“Uh-huh.”
“What the fuck is uh-huh supposed to mean?”
He tilts his head slowly, maniacally. “I say, there’s more to it than you’re letting on.”
“Are you going to ride or should I leave you behind?”
“Riding, riding. Christ. Did getting hit on the head make you lose your manners?”
I forgot about that.
Despite the dull ache on my temple and the now probably dried-up blood. It has to do with the strange tolerance to pain I’ve had since I was a kid.
It came after a lot of nightmares.
Which is also behind my lack of sleep.
The engine of my bike revs, then I hit the road. Nikolai follows right after me.
Out of the Heathens’ members, we’re the only two who like being in the wind. Since the road we’re taking is on the seaside, we breathe the salty air that seeps beneath the helmets.
Nikolai flings both his arms wide like the crazy motherfucker he is. Sometimes, it’s like he has a death wish.Wishes, to be more specific.
After a few moments of peace, I go at a supersonic speed, riding wide fucking open.
This is where I find calm. Where everything fades into the background and only my physical body exists.
This is where I go to clear my head and prepare for the next steps to take and the people to eliminate.
I learned early on that power isn’t handed to you. You snatch it, and if you have to bleed for it, then so be it.
Power is a wild horse that’s only tamed by the strongest.
Which is what I am. In every aspect. Aside from my family and the people who will rule by my side, everyone else is a pawn on the map of my path to the throne.
And that path is paved with thorns, betrayals, and destruction. People way older and more experienced than me have tried and failed to come out on top.
Some lost their lives for it, too.
But I have the advantage of being born into this world. Of witnessing how it breaks people and never allows them to put themselves together again.
I’ve become immune to its monstrosity, adjusted to its requirements, and gotten used to its workings.
Which is why I’m taking it one step at a time.
Patience might not be Nikolai’s favorite word, but it’s one of my principles.
Patience and the sheer power of my persistence can get me anywhere.
And knowledge. As my father taught me.
Information is sharper than any weapon, and if you have it in your arsenal, no one will be able to cross you.
This is why I have eyes and spies wherever my enemies exist.
Namely, with the Serpents and the Elites.
One would argue that the Elites have nothing to do with us. They have no criminal background, are posh kids with dull British manners, and belong to a completely different world.