Academy. To preserve what it stood for. They couldn't allow weak men and women to leave here and go out into the world. You were either the best or you were dead, Vega, and they're still trying to do it now."

"Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah. Which is why I have to graduate this year. There's no other option for me."

"But, is no one doing anything to stop them?"

"They would if they knew who the actual members were. They don't even know who's leading it. They don't know who's orchestrating everything, and let me tell you something," she lowered her voice, "there's something in the air this year. People are antsy, and I know I kept on gushing about the three of them being here, but there's a reason for that. Some say they are the ones leading The Brotherhood, while others think they are just bystanders because of who their families are."

"And what do you think?"

A second passed before she took a deep breath. "I think that I'm gonna be in a lot of shit if I don't manage to find a husband this year. Dying slowly is better than dying by the hand of somebody that doesn't really care about me. At least if I get married to somebody I'll be able to live my life, no matter how restricted it might get. It might not be the best option, but it is my only one."

And if that didn't crack my heart a bit, I had no idea what would. The lost look on her face made me want to do something I never did—not since Tyler. I wanted to hug her and tell her she wouldn't have to live that life. We didn't really know each other, but one thing I hated more than Heinrich was the fact that some had to live in fear while others feasted on the stench of it, controlling every single aspect of the victim's life. And Yolanda was just another name on the long list of names I knew, where somebody else controlled everything she did in her short life.

She was far too young to be thinking like this, to be resigning herself to a fate worse than death, but she wanted to live. I could see that, and she had so much to give if only she’d had the luck to be born into a different family. I guess in a way we were more similar than I initially thought.

I had no other choice but to follow the rules The Schatten had set up for me, and she had no other choice but to follow the rules her father had set out for her.

A storm brewed in me, anger at the world, at the unfairness of it all threatening to suffocate me as we walked to the side of the building, while neither one of us spoke. And what was there to be said? I couldn't tell her what my life was like and that one day she would be able to be free, when I myself wasn't free. At least not yet.

The freedom I so desperately craved was at the tips of my fingers, becoming more and more real with each passing day, but I still couldn't grasp it. I still couldn't breathe in without thinking about the next assignment, the next fucking mission. I still couldn't relax when the phone rang, because I knew that meant The Schatten needed something. I had no friends and no family, no one to miss me if I were to disappear one day, and the possibility of that happening was bigger than I wanted to think about.

People in my line of work disappeared for knowing far less and Heinrich was aware that I knew way too much to just be let go. He knew the information I had could cost him everything he had, which was why he held me on a leash, still controlling everything I did. We both knew I was a loose cannon. I didn't like the rules they set out for me. I had nothing left to lose, no one I loved, and it was my fault for opening my big fucking mouth and demanding to be let go.

I was careful not to share any of my weaknesses, wishes or dreams with them, but that one slipup, one little sentence, and my destiny was sealed until he decided to set me free. But I was tired of waiting for things to happen, looking at life as some bystander while everybody else got to experience things I could only dream of.

Maybe my heart wasn't made for love and my life wasn't suitable for someone far more innocent than I was, but I wanted to experience that. To know what it was like when someone looked at you as if you were their whole world. When they held you in their arms and the only thing you felt was peace and happiness, because you finally found your person. You found someone worth dying for.

Yolanda pulled out an envelope from her pocket, her hands shaking as she extracted the invitation sent on a black piece of paper, while the wind started picking up, making me burrow into the thin coat I had on. I should've worn something warmer—I really, really should have, but now it was too late to turn around and go back to my room to change.

My new friend stared at the paper in her hands as if it could give her all the answers in this world, and maybe, in a way, this was her ticket to get away from her father. But at what cost? She was going to go from one prison to another just because she thought she wasn't strong enough to fight against the current.

"I'll do the talking," she murmured, her voice muffled by the sound of the wind. "I honestly have no idea what to expect, you know? I've heard bits and pieces about these gatherings over the years, but I've never attended one, so if I look a bit lost, don't worry about me." As if that was going to happen. I was going to follow her around like her own personal shadow, whether she liked it or not. "But one of the girls last year said it was fun, so we will see, right?"

Yolanda had a tendency to ramble whenever she was nervous, at least that much was obvious from the short interactions we'd had today. Whereas I preferred to keep quiet and observe my surroundings, she obviously found solace in talking, and I wasn't going to hold that against her. I had to admit, when I first met her I wanted her to shut up and let me think in peace, but now… I guess she was growing on me.

She started moving suddenly, and I followed, looking around us to make sure no one was around. I didn't care that it was a public secret that The Brotherhood existed, I still wasn't taking any chances and at places like these, like the Academy, enemies lurked at every single corner. Perhaps mistaking cruelty with benevolence was what cost Tyler his life, and I wasn't going to make the same mistake.

We slowly descended toward the old stairs placed right next to the building of the Academy, and if it wasn't for Yolanda knowing where we were supposed to go, I never would've even thought to look for this place. The pathway was narrow, and as we descended farther down, I realized we were coming closer and closer to the edge of the cliff—and I did not like it.

Not one bit.

Heights weren't necessarily something I enjoyed, and every time I had a mission that involved anything related to them, I bit my tongue until blood spilled into my mouth, reminding me I was still alive. I could do this. I was Vega Konstantinova and not the little girl that stood on top of our house when my foot slipped and gravity pulled me into its embrace, only to end up with a broken leg and a broken arm.

I pressed the palms of my hands to the wall, just like Yolanda, noticing the little stones tumbling down into the abyss covered by fog, and just like before, I bit down on my tongue, letting the burn distract me from the fact that we were walking down the stairs of death.

"I think we're almost there!" Yolanda yelled out, her voice barely audible even though mere inches separated us.

This wasn't what I had in mind when she said we were going to go to this little gathering.

9

VEGA

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