“Play your Tower now,” I demanded. “I want Sol six feet under as soon as possible.”
“And what next?” Arvo wondered. “Once we kill Sol, other people will find out.”
“We’ll neutralize Schmidt,” I gritted out, an ache gripping my chest before I spoke my next words. “And maybe Biba.”
“She’s a bigger threat than we expected her to be,” Arvo pointed out. “She got close to you. Who knows how much she knows about us? Sol has probably told her everything.”
I thought about all of the times that Biba and my eyes had locked. She had been staring into my soul, and she still lied right to my face. After all of those passionate moments in bed together, she still betrayed me. I couldn’t believe I thought that such a heartless person was the girl for me.
“We’ll stop her before she does anything,” I replied. “Or we can make sure that she’s too scared to open her mouth in the first place.”
Arvo grinned slightly as he tilted his chin up.
“Then, I’ll kill Sol tonight,” he said.
I looked up at him, common sense suddenly striking me. Things were moving so fast. Soon, Sol would be dead, and Biba would be nothing to me. I had to watch my next steps. I already messed up by letting a traitor get so close to me.
“Not immediately. The King of Crowns can’t be seen to have killed one of his own,” I muttered as I shook my head. “I need to leave the country before you kill him so that no one thinks I did it.”
“Best be on your way. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” Arvo smirked, looking excited to finally act on his plan. He reached under his bed to pull out a black case. After setting it on his bed, he flipped open the top, revealing a set of silver daggers nestled against a red velvet interior.
I didn’t share in his joy. In fact, I hadn’t ever felt this miserable before. My entire body felt heavy, making me drag myself out of Arvo’s room to return back to mine. I had to pack and get out of here. Maybe some distance would do me some good, but I also hated the thought of being away while big things happened.
However, if I wanted Sol dead, I had to disappear. I headed toward my room, spotting a few of Arvo’s spies huddled out in the hallway together. They looked up at me and started to turn to walk away, but I held up my hand.
“Come here,” I told them, coaxing them to walk over to me in a cautious manner. They had been well trained by Arvo. They knew who ruled this school, whose feet they needed to kiss to survive and thrive around here.
“Yes?” one of the boys asked, tensing as he waited for either an order or a punishment. The others didn’t look any more at ease than he did.
I peered at the small group, my teeth grinding. I had to leave, so I couldn’t tell Biba that we were done. I still wanted to send a message, though. She needed to know that she had messed up. Big time. She had fucked with the wrong person, and she had to face the consequences. I did warn her.
“I have a task for you to complete.”
CHAPTER 15
BIBA
After my intense encounter with Sol in the archives, I hid out in the library for a few hours, cursing myself for giving into my desires. I couldn’t risk being with Sol, especially being seen with him. If word got back to Zephyr and Arvo, they would be so angry.
They were already so suspicious of him, and they had been watching my every move. The sight of us together would make them wary, and I didn’t want to lose their trust. I knew how dangerous it was to be on the Kings’ bad side, and I didn’t want to find myself in a terrible position, begging for their mercy.
Kings didn’t have any mercy, and I wasn’t some random person who stepped on their toes. I was as close to them as possible. I pledged myself to them, gave myself to them. In return, they swore themselves to me, and I violated the trust between us. I made myself more vulnerable than I had ever been in my life. They would take advantage of that if they felt compelled to.
Once I grew tired of the library, I decided to walk through the courtyard on the way back to Zephyr’s suite. I hoped that he wasn’t upset like he was earlier. He had been so pushy, trying to pry the truth out of me. I didn’t mean to act so off, but so much had been on my mind lately, and Zephyr’s prying eyes didn’t make me feel any better.