6
Damien
Shafts of moonlight fall on the densely growing trees that cover the acres of land surrounding Volkov Manor. Situated away from the glitz and glamor of Ashville’s posh downtown areas, my home is a haven of blissful solitude.
My gaze shifts to the windowpane, reflecting the room behind me. I take in my tall, broad physique, accentuated by the dark cashmere sweater and slim-fitting slacks. Unconsciously, I meet my reflection’s eye and immediately, become aware of the long, thick scars slashing across my face.
I wince but the action further twists the scars on my face, reminding me of the night I received these cruel marks on both my skin and heart.
Once upon a time, on a night like this, a monster got his hands on me. Captured and incapacitated by his minions, I’d been nothing but a clay doll that he cut and carved.
Once upon a time... A self-loathing scoff escapes me.
My life is no fairytale.
Lucia was a beautiful princess who had a harem of assassins who’d kill to protect her, but my brothers and I were no fucking princes or knights. Fueled by grief and the need to avenge ourselves, we turned into monsters too.
The curtain beside me flutters slightly, the only sign someone has entered the room. I look toward the floor, noting the lengthening shadow moving toward me.
A smirk rises on my lips.
Not today, Leon , I think, turning around to face the man who’d been slowly creeping toward me.
“What gave me away?” he asks in a low, sulky tone.
“Nothing. I’m just smarter than you.”
“Fuck off!” he scoffs, throwing himself into a winged armchair.
I stare at my younger brother, taking in the single scar that runs across his left eye. Thankfully, his eye was spared when Callum Baldwin lashed out at him for trying to protect me.
The rest of Leon’s face is smooth and flawless. A tiny skull tattoo adorns a spot under his right eye. There’s a wolf’s snarling face tattooed along the column of his neck. Fiery red strands frame his chiseled cheeks, giving him the look of a dark angel.
Over the years, he’s mastered the art of being a shadow. He can be unnaturally silent when he stalks his prey, melting into the night while his target remains oblivious to his lethal presence.
Even now, Leon is garbed in black, his body melting against the dark leather of the couch.
“You look a bit lost tonight,” he says, raising his amber eyes at me.
I shake my head. “It’s nothing. What have you been up to lately?”
“I have big news regarding Lucia tonight.”
Surprise flickers through me at once.
It’s rare for anything to happen at Baldwin Mansion. For the past five years, Leon kept a watch on its occupants. Other than Callum, the rest of the household seems to have gone into hibernation.
Lucia and her father rarely step out of the house, and even if they did, it’d be a small drive to a nearby park. The resident maids and valets carry on with their daily chores without distractions. Callum is the only person that goes in and out of the house regularly.
Walking away from the window, I sit down on a couch. “What’s happening there?”
Before Leon can answer, the door is pushed open loudly. Our youngest brother, Mikhail, walks in, his steel-gray eyes looking between me and Leon.
“Shucks! Did Leon tell you already?” he asks with a huff as he stomps across the room.
Mikhail is a lost case when it comes to being a shadow. He’s always too loud and too impatient, but he picks up the slack by being a master at gathering intel.
A silver cross dangles from his right ear as he sinks into the couch beside Leon. His long limbs are encased in skinny, ripped jeans. An oversized jacket hides his arms which are covered in tattoos.
“What are you talking about?” I say, fixing my gaze on him. “Do you have news to share as well?”
Mikhail glances at Leon before looking at me. A slow grin spreads across his lips. “So, you don’t know.” He cackles. “If you did, you wouldn’t be sitting there so calmly.”
“What is it?” I ask, feeling my insides writhe. “Did Baldwin Sr. die or something?”
“Nah,” says Mikhail. “The old man’s still breathing.”
“It’s Lucia,” says Leon. “She’s getting married.”
“What?” I hiss as rage and despair collide inside me. How can Lucia dare belong to anyone else but me and my brothers? We didn’t go to hell and crawl back out just to lose the person we’d been coveting these past seven years.
“To whom?” I ask, barely able to keep control over my emotions.
“Word on the street is that Freddy Stone’s getting married to her,” Mikhail says in a grim tone. All the humor is wiped off his face as he adds, “But that’s not the interesting bit.”
“What do you mean?” Leon asks.
“Freddy Stone is gay,” says Mikhail. “Everyone knows that.”
“Wait,” says Leon, holding up a hand. “Is it the same person I’m thinking about? He was in the same grade as Lucia. Sort of a pretty boy, loved wearing pink and sparkly shit, and always changed his hair each summer?”
“Yep,” says Mikhail. “The same guy who was chummy with the hottest cheerleader in their grade.”
I tune out my brothers as they talk about the kids in Lucia’s school, sounding like they’d attended the same high school as her. All they did was spy on Lucia and map out the people surrounding her.
They shouldn’t feel like they belong in her world.
My heart turned into stone the night I failed to protect my brothers from Callum Baldwin. It’d been my own fault for being lax about Lucia’s brother. I should’ve known better than to trust a stranger. Instead of surrendering to Callum, I should’ve told my brothers to run the first chance they got.
I close my eyes, momentarily getting lost in the memories of that nightmarish night. The smell of rotting garbage still lingers in my nostrils. My skin still feels the warmth of my blood as it trickled down the cuts in my face.
I vowed to make Callum Baldwin regret everything he did to me and my brothers. He’s going to pay in blood but before that, I’m going to snatch away his most prized possession.
His sister. Lucia.
She’ll be paying back for her betrayal as well. We’re going to break her and send the pieces back to her brother and watch him cry tears of blood over her.
It’s the only way we’d come close to being even with them.
“Why have you gone so quiet?” Leon’s voice stirs me out of my thoughts.
“I was just thinking,” I say, bringing the tips of my fingers together. “Why would she get married to a guy who was openly gay?”
“Money,” Mikhail mutters. “Stone’s grandfather won’t hand him his inheritance if he refuses to have a proper marriage. I’m pretty sure that’s the sole reason Callum’s getting his sister married to a beta like him. He gets a cut of Freddy’s inheritance and his precious sister stays untouched by another man.”
“That’s fucked up,” Leon scoffs.
“We already know Callum’s fucked in the head,” Mikhail mutters darkly.
“Do you know where the wedding will take place?” I ask.
“Not yet,” says Mikhail. “I’m sure we’ll know in a day or two.” His expression darkens. “Are you thinking about making a move soon?”
I nod. “We’ll finally have a chance to take what’s owed to us,” I say in a grim tone. “It won’t be easy for Callum to keep an eye on his sister when he’s got a wedding to plan.”
“You’re saying we’ll be stealing Lucia? Finally?” Leon asks, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“We can’t let our princess be handed over to someone else,” I say, meeting his gaze. “She belongs to us.”
“Kissing her once was barely enough,” Mikhail says in a low, husky voice. “She’s kept me craving her all these years. No matter how many women I kiss and fuck, it’s her taste I always seek.”
“Kiss every inch of her, then,” says Leon. His amber eyes gleam with hidden malice. “Cut every inch of her as you please. Make her bleed. She’ll be ours, after all.”
Mikhail glances at me and I catch a glimpse of worry in his silvery eyes.
He’s concerned about Leon going too far with Lucia.
I was left with fatal scars on my face that night. They’re there for the world to see, but in Leon’s case, they’re invisible.
That night, Leon was the only one who’d remained conscious to witness the horrors done to us. The trauma left him with an insatiable thirst to cut his enemies and see their blood ooze from those wounds. It’s kind of a drug for him, the only thing that makes him feel in control.
I’m not going to hold Leon back. If shedding Lucia’s blood heals his scars, he’s welcome to it.
Our love for her has festered into something grotesque but my conscience is at peace with it. We’d been born as assassins, after all. Bloodshed and death are a part of who we are.
Callum Baldwin doesn’t have any idea about who we are. He’s blissfully unaware of the enemies he made that night seven years ago.
“It’s time,” I say, gazing at both my brothers. “We’re going to take what’s ours.”