Inked on my flesh forever will be the royal symbol of the Gilded Sovereign. My ancestors created it and the legacy will soon be mine. My future is held in the hands of a secret society. And I have plans. The moment I’m sworn in, I’ll seek my revenge.
With the power the Sovereign allows me, I’ll be able to finally get vengeance on the asshole who’s haunted my dreams since I was sixteen. I wanted to find him then, to make him pay, but my father assured me that nothing good would come of it.
I had to wait.
But patience is not my virtue.
I pull up to the university and take note of the new students all milling around the entrance. It’s as if they’re afraid to step inside and rightly so. This place is haunted with ghosts of the ancestors who built it. At least, that’s what the residents of Tynewood tell anyone new who moves here.
Fear is one emotion that’s been eradicated from me. Forced out of me since I was a child. At sixteen, I bore witness to my mother’s murder, which has desensitized me from the violence of the world. Perhaps it’s the blood that runs through my veins—blue blood.
As a Lancaster, our family has a history in this town, and it goes back all the way to the fucking eighteen hundreds. I can never escape who I am, or what I am, but that’s where the beauty lies, I never want to. I’ve accepted the man I am.
When I turned eighteen, my father finally explained it all, told me the truth about what will be expected of me. He knew I wouldn’t refuse. The night my mother was murdered, I vowed I’d kill the man who did it, and Dad promised he’d help me. I want to make him proud.
The only way to get my revenge is to have the backing of the society. They can sweep anything under the rug, whether it’s violence, bribery, or an illicit affair.
The Lancaster name will always be whispered throughout the town, throughout the hallways of Tynewood University. I’m proud of my heritage, no matter how bloody and violent it is, it’s who I am. It’s my birthright.
Shoving the door of my Maserati open, I exit the vehicle and glance around. It’s fall, and the air is heavy with the promise of winter. I enjoy the cold, the rain… it calms me.
“There he is.” My best friend and confidante, Etienne Durand, saunters up to me with his confident swagger. His ancestors, like mine, are one of the founding families in this town. And he’ll soon be beside me as we’re initiated into the Gilded Sovereign.
“I see the fresh meat has arrived,” I remark, taking in the freshmen all huddled in the corner of the quad. Blondes, brunettes, redheads, even blue-haired beauties fill the space.
“Fuck yeah, man,” Etienne chuckles, slapping me on the shoulder in camaraderie. “And this weekend we’re going to party,” he informs me, with a grin of mischievousness. Every year, we throw a welcome party for the new students. And every year, I make sure I have one pretty girl, in particular, I focus on.
They all fall into the trap I set—taunting and teasing them—and when I break their hearts, the pleasure is all mine. It’s a sick game I play, but I can’t bring myself to stop.
It’s all part of being royalty.
I can do whatever I want.
“Who’s that?” Tarian, the third in our trio, saunters up beside me, nudging his chin in the direction of a pretty dark-haired vixen. She’s a head shorter than me, her hair hangs down to her tailbone, and she’s dressed like a tomboy. Chucks, a pair of skinny jeans, and a too-big tee.
But it’s her full, pouty lips that grab my attention. She’s smiling at her friend, a pretty blonde. Even though she looks like she’s happy, her stance is rigid, as if she’s tense about something. We could put it down to first day nerves, or could it be something else?
“I want to find out,” I tell him, still eyeing up the beauty that’s caught my attention. “Let’s go, I have to get to class before that asshole, Harding loses his shit.” My sneer is evident, and the frustration in my tone is clear. Professor Harding is one of the history professors who heads up the department. And he’s also one of the Elder Crowns, one of the men I have to keep happy.
I’m spending the year as his Teaching Assistant when he needs me. Even though I have classes of my own to attend, I’ll be offering my free time to Harding because Dad has made sure I behave this year.
Last year, I rebelled, I fought back at every turn, but when he told me I would step up as a Crown of the Sovereign, I tampered down my rage and focused on revenge instead.