XXVI
Tori
W ith Penny’s help, it was a little after two before we finished cleaning the church.
When we went down to the dining hall, I’d spoken to Doris who leant me the keys to the van so we could return all of the glasses and the hot food table. What I hadn’t realized then was that we’d also need to wash everything, so I promised I would do that after the breakfast service.
Tired and somehow aching more than I had been yesterday, I was in too much of a daze to care that as well as the dining hall being almost empty, neither Syn, Royal, nor Gemini had showed up for breakfast until about fifteen minutes before the kitchen closed.
There’s still a chance one of the three could arrive, but if I don’t eat now, I won’t. Despite the number of students eating, the kitchen has still provided as many breakfast options as they usually do, so I grab a couple of breakfast muffins and sit with Penny to eat them.
“Bubbe wants me to go spend Thanksgiving with her.” Penny looks as dead as I feel. Unlike normal, she’d arrived halfway through breakfast. She’d eaten quickly and returned her plate before turning to coffee. By my count, she was already on her third cup.
“Are you going?”
Penny nods, although she frowns as she does. “Jake is coming back from Philadelphia, so it will be easy for the three of us to see each other if we’re all at home.” The ‘three’ Penny is referring to are her boyfriend, Jake, her girlfriend, Nicole, and herself. “But I want you to come, too.”
“You were quite clear yesterday about your throuple status. And if I recall correctly, your grandmother isn’t my biggest fan.”
“No, but she likes you more than Syn does.” Penny glances over her shoulder towards the door. “Where is he, anyway?”
This is the first time Syn hasn’t bothered coming to breakfast—not that I’m worried about him. I’m not surprised he didn’t bother to tell me, either. He’s probably arranged for someone to serve him breakfast in bed.
“Plotting my demise?”
Penny narrows her eyes. “And that’s why I think you should spend Thanksgiving with me.”
“I might come visit you one day, but I’m staying here and taking advantage of the quiet campus.”
“I don’t like it.” Penny presses her lips together. “What if the same thing happens?”
Yesterday, as we cleaned, I’d filled Penny in on what happened. With as many details as I felt comfortable with sharing considering Syn’s NDA. But she got the gist of it.
“I will be fine.” The staff starts closing down the serving area, and I reach for Penny’s mug, checking that it’s empty before I drop my balled-up muffin wrappers in it. “And on that note, I’m going to get all those glasses cleaned. Spend Thanksgiving with Jake and Nicole and enjoy yourself. I’ll call if there’s a problem.”
Penny gives me a hug before I head into the kitchen. As part of the compromise with Doris, I’d said I’d take care of the breakfast dishes, too. Being back in the kitchen feels strangely familiar, and I quickly fall into a rhythm as I scrape plates, then load and unload the dishwasher.
By the time I’ve finished, the kitchen staff are already getting set up for lunch. I don’t have long before I’m expected to be here, waiting for Syn, so I don’t bother to head back to the house. Instead, I reset their table and then take my position.
Lunchtime is even quieter than breakfast had been. Once again, neither Syn, Royal, nor Gemini came to eat. After getting my own lunch, I head back to the house. Normally, I’d be rushing to change into my uniform to get to my class, but since everything is cancelled this week, there’s no rush. There’s also nothing to change into.
Syn has strict rules with what I’m allowed to wear, and as I’m only supposed to wear this outfit when I’m serving him or cleaning, I don’t want to keep the clothes on. But when he confiscated my suitcase the day I moved in, limiting my wardrobe, the only other clothes I have now are the ones I borrowed from Payne, or my nightdress.
Still wearing the maid outfit, I head up, searching the first floor for Syn before realizing he’s probably in his room. The whole house is eerily quiet until I start knocking on Syn’s door.
Only the door that opens isn’t his, it’s Royal’s.
“What are you doing?” he asks, leaning against the doorframe.
“Looking for Syn.”
His gaze sweeps up and down my appearance. “Have you just finished cleaning the church?”
“I’ve been in the dining hall.”
Royal’s gray eyes widen. “He didn’t tell you? He’s gone home for Thanksgiving.”
Folding my arms, I cock my head. “Of course he has.”
Royal glances at Syn’s bedroom door before looking back at me. “I guess he wouldn’t. Look, Thanksgiving is a big thing for the Keyinghams. Wining, dining, and a whole lot of schmoozing. The political campaigning started years ago. All the important people will be there. We spend the first few days hunting, and then everything we’ve shot is served on Thanksgiving.”
We? Royal goes with him?
His family is important enough, but even if that wasn’t the case, I suppose they are best friends. Which means Gemini should be there too?
“If it’s so much fun, why aren’t you there?”
“Figured you wouldn’t be heading home. Didn’t want you to be left alone.” He winks at me, like he genuinely thinks he’s doing me a favor.
I have to fight the urge to walk over and slap him. Being alone in this house was exactly what I wanted. Instead, I unfold my arms, moving my hands behind my back so he can’t see my fists, and give him what I hope is a shy smile. “You don’t have to do that. I don’t want you to miss out.”
Royal walks over and then slides his hand behind my neck seconds before he claims my mouth with his.
As his tongue seeks entry, I relax into him, grabbing his hips as I part my lips for him. He thinks he’s helping me, and I don’t want him to think that I don’t appreciate it—even if that is the case. Keeping him on my side is necessary. And it means I might be able to spend enough time with him to work out his passwords.
When he pulls away, he grins. “There’s nothing I’m missing out on.”
“I’m glad you stayed.”
“What did you want Syn for?”
I step back and hold up my skirt. “He didn’t leave me with anything else to wear.”
“Wear your own clothes.”
“I would if I had any.”
Royal frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I haven’t seen my suitcase since the day I moved in here,” I tell him, wondering why he’s so surprised. “He probably had someone incinerate everything.”
With a sigh, Royal runs his hand through his hair and then walks to the bedroom with the gold and cream walls. He leaves the door open, and as he’s not told me to stay put, so I hurry after him.
My attention drifts to the chest of drawers by the door. With the house cleaning being my responsibility, I focus on the areas Syn goes to. I’m sure if he knew a thing about cleaning, he’d be in all the cupboards and drawers, pushing furniture out of the way, and rolling back rugs to make sure I’m cleaning properly. But since he’s probably never used a vacuum in his life, I usually just run a cloth over the furniture in the empty rooms. There’s a thin layer of dust on the drawers in here.
Royal walks straight to one of the other doors and opens it. The closet.
Denali House is large, with the six bedrooms being almost identical in size and layout. Syn, Royal, and Gemini all have a bedroom with one closet, that’s large enough for a seat in the middle. One of the other bedrooms is the same. But the two remaining bedrooms—this one and the one next to Syn’s—have two closets. While one is big enough to be a walk-in, the other is about as wide and as deep as the door.
Royal steps into the smaller closet, his broad body taking up most of the space so I can’t see much around him. There’s a soft click, and then the wall in front of him swings backwards. A light automatically turns on as Royal walks in, revealing a staircase, which he starts walking up.
I always suspected there was an attic in this house, but I hadn’t been able to find the entrance. It never occurred to me that there’d be actual hidden doors in here.
Did that mean there were other secret rooms?
I hurry after Royal, stopping at the top. Dust dances in the bright lights that seem almost unnatural in this old building. In the main part, the rooms have been decorated to keep the feel of a house built over two-hundred years ago, but with every modern piece of technology possible.
Up here, the lights shine into every nook, lighting the old wood and brickwork. White sheets, which look suspiciously clean and pristine, are draped over various items that look large enough to be pieces of furniture. If they are, I’m sure they’re not antique pieces… or maybe they are.
I sweep my gaze around the room, catching a glimpse of my familiar battered, silver case tucked into a corner, but as I start to look back to Royal, I only just manage to bite back a squeal of fright. Behind him, in the roof, are large windows. I hadn’t realized and for half a moment, thought I’d seen a ghost instead of my own reflection.
Royal sees me staring and steps back to let me walk over. “They’re not an original feature,” he says, like I can’t tell the large windows look far too modern.
Instead of going to my case, I walk over to the windows, curious. Overall, the house is relatively square in shape. Up here, someone has created an outside area. A small square courtyard, with enormous sheets of glass creating a sort of display unit effect. On closer inspection, the window directly in front of me is actually a door.
Outside, the dark tiled floor is glistening, damp from the weather. There are no plants or even pieces of furniture.
“Is that for me?” I ask.
Royal joins my side, eyeing me sideways. “I doubt it’s even crossed Syn’s mind. He’s not that cruel.”
I make no effort to hide the disbelief from my face. “Looks like it was built specially to put a kennel.”
“I don’t know what the original intention was. The house was completely renovated after JP died—there were plans to do it the following summer, but everything got brought forward after his funeral and through winter break. If they were running behind schedule, they probably scrapped whatever this project was supposed to be.”
“I’m surprised no one just threw more money at it or arranged for the occupants to live somewhere else for a few weeks.”
Royal finally turns to me, folding his arms. “You talk with this bitterness towards those with money, like you didn’t come from the same background. Just because we have money, doesn’t mean we want to throw it at problems like this.”
The same background? My family had money, yes. I had a lot of things growing up that I took for granted and didn’t realize were such luxuries to most people. If you’re poor, anyone with money is rich. But if you have money, that’s when you start to realize that there are levels of rich, too. My dad was first generation wealth—he earned his.
Most of the students in the Elite, even at James Keyingham—their wealth is generational. I bet it would only take the combined wealth of a few people—probably the Keyinghams, Davenports, and Remmingtons—to all but wipe out poverty in this country.
But regardless of that, my issue isn’t with the money.
It’s with the people who have it.
And in this case, that’s the Elite.