26. Konstantin
KONSTANTIN
A week after we spent the night in the secret room, it had become a habit. Every night after dorm leads had checked our floors, we’d sneak out and meet there. Sometimes we talked, and sometimes our bodies did the talking.
I had never been prone to addiction, but I was when it came to obsession, and it turns out Elyssa Ayaari was my most addictive obsession.
I could never get enough of her. Flashes of her on her knees last night, looking up at me with her mouth full of my cock had me at half-mast in the middle of a fucking meeting at the Church with my brothers.
Even Roman had finally decided to grace us with his presence, which was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
He sat next to Mikhail, looking bored out of his mind. His black hair contrasted with the fairness of his skin, which also contrasted with the dark ink ornating it. Roman looked nothing like us, mostly because he was not biologically related to us.
Dad had rescued him when he was seven, back in Russia. His mother had been a victim of the skin trade and his genitor was one of the fuckers who led the operations.
“So, it’s official. You’re getting hitched.” Mikhail took a swig straight from the bottle of vodka he’d snuck in. “I’m taking it means the meeting with her went well?”
Dominik snatched the bottle from him and took a swig himself, under our startled stares. Then he gulped again, again, and… again.
“Or not,” Mikhail concluded.
Finally pulling the bottle away from his mouth, he set it back on the table with a bang.
“She is the most infuriating woman I have ever met in my life. I wanted to wring her neck within five minutes of meeting her.”
He looked into the distance as if reliving the meeting he’d attended yesterday. It was rare to get permission to go back to the mainland, but not impossible. And clearly, this called for an emergency, so Dominik had flown there yesterday early in the morning and came back today at the same time.
“Then… why are you marrying her?”
“Because I have to. I couldn’t back down after meeting her, Arsen would have taken it as an insult,” he growled at Mikhail.
“Was she that ugly?”
“Ugly?” Our oldest brother frowned. “She’s fucking gorgeous; it’s her behavior, her character that leaves a lot to be desired.”
Mikhail laughed, smirking cunningly at Dominik. “Well, you should see the bright side of things then.” We all stared at him, waiting to know what he meant by that. “At least the sex will be hot. Hate sex is the best sex.”
I rolled my eyes and socked him in the shoulder, given that Dom was too far to do it himself. Mikhail yelped and winced, rubbing at his shoulder, that pussy.
Sighing dejectedly, Dom let his head fall back on the couch, looking at the ceiling.
“I guess he’s not wrong, though. At least I’ll finally be able to see what the hype about sex is about. I’ll let you know if it’s truly worth it or not.”
Mikhail, who had been drinking from the vodka bottle again sputtered, nearly choking on the liquid. I did too, but over air. Roman’s eyes widened and he frowned as he turned to look at Dom.
Sensing our reactions, our eldest brother let his eyes roam between all of us. “What?”
“Are you… are you saying you’re a virgin, brat ?” Mikhail asked, clearing his throat.
“We all are. We’re waiting for the one, remember?” He frowned, not understanding our reactions.
I couldn’t help but grin at him. I was still, technically, a virgin, but I wasn’t as clueless as I once was anymore. Plus, I had a feeling I’d be shedding that label soon, with how things were going.
Roman smirked, and Mikhail downright burst out laughing. “Oh, my God, what? You’re a virgin, Dom? Like… you didn’t do shit? Nothing? Not even some over-the-clothes action?”
“I—” His ears took on a pinkish color. “You mean you guys have—but mom and dad said—” He looked at me for support but I simply shrugged, looking away with a smirk. “ Even you?” He stared at Roman in shock.
Our brother simply grinned and then shrugged.
“I think it’s cute that you’ve been saving it for her,” Mikhail taunted. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll go slow the first time and it won’t hurt. Much.”
Dom glared at him before looking at me and nodding his head. I grinned, always happy to smack some sense into Mikhail, before I punched him again.
“Fuck! You guys need to stop that!”
The rest of the afternoon went by fast, with Dom filling us in about his meeting with Aronov. He would be graduating early in January, so a little over a month away, and immediately after, he’d take over Korolov Holdings. His wedding was set for March, to give him time to get used to his new job as CEO.
Mikhail and I would both join him afterward, once we graduated, but in the meantime, he was riding it solo.
Roman was the first to leave, as soon as we started talking business. He had no plans of working in any of our legitimate fronts, preferring to stay in the shadows instead. Mikhail then received a notification on his phone that had him all but running out of the Church, eliciting questioning stares from both me and Dom, but he acted as though he didn’t notice.
When I found myself alone with my oldest brother, I cleared my throat, something I’d meant to ask him for a while sitting on my tongue.
“Do you know anything about the Order of Tyche?”
He had been typing on his phone, answering an email, probably work-related, but stopped dead in his tracks as soon as my words were out in the open.
Slowly, he looked up at me, locking his phone and tossing it on the cushion next to him.
“Why are you asking me this?”
So the answer was yes.
“Just tell me what you know. Please.” That last part was only added because he was my only older brother that I had deep respect for.
“Did they come to you? Do they want you to join their ranks, is that it?” He straightened himself up before leaning on his knees.
His eyes were like a mirror of my own, searching my face for clues. The second I mentioned the Order he’d tensed up, and I frowned wondering why.
“No. Of course not. You know my loyalty is to my family.”
Dominik sighed in relief, slowly falling back against the sofa, nodding his head.
“But I do believe they’re related to a bunch of murders that happened this year. And that the school is covering for them.”
It was his turn to frown, gaze lost in the distance. “Probably, that wouldn’t surprise me. Why do you care?”
I opened my mouth but no words would come out. How was I supposed to tell him that I didn’t particularly care but I researched it because Elyssa seemed really interested in solving that mystery? He would freak out, knowing I was quite literally sleeping with the enemy. Dom couldn’t stand the Italians.
“Just tell me what you know. I can’t tell you why yet.”
My brother eyed me suspiciously but ultimately decided against saying anything. He sighed and threw his head back on the back of the couch.
“From what I know, it’s a brotherhood that was rekindled back when this school first opened.”
“When it was still an all-boys school?”
“Yes. The guys that initiated it were rich fuckers for the most part. They had the money but lacked a set of balls so they decided to get together and… help each other out, I guess. It was mostly about making connections, creating a name for yourself out there.”
“How did you know about it? Did they ask you to join them?” It made sense if that was the case because as soon as I’d asked him about the order, that’s where his mind went.
When he nodded, I knew I’d been right.
“In my first year here, I had to share my room with some scholarship kid from Wisconsin, Sam Mindings. He was hella smart, spoke four languages, first in our class in basically all subjects. Crazy wicked smart.” His gaze got lost in the distance. “But people still made fun of him because he came from a modest family.”
This story was starting to sound awfully familiar. It seemed like history always found a way to repeat itself, after all.
“One day, he came back late. We weren’t exactly friends but I guess we got along fine, like any roommates. That day, something was off about him. There seemed to be a new spring to his step, he looked more confident somehow.”
“He’d gotten into the brotherhood,” I concluded, linking my hands together and reclining in my seat, knees spreading a little.
“Not yet. But he’d been invited, and like the desperate fuck he was, he accepted. He told me I should join too, that the guy who approached him had spoken pretty fondly of me,” he snorted, shaking his head. “I refused, of course, but he still tried to change my mind. According to him, their brotherhood was sacred, they looked after each other. Of course, they had to prove they were worthy of being members first, but he didn’t look worried about that. Dumb fuck.”
“I gather it didn’t end well for him.”
“He was seeing a girl from one of his classes. She was also a scholarship student and I guess they both could relate to what it felt like being the poor ones in a sea of rich kids. He loved her. Really loved her. But she became his sacrifice.”
My eyes narrowed as I tried to make sense of what it even meant. How could he love her so much if he decided to kill her to benefit his own agenda?
“I have no idea how their sacrifices worked. Just that she was found in the woods, dead and missing gallons of blood. Pretty much like the girl they found a month ago.”
“How did the school board react to it?”
“They said she had killed herself. Everything was swept under the rug in record time, they couldn’t afford a scandal.”
“Where is he now? Sam?” I didn’t know anyone by that name in Dominik’s year but, again, most of his classmates left the Academy after getting their degree; they didn’t pursue a doctorate.
“He left not even a month after Stacy’s death. He was slowly losing his mind. I’d wake up in the middle of the night and find him knocking his head against the wall over and over again until blood drenched his face.”
Well, fuck.
“He couldn’t cope with what he’d done, but he also seemed… scared. I think he wanted to come clean to the authorities but was being blackmailed by the guys he’d linked himself to. The whole point of these sacrifices was that they would all have shit on one another as leverage. And if one of them became weak, then all of them would make him pay. So he ended up leaving and never returned. I have no idea where he is now.”
This was just as Elyssa had suspected. It made sense, too.
“Do you have any idea of who the other members were?”
Dominik thought about it for a beat. “Only one. Sam mumbled his name in his sleep whenever he was having nightmares. Jameson Taylor.”
My eyes widened. “Dean Taylor’s son?”
My brother nodded. “You have no idea how deep this all runs. The Order has men everywhere. They’re powerful, and they like to target poor guys or guys with something to prove because they’re easier to manipulate. They dangle success and power over their noses just to get them to do their dirty work. But these guys never make it very far, at best they end up working for the more powerful and confident ones.”
I let the information he’d given me seep in and settle into my brain, before looking up and boring my eyes into his.
“I need you to find Sam for me.”
ELYSSA
Going to the premiere of Swan Lake after my best friend had been injured and lost the role of her dreams felt wrong. Especially since she had been replaced by none other than my diabolical cousin.
It had crossed my mind a few times that Viola could have been responsible for what happened to Briar, but I had no proof. Unfortunately.
Next to me, a morose Briar looked up at the stage, where the curtains were still drawn, with sorrow written all over her face. She sat in a wheelchair to facilitate her recovery and I knew from seeing the pills in her bathroom drawer when I was helping her get ready, that she might be on the edge of depression.
Grabbing her hand, I squeezed it but she barely reacted.
People were still taking their seats, guided by various teachers from the art program. It was one of the few events in the school year where family and friends from outside the Academy were invited.
Viola’s mother was here, sitting in the first row, just like us, but thank God she had kept her distance and sat several seats away. She didn’t even bother with acknowledging my presence, only nodding at Mia when she walked past us to take her seat. She was a real bitch, just like her daughter.
I was surprised to see the Benetti family sitting next to her. Luca, his father, and even Atticus were all there. It was my understanding that they did it to show a united front. Atticus was, after all, set to marry Viola in less than a year.
That had been decided last week, and my cousin couldn’t wait to brag about it in front of Mia and me. She thought she’d make her jealous because there still wasn’t anything official regarding her and Luca. Little did she know, Mia would never be jealous of her over it.
The school theater was buzzing with energy, people were laughing and hugging their parents and family they hadn’t seen in a while. Briar said her grandfather wanted to come to support her but she’d refused. She insisted we come and watch as was our original plan, but all her enthusiasm was gone.
Suddenly, the ongoing chatter quieted down, and I frowned, turning around to find out why.
When I saw everyone staring at the entrance, I immediately understood.
The Korolovs were entering the room.
Of course, I knew Konstantin would be there, he’d assured me of it earlier after catching me in an empty classroom for a little make-out session, but I was far from imagining his whole family would be there too.
His parents were leading the way, walking hand in hand along the main alley, not bothering to look at anyone around them. They seemed in their own little world, which I couldn’t help but be envious of. Roman and Devina were next, the latter was looking around at the magnificence of the room like it was her first time here, which could be the case given she was a first-year student. After them were Mikhail and their youngest brother, Alexei, who didn’t attend the Academy yet. He was scowling at his older brother who had just messed up his hair and was grinning like a fool in return. I rolled my eyes at his antics.
Konstantin and his sister Dinara were right behind; she said something that caused a corner of his mouth to twitch which was as good as a deep belly laugh for Konstantin. I couldn’t help but admire him as he walked. He was always so confident, and that was one thing I’d loved about him even back when I hated him.
Next to me, I heard Mia’s soft gasp, bringing my attention back to her. Her gaze was dead set in the same direction I had been looking at and for a second I thought maybe she’d been staring at Konstantin too.
Uncontrollable jealousy made my stomach churn and for the first time, I wanted to slap her and force her to look elsewhere. But then I saw the hurt in her eyes, the tears welling up, ready to fall and ruin her makeup, and I understood Konstantin wasn’t the one she was looking at.
She had her eyes set behind him.
Specifically, on Dominik, who had an Asian beauty wrapped around his arm as they walked in perfect synchrony. The girl fit right in with the Korolovs: she was beautiful, curvy, and dressed in a perfect black bodycon dress that hugged her figure. Her waist was on the smaller side but she wasn’t skinny by any means. She had thick thighs and round hips, even the slightest bit of a belly. The dress highlighted her curves, but she was already beautiful regardless. Long straight black hair stopped right below her waist, dark red painted her full lips and almond eyes as black as the midnight sky took in the giant, ostentatious room.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out who she was: Dominik Korolov’s fiancée.
I turned back to Mia whose face crumbled down as she took in the new couple. She spun around fast, her eyes back on the stage. I sighed, putting my hand on her shoulder.
“Mia—”
“It’s okay. I’m fine. Just surprised he’d bring her here. It makes it more… official.”
I mean, their engagement had been all over the news for weeks now, you could hardly make it more official.
Deciding against saying anything else, I looked at my phone instead when I felt it vibrate on my lap. A message from Konstantin lit up the screen and I bit my lip to keep the smile from breaking out.
K. You look magnificent tonight.
Ever since we’d started seeing each other, he’d send me unexpected texts like this throughout the day. I had to say, it made me blush and only fueled the fire in my belly where he was concerned.
The Korolov family had taken their seats at the end of the first row, at the opposite end of where my friends and I were. I tried looking in their direction inconspicuously, but when my eyes clashed with his, I couldn’t help the little smile that broke on my face.
What I felt for him was only getting stronger by the day and it scared me shitless. We spent all our nights together, either researching The Order or sometimes just lying on the floor in front of the fireplace together. I was so attracted to him, but it wasn’t only physical. I felt like I was finally getting to know him, in a way even his closest friends didn’t, and it made me feel special. I loved the way he blushed, and how eager he got whenever I shared my body with him. The way he’d hold me afterward. Everything was perfect.
Which was why I couldn’t help but think it would be coming to an end soon. Nothing this good could last.
Still looking at him, I noticed he was now frowning at me and realized it was because my smile had slipped.
Then my eyes strayed just a few inches away from his and I got caught in an icy glare. Eyes even brighter than Konstantin’s.
His mother’s.
Adna Korolova was looking at me like she could see through my soul. I gulped but didn’t dare glance away. I knew that, just like her kids, she would take it as a weakness. And for some reason, I did not want her to think of me as weak.
When the lights in the room dimmed down and music started playing, that’s when she finally looked away to focus on the stage and I could do the same with a sigh of relief.
Checking on Briar and Mia, who sat on either side of me, I noticed both of them had expressions of grief on their faces as the ballet started. Sinem, who sat next to Briar, caught me looking and sent a small, reassuring smile my way.
I felt like I’d barely seen her those past few weeks. She was always disappearing in the middle of the day, especially on the weekends when classes were off. We mostly talked via texts and ate lunch and dinner together. After Briar came back to school, a week after her operation, Sinem was always there for her, helping her get to class—which was easier for her to do since they were both art students—and we took turns along with Mia to help her get dressed in the mornings and at nights, which she couldn't do alone with the cast taking up the majority of her leg.
The first time was my turn and while I helped her into her skirt, Briar crumbled down, sobbing on my shoulder. It wasn’t easy for her, having to relearn how to do everything from her wheelchair, but the doctors said it wouldn’t be forever.
They also said there was no way she would be able to dance professionally, but at least she should make a full recovery in terms of being able to walk.
The ballet started, opening with Prince Siegfried’s birthday celebration and I soon found myself drawn into it. When it was time for Katarina Korolova’s first scene, I was transfixed by the way she moved. She looked like she was floating. Her steps were all carefully placed, a testament to the years of practice she’d had; even her facial expression was serene, like she was only at peace when dancing. She made an amazing White Swan.
The show was amazing: everyone put their heart into it and it was pretty obvious. My gaze got lost in the crowd and somehow ended up on Atticus Benetti’s face. He never noticed me staring because his eyes were on the girl on stage; he stalked her every move. It wasn’t the first time he’d attended a show here, and every time it was implied that he’d done it as a way to court Viola, but the look in his eyes as he watched Katarina twirl said otherwise.
Or maybe it was just me.
After the third act, it was time for the entr’acte and I took it as an opportunity to go to the bathroom. I excused myself from my friends and made my way out, careful not to look Konstantin’s way.
By the time I came out of the stall and started washing my hands, I was alone and took that opportunity to check my makeup. Since this was a school event that parents attended, the admin insisted we all dressed up. Other than the customary little black dress that every girl possessed, I only had one elegant dress in my closet and that was the one Sinem had purchased for me the day we almost got killed in the village.
The deep red made my skin pop up, Mia had curled my hair in loose waves earlier and Sinem’s talented hands worked wonders with makeup. I had to say, I loved the way I looked this evening, even if it was out of my comfort zone. Just as I was about to turn around and return to the theater, the door swung open and none other than Adna Korolova appeared.
She looked even more beautiful from up close.
And more dangerous, too.
I fidgeted with the fabric of my dress where it stretched over my thighs, not knowing what to do with myself.
It wasn’t a coincidence that she was here because her eyes zoomed in on me the very second she came in. I decided to wait for her to and make the first move, without looking away either.
She walked to me, her heels clicking on the marble floor, until we came face to face.
“So it’s you.”
Her voice was just like I had imagined it: confident and hoarse but still very feminine. I decided not to answer, still unsure about what I should say.
“You’re the girl causing trouble for my son.”
Taking a deep breath, I decided to be brave. For some reason, I wanted to make a good impression and I knew that Korolovs valued bravery.
“With all due respect, your son had it coming.”
Her eyes stopped roaming my face before settling on mine.
“Oh?” Head tilted to the side, she waited for me to continue, and I nodded despite the rosiness tinting my cheeks. “So you gave just as good as you received, I take it? An eye for an eye?”
My gaze unwavering, I said, “Yes.”
Then, the craziest thing happened. The corner of her mouth twitched before she caught herself. Korolova took a step back and nodded her head once, firmly.
“Good.”
Then she turned around and walked to the exit. Right before she opened the door, she turned to look at me over her shoulder. “Elyssa?”
“Yes?”
“Do as you please in your little prank war with my son but the next time you involve drugs and risk tinting his school record, I’ll kill you.”
And then she was gone. I exhaled and slumped against the wall behind me, relief washing all over me.
By the time I made it back to my seat, the fourth and last act had already started. Katarina was back on stage, dancing and hypnotizing everyone in the public, as she had since the show started.
But something was off and I could see it on her face.
Gone was the serene, almost blissful expression.
Now, pain marred her beautiful features, tears welled in her eyes as she danced to the rhythm of the music. A silent tear rolled down her cheek but she couldn’t wipe it away. She continued moving perfectly but I couldn’t feel her passion anymore.
“Something is wrong,” Briar whispered, sitting up straight and watching Katarina with hawk-eyed scrutiny.
“What? She’s dancing beautifully, just like before,” Mia answered, clueless.
“No. Her feet aren’t placed properly, she’s in pain. There’s something in her shoes.”
Briar was frowning, upset that she knew something was wrong but couldn’t do anything about it.
Grabbing my phone, I fired a text to Konstantin.
Me: Briar said there’s something wrong with your sister. She’s in pain, something in her shoes.
I watched silently as he checked his phone, reading my message before frowning and locking it again. Discreetly, he leaned towards his brother Dominik and whispered something only he could hear.
They both got up and disappeared behind the scenes.
“Oh my God.”
My attention was brought back to Briar to see her clutch a hand against her mouth, staring at the stage in horror. A collective gasp resounded from the public but the music never stopped. Looking over at Katarina, my heart lurched in my throat when I noticed a deep shade of red slowly seeping into the fabric of her white ballet shoes and spreading around.
She was bleeding.
“Someone put glass shards in her shoes,” Briar whispered, shock causing her voice to waver.
Whispers broke out in the public, so much so that they drowned out the music.
And Katarina never stopped dancing.
Her family members were on their feet, her mother looking simultaneously worried out of her mind and furious. Even the new addition to the Korolov name, Dominik’s fiancée, seemed upset and worried about what was happening.
And Katarina never stopped dancing.
Mikhail was being held back by Roman and Alexei, but he looked seconds away from rushing up the stage and grabbing his twin sister to stop her suffering.
And Katarina never stopped dancing.
“Somebody stop this goddamn show!” an angry voice barked, bringing my attention to it.
Atticus Benetti was on his feet, looking like he was seconds away from losing it. Viola’s mother looked mortified, not at the sight of her daughter’s classmate suffering, but because Atticus had clearly taken a stance in front of many family representatives. He had just defended a Korolov.
Katarina finished her choreography, her ballet shoes now totally doused in crimson, silent tears drenching her face as she did her best not to let her agony peek through.
The music came to an end, and the curtains closed, hiding her from view.
We were all too shocked to applaud, deafening silence was stretching around us.
The violence of what we’d just watched was stifling, we were all still trying to wrap our heads around it when Briar spoke quietly, and put all the pieces together.
“Somebody sabotaged her.”