I frown. I thought Killian was going to fight Creigh, not someone else. But maybe he changed his mind, after all.
It’s impossible to imagine someone like him willingly losing anything anyway.
“Phew! I didn’t miss the big fight.” Ava slides in beside me, pushing a few rebel blonde hairs away from her eyes.
I search behind her. “Where’s Ces?”
“With Annika in obligatory confinement at the dormitory. She didn’t have to stay with her, but she was like, fuck Jeremy—I know, she really wants to die young—and kept Anni company.” Ava exhales. “That chap is scary as fuck and he doesn’t have to talk to relay it. Just his icy stare is enough. He even has guards and full-on security on freaking campus. I didn’t believe Anni could be anything but the prettiest doll alive, but she’s a mafia princess, after all.”
“Are you sure they’ll be okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. He won’t actually hurt his sister. He’s just being overprotective.”
“Cecily isn’t his sister, though.”
“No, but she has balls bigger than his guards. Don’t worry about her.” She throws up a dismissive hand. “Now, what did I miss?”
“The other player is about to get in.” I tilt my head toward the one covered with a satin robe.
“O.M.G. Nikolai Sokolov?”
“You know him?”
“Everyone on campus but you does.” She rolls her eyes. “I have to educate you on everything, I swear. What would you do without me?”
“Flounder in ignorance?”
“Exactly. So you should be thankful. Listen up. So Nikolai is one of the Heathens’ founding members and The King’s U’s rulers. See all those muscles and tattoos? They’re real. This is where you can judge a book by its cover, because Nikolai has an infamous knack for violence. All those bodies that are rumored to have been thrown in the sea? He’s the one who chopped them up. You know how Jeremy is called The Overlord? Nikolai is The Punisher. He’s like their human weapon.”
My blood goes icy. The more I hear about the Heathens, the more I dislike them. “And should Creigh fight a human weapon?”
“He’ll be fine. Cray Cray is a tough devil and our reigning champion. No human weapon will stop him.”
“Still, that guy looks thirsty for blood.”
“That’s because he is.” She searches her surroundings, then leans over and whispers, “He’s in the mafia, too. Like Jeremy.”
“Really?”
“Totally. Like, you know, even his name, Nikolai Sokolov, is actually the same as his great-grandfather who was the founder and ruler of the New York Bratva. And now, both his parents are leaders there. He and Jeremy are ruthless mobsters in the making.”
“And how do you know all of this?” I don’t know why I whisper back.
“Everyone does.” She pulls away. “And Anni gave me inside intel because she’s sweet like that and she’s been around them her whole life. So I’m like an expert on The King’s U’s inner circle now—or more like the Heathens. Serpents are a mystery.”
“And that’s something to be proud of?”
“Of course. You have to form interpersonal relationships because you never know when you’ll need them. Look.” She jerks her chin in the direction of a man who’s talking to Nikolai. He’s wearing a button-down and black trousers, appearing like he’s straight out of a formal photoshoot.
“That one is Gareth Carson, The Fixer, in their club. You know, the one who stops shit from hitting the fan with authorities or the chancellor. He’s studying law and will probably be cleaning up all of their criminal messes one day.”
“He…looks familiar.”
“That’s because he’s Killian’s older brother.”
I choke on my spit and must be staring at her like a dead fish, since Ava shakes my shoulder, then waves in front of my eyes. “Hi, hello? Are you there? I swear you bitches will be the death of me. One is a mafia princess, the other is suicidal, and this one lags.”
“That’s rude. And I’m here.”