Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Blair
The harsh wind bit at my face as we stepped beneath a canopy of stars. Tonight’s air felt heavier, like an unwelcome storm was brewing.
Before coming to Saint Vale, I’d never experienced weather that was constantly gray and overcast. It was like we were set in our own little dark world, where nothing happy was allowed.
After leaving our dorm room, I’d followed Daphne and Seraphina down hidden corridors and a narrow staircase instead of taking the normal route out of the university.
I needed to start memorizing those secret exits.
The fewer times I ran into Arisono, the less chance she had to give me my third strike.
My hair blew in every direction, sticking to my lips, and I paused to roll the hair tie off my wrist and secure my hair in a high ponytail.
I lagged behind Daphne and Seraphina as we walked the path toward the courtyard, passing gas streetlights and empty benches.
This Lair wasn’t on the school map, telling me that it was a secret place only a select few knew about. Probably most of the few Daphne had said didn’t have rules or curfews.
Since Enzo had instructed Seraphina to bring me here, I knew he’d be there, waiting for me. I gnawed on my lip, nervous about what that’d bring.
I trusted Daphne, but I was uncertain how I felt about Seraphina. Her veins held the same blood as the man tormenting me.
She was also the daughter of a Mafia boss they’d nicknamed Monster freaking Marchetti. Surely, some of that cruelty had seeped into her bloodstream.
I wondered what their mother was like. She hadn’t attended the funeral. My thoughts drifted to whether Enzo and Seraphina had the same mother as Benny, given the significant age difference. Benny, though handsome, was a few decades older than they were.
I wanted to know Enzo’s secrets as well.
To crack him open as much as he wanted to do to me.
My hand was clammy as I slipped it into my pocket, checking that the paper was still there. I knew Enzo wouldn’t be happy when he read it.
I decided that I wouldn’t be the only one expected to hand out their secrets. I wanted to know the secrets of the man who suddenly owned me.
Or at least thought he owned me.
“I can’t believe he’s letting her come to the Lair,” Daphne muttered to Seraphina, though her tone was far from hushed. “Enzo could get in trouble for it.”
“I was just as shocked as you,” Seraphina said. “Me bringing her could get my ass in trouble.”
“You’re Cristian Marchetti’s daughter,” Daphne argued. “You can do whatever you want.”
“You’re wrong about that, dear friend,” she muttered.
“And you’re positive he said to bring her here?” Daphne asked with worry clear in her voice.
“I didn’t dream him telling me that,” Seraphina said before her voice turned into a low sigh. She hid her laugh as she said, “I dream about the brothers from Vampire Diaries taking off my clothes and sucking my blood. Not my brother bossing me around.”
“Team Damon,” they both said at the same time before high-fiving.
The antique light posts guided us as we turned right toward the greenhouse. No one else was outside.
“It’s just …” Daphne paused, her voice trailing off as we stopped at the greenhouse door. “You rarely see Fawns in the Lair. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one.”
They spoke about me as if I were not there.
“Trust me, I know.” Seraphina dug a key from her purse and jammed it into the greenhouse door’s lock. “I had to ask twice if he was pranking me. When he swore he wasn’t, I told him he owed me a new Rolex for my escorting duties.”
I held in my snort of how she’d manipulated Enzo to buy her something for collecting me. My new goal was to reach Seraphina’s level and win arguments with Enzo. I seemed to lose every single time with him.
Deep down, I knew I needed to start playing by his rules. If I wanted to survive this Fawn situation, I had to play the part and keep Enzo happy.
Daphne’s words from earlier replayed in my head. “You could be the Fawn who captures the heart of the cruelest Son of them all.”
A new idea sparked inside me. A new plan.
I could make Enzo like me. Maybe then he’d relax and lessen his cruelty. Maybe I wouldn’t fear him killing me every damn five seconds.
We entered the greenhouse, and the hot, humid air smacked me in the face.
As I shut the door behind us, Daphne leaned toward Seraphina and whispered, “He’s different with Blair.”
My back straightened at her comment.
“Really?” Seraphina asked, locking the door behind us.
The rows of LED grow lights above the plants were our only source of light, bathing the greenhouse in a soft, artificial glow.
“Really,” Daphne said.
“I mean, he did bring her around my father and Benny, which has never happened. But he could have also done it to piss off our father.”
“What do you mean?” Daphne asked.
“He’s setting up an arranged marriage for Enzo.”
Daphne grasped Seraphina’s elbow. “Oh shit. I already feel bad for whichever girl he chooses. I’d hate to marry Enzo.”
“Bringing a girl around while also on the hunt for a potential wife is a bad look,” Seraphina said. “One that’d make any father looking to marry his daughter off not happy.”
So, Enzo brought me to the funeral to piss off his father.
The sounds of their words and footsteps echoed through the small building.
I followed them, breathing in the aroma of blooming flowers and green plants, while running my finger over a rose stem. I winced, jerking my hand away as a sharp thorn dug into my finger. I brought my finger to my lips, tasting the metallic flavor of the small drop of blood.
Hmm. I didn’t get why Enzo was still obsessed with the taste. It wasn’t anything special.
Realizing I no longer heard their voices, I turned in a circle, looking for them. My heartbeat blasted against my chest because I’d lost them.
It settled when I heard Daphne faintly call out my name. I hurried toward a small open door in the corner and squeezed through a narrow passage.
I blinked, adjusting to the dimmer light, and found them standing in front of a wall of shelves that hid another entrance.
Daphne vanished through the doorway first, and I trailed behind her. The moment I stepped off the main floor, I tripped on a step.
“Shit,” I hissed just as Daphne turned, darting her arms out to keep me from falling.
“Are you nervous?” she asked as I steadied myself, wishing these concrete steps had a handrail.
I brushed dust off my sweater. “I mean, I am about to go to a place called the Lair,” I said nervously as Seraphina pushed a button.
Behind us, the door swung shut, and the three of us descended the steps.
“It’s actually the Devil’s Lair,” Seraphina explained when we landed in a long concrete hallway illuminated by wall sconces. “We just call it Lair for short.”
The added Devil’s at the beginning sure didn’t make me feel any better.
Down in the earth again, I wondered how many places were underground here. I needed to research Saint Vale more because none of these underground areas were on the map Arisono had provided in my welcome packet.
As we walked, a sense of uneasiness settled over me, as if this were the calm before the storm.
Whatever I was about to step into would be a different world for me. Like Dorothy being whisked away, tumbling through the wind, and landing in the Land of Oz.
We didn’t walk far until they stopped at a door eerily marked with a carved skull. As I inched closer, I noticed a snake slithering from the hollow eye socket.
This place keeps getting creepier.
“Welcome to the Devil’s Lair,” Daphne said. “A place few know exists, let alone are invited to.”
Seraphina swiped a card through a scanner to the right. It gave a soft beep, blinked once, and the door swung open.
I followed them inside, my gaze sweeping the space. Unlike the cold corridor, this no longer felt underground.
The room matched the atmosphere of an upscale bar, built for billionaires to drown themselves in expensive liquor and cigars.
A sound from the right corner grabbed my attention. A group of guys sprawled on the couch with their eyes glued to the TV.
At a pub table nearby, one sat alone. In the low light above him, I noticed a jagged scar on his right cheek. His gaze stayed on us as he repeatedly opened his Zippo, then snuffed the flame.
The room felt … familiar. Goose bumps prickled my skin. I didn’t know if it was the air or something deeper, but I had a strange sense of déjà vu.
Nausea swirled in my gut, telling me that this was where Enzo had taken me to play that ridiculous knife game.
“Come on,” Daphne chirped, grabbing my hand and pulling me across the room toward Adelina and Livia, who were chatting on a plush leather sectional.
Insecurity surfaced inside me. I hadn’t changed out of my black leggings, only thrown on a sweater, and I felt underdressed compared to the girls. The last time I’d looked in the mirror, dark circles ringed my eyes and exhaustion had been written all over my face.
Do any of these girls, other than Daphne, know I just endured my brutal Initiation?
Speaking of Sons …
I suspected most of them were on the opposite side of the room, though it was hard to identify them when they weren’t masked.
Cowards.
At least show your face when you’re terrorizing women.
I didn’t get a chance to pick the girls’ brains before Brooks came toward us, swaying side to side with a glass of brown liquor in his hand.
As he joined us, he pointed the glass first at Daphne, then me. “Neither of you should be here.”
With every sway, liquid sloshed over the rim.
I swallowed and tugged at my sweater, avoiding his gaze. Even though I so desperately wanted to leave, I had no idea how to. I was trapped here whether I liked it or not.
“Brooks,” Adelina snapped, crossing her arms tight over her chest, “go back to your dorm and sober up.”
“I will …” His voice dropped to a slow growl as he stalked toward Daphne, towering over her like a predator closing in. The move reminded me too much of Enzo. “When she leaves.”