38. Roman
ROMAN
Iadjust the cuff of the black graduation suit, resisting the urge to loosen the tie sitting too tight against my throat.
The uniform is identical on all of us. It is a tailored black suit with a crisp white shirt and The Company’s family crest pin is fixed against the lapel.
The material sits wrong against my skin and is stiff enough that I’m aware of every movement of my body.
The heavy wooden door groans as it swings shut behind us and my nostrils flare.
This is it. The further down the stone staircase we move, the colder the air becomes and candle smoke settles in my lungs with every step.
I fucking hate this place.
Beside me, Riggs tugs harshly at his tie.
“If this thing strangles me to death, I’m haunting every single one of you,” he mutters.
“You’d probably enjoy haunting people,” Felix says dryly from somewhere behind us.
“I absolutely would.”
A chuckle leaves me before I can stop it and Riggs points at me immediately.
“There. That. That’s the laugh I’m talking about. Marriage has ruined you.”
“I didn’t laugh.”
“You fucking did.”
I ignore him, focusing instead on the final stretch of stairs as voices begin echoing faintly from the crypt.
Riggs has developed this strange obsession with pointing out every microscopic emotion I apparently display now that I’m married and it’s becoming a full-time job tuning him out.
As we reach the bottom, it opens up around us.
It never ceases to amaze me just how cavernous this space is.
Candlelight flickers against the stone and concrete walls as large crucifixes loom at the front of the chamber.
Behind the altar, smoke curls through the air from the hundreds of candles scattered throughout the crypt.
I look to the left of me and see a flock of girls dressed in flowing white gowns.
They are almost a mirror image of the childlike nightgowns they were forced to wear during initiation, only now they resemble wedding dresses more than anything else.
Soft lace falls from the sleeves whilst thin veils cover their faces beneath the candlelight, making the whole crypt look more like a wedding ceremony than a graduation.
My eyes search the room. Even with the veils covering the women’s faces, I spot Fae almost instantly.
I would know her anywhere. The slight slope of her shoulders, the way she shifts her weight when her back starts hurting, obviously the huge bump helps too.
I smile as I see her hand resting protectively over our baby.
I know she’s nervous about being a mum but she’s going to be great.
She’s standing near the front beside Robyn, who is rubbing slow circles across her back, and I quickly glance at Felix to see the longing written all over his face as he stares at her.
Fuck knows what is going on with them right now, but I can only presume Robyn doesn’t want to be the other woman when he ultimately makes his choice today.
My gaze flicks back to Fae. Thirty-six weeks pregnant and stubborn enough that she told me she didn’t want special treatment whilst going through this ceremony.
“If Robyn needs to stand, I can stand too.” Fae slams the kitchen cupboard shut and I roll my eyes.
“Robyn isn’t going to be thirty-six weeks pregnant, Fae.”
“No, but she’s going to be sliced open and bleed in front of everyone. She needs me and that’s final.”
I chuckle out loud at the memory and Riggs’ head turns so quickly he could probably get whiplash.
His eyes narrow and my smile only widens.
Fae is going to be so pissed when I usher her off to the side once our graduation is complete.
It shouldn’t make me laugh but honestly…
I think I might have developed a thing for make-up sex.
Fae glances up like she can feel me watching her from across the crypt and some of the tension leaves her body immediately.
Even with the veil covering most of her face, I know her well enough to see it in the way her shoulders loosen slightly whilst her hand rubs absently across the curve of her stomach.
My son is beneath her palm.
Jesus fucking Christ.
I am so in love.
Riggs follows my eyeline before grimacing dramatically.
“You look disgustingly in love right now.”
“Aren’t you in love with your promised?”
“Fuck no,” he shudders. “I’m choosing the person I like the least.”
“What?” Victor frowns. “Why the fuck do you want to spend the rest of your life with someone you hate?”
“I’m cursed,” he shrugs. “All the females that become family to me die, so you know, best way to keep everyone alive.”
“That was dark, Riggs…” Felix mutters.
“Stay the fuck away from Fae,” I say at the same time.
He grins but the joke on his tongue dies quickly as the crypt suddenly falls quieter around us. The sound of the heavy doors opening echoes through the chamber and almost instantly everyone starts moving into position.
The women enter first.
A flock of white gowns sweep into the crypt whilst haunting singing flows through the air around them.
I only heard the sound once before during initiation, but hearing it again still makes an uncomfortable feeling twist low in my stomach.
Gold metal masks adorn the females’ faces, covering one eye diagonally in the shape of a bird mid-flight as they move silently down the centre aisle before taking their places near the altar.
The men follow shortly after dressed in dark ceremonial robes.
Their devil masks are black with sharp red eyes and horns protruding from the top, making them almost unrecognisable beneath the candlelight.
Their movements are slower, filling the crypt with an oppressive sort of tension.
Then finally, the Founders separate from the group.
The room stills as the remaining eight move towards the crucifixes at the front of the chamber.
Unlike the others, their masks are gold.
Todd Parson moves to the centre whilst Mr Snider remains slightly behind him with his hands clasped behind his back, calmly surveying the room.
It feels weird seeing Parson and Snider fit so seamlessly into the roles mine and Fae’s father once did.
It feels even weirder knowing that in less than an hour, I’ll be standing amongst them.
Todd Parson steps forward and the singing stops abruptly, leaving the crypt feeling unnaturally still.
“Welcome graduates,” his voice booms across the chamber. “Tonight marks the completion of your training and the beginning of your true service to The Company. You stand before us no longer as recruits, but as the next generation entrusted to protect what our founders built.”
His eyes sweep slowly across the room before settling briefly on Robyn.
“However, before graduation can commence, there has been a slight change to tonight’s proceedings. One final initiation must take place.”
Almost every head in the crypt turns toward her.
Beside Fae, Robyn visibly stiffens beneath the white gown whilst her fingers tighten slightly against the fabric near her stomach.
Felix goes rigid beside me. I don’t think he even realises he’s holding his breath.
Fae catches her wrist briefly and Robyn nods once as her shoulders relax slightly.
“Robyn, please come here to the front where you shall be unburdened of your sins and the weakness of your former self.”
Robyn stands with her shoulders square and her head held high. She walks over to the centre crucifix.
“Kneel,” Parson demands, his voice echoing around the crypt.
Robyn kneels and the women move, surrounding her in a wall of white fabric.
Her veil is ripped off as her wedding gown is removed and the chanting begins again.
Even from here I can see how tense her shoulders are.
She bites her bottom lip as the women start to scrub her aggressively before forcing her into a white nightgown and pulling her up onto the crucifix.
It’s disturbingly clinical.
“You are cleansed,” Parson cries out as Robyn’s body slightly tremors on the cross whilst a man walks towards her with a knife. The bowl is positioned beneath her exactly the same way it was for all of us, and I grit my teeth as memories of Fae flash through my mind.
Jesus Christ.
The blade slices across Robyn’s skin and blood immediately starts pouring from the wound into the bowl beneath her.
Her body jerks slightly against the restraints before she forces herself still again as the crimson quickly drops into the bowl.
I look at Felix beside me. His jaw is locked so tightly I’m half convinced he’s going to crack one of his own teeth whilst his hands flex uselessly at his sides.
I have known Felix long enough to recognise what is sitting behind his eyes.
He looks terrified for her. The second he shifts forward, I grab the back of his suit jacket and hold him in place.
Felix’s head snaps towards me but I just tighten my grip and shake my head once.
I know how this feels. I know what it’s like watching the person you love bleed whilst you stand there powerless to stop it, but nothing good will come from him interfering with this ceremony.
He sighs before cracking his neck and stepping back into formation.
Once her bleeding is complete, she is unstrapped and given her bowl before bowing down in front of the Founders.
Todd steps forward. “Sin out. Strength in. Your corruption is purged and your legacy is secured.”
He looks down at her as she lifts the bowl and breathes in gulps of air.
“I bleed for you,” Robyn declares.
“You bleed for us,” Todd responds.