Chapter 2
NOVA
A party at Thorpe Manor was always an over-the-top affair.
Beginning at the wrought-iron entry gates and ending at the Cotswold stone columns on either side of the front doors, incoming guests were treated to a display of twinkling golden lights that lit the way.
Inside, more lights led the way to the party, where hired waiters circled with canapes and alcohol flowed like water.
It was a typical party for our circles, I supposed, other than the extra eighteenth-birthday “tradition” of the hunt through the woods behind the manor.
Full of the rich, the corrupt, and the seemingly upstanding citizens who toed the line between “good” and “bad,” playing nice with the crime families out of necessity.
I glanced across the lavishly decorated drawing room at Ryker.
My twin looked as untouchable as ever, the emotionless future king of our tiny, corrupt kingdom, flanked by his two henchmen—Daniel Hoyton, also known as Arson, and Jay.
My gaze drifted over them, and I found Jay already watching me, his mouth curving into a smirk as our eyes met.
Bastard.
How dare he steal that kiss from me?
My first kiss.
No one else would ever dare. But he had, despite knowing I was betrothed to someone else. Despite knowing the consequences if he was caught. Consequences that would not only affect him, but also his entire family. His dad, his mum, and his older sister, people who meant the world to him.
I would never allow myself to be alone with him again.
Never. And no one could ever know about this.
I wasn’t even supposed to take part in the “coming-of-age hunt,” as my father referred to it.
Thorpe women were supposed to be graceful, smart, to play the part of the hostess while the men had their fun or got their hands dirty.
Or so my parents thought. When I was little, there had been an attack on the manor by another crime family.
I’d been hidden in the basement, away from the danger, but the incident had left a lasting impression.
After that, my brother secretly began training me in self-defence techniques—something he was expected to become proficient in as part of his preparation to one day take over the syndicate.
Forcing myself not to outwardly react was another thing I’d been trained to do from a young age, and I made my stare as blank as my brother’s, pointedly turning away from Jay’s cruelly gorgeous face.
Scanning the room for a friendly face, I finally spotted one of my best friends, Vesper Fontana, clasping a flute of champagne in front of one of the tall, lead-paned windows.
“I need one of those.”
“You do. Alcohol is the only way to get through this.” She handed me the flute. “Happy birthday. Drink up. I haven’t touched it yet. Liana made me do vodka shots while you were gone, so I should probably pace myself.”
“Probably.” I took a sip. “Where is she, anyway?”
Vesper laughed. “Far away from the hockey players. Poor Lia. It can’t be fun for her, being the coach’s daughter and having two best friends with hockey-playing brothers. She can’t escape.”
“I mean, she does have a point. I’m not a hockey hater, but one or two of the players…”
“Jay.” She did a fake cough before she burst out laughing again. “Sorry. You should see your face. I’m with you on that—whatever his problem is with you, he needs to get over it.”
Raising the flute to my lips, I took a large gulp. I had a whole new problem with Jayesh Attwood now, and it wasn’t something I was ready to share.
“Maybe he’ll calm down next year,” she mused. “Cranham Uni has a reputation for a reason. It might knock some sense into him.”
“I bloody hope so,” I muttered, taking another savage swig of my drink. Liana had the right idea. I needed to escape too.
“Nova? What’s wrong? I was joking before, but did Jay do or say something to you?”
Shaking my head, I cast around for a change of subject. I couldn’t tell her.
“No…um…I was just thinking. When you mentioned next year, it reminded me that I’ll miss you. It won’t be the same without you.”
She nudged my shoulder gently. “It will. Whelford Uni’s only about eight miles from Cranham. That’s nothing. I’ll come and see you and Lia as much as I can, and you know we’ll be in the chat, like, allll the time.”
“You’re right. It could be worse. It’s not as if we’re moving to opposite ends of the country.” A wry smile twisted my lips as I flicked out my hand. “And hey, I get to go from all this luxury to sleeping in a prison cell. I can’t wait.”
Chuckling at my unenthusiastic tone, she swiped the flute from me, tipping it to her lips and draining the rest of the contents.
“Let’s get some more champagne. Whoever thought it was a good idea to convert a Victorian prison to a university was fucking crazy, in my opinion, but I’m not sure what’s worse.
Sleeping in a cell or being surrounded by upper-class bitches who are looking for any excuse to stab me in the back.
My brother’s already warned me about the Whelford students’ elitism. ”
“Yeah, but they haven’t met you yet. You can handle them.
” It was my turn to reassure her. “And we’ll get together when we can.
I mean, our unis share an ice rink, so if we hang out with our brothers’ teams, we can see each other all the time.
I couldn’t care less about the stupid Cranham and Whelford rivalry. If we want to sit together, we will.”
“There’s the Nova Thorpe I know and love. You’re right. Who cares?”
Somewhere behind me, the string quartet began a new piece of music, slow and haunting, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ryker moving towards the centre of the room.
His lips turned up in one corner with the approximation of a smile that didn’t reach his eyes as our mother appeared in the doorway.
She was flanked by two of our staff, who were carrying an enormous cake topped by sparklers that covered her entire torso from view.
Oh. For a moment, I’d forgotten why we were celebrating.
“Nova. Come and join your brother.” My father appeared at my side, holding out his arm.
I nodded once, shooting an apologetic glance towards Vesper.
Placing my hand in the crook of his arm, I straightened my shoulders, making sure my face was an expressionless mask as we made our way to the centre of the drawing room.
Eyes followed us, the music coming to a crescendo as we reached our destination.
It was ridiculous—all this pomp and ceremony when our roots were as far from the elite as it was possible to get.
My great-grandfather had built his kingdom from scraps, investing every penny he had in strengthening our position.
My grandfather, and then my father, had more lofty ambitions, though.
Target the elite and the obscenely wealthy rather than ordinary, hard-working people.
And so we had to play the part. Hence the giant manor house in the Cotswolds, the diamond earrings glittering in my mother’s lobes, the flashy cars parked on the driveway, and the rich, connected people milling around—most of whom were associates of my parents, rather than anyone Ryker or I knew.
“Happy eighteenth birthday, darlings.” My mother glanced between me and my brother, giving us a smile that was just as false as the one I’d pasted on.
“Thank you,” I murmured. As the two members of staff carefully placed the cake on a small table one of the security team had brought in, Ryker came to stand beside me.
The tip of his little finger brushed mine in a silent show of solidarity, and I exhaled, my shoulders relaxing as I turned to give him a genuine smile. “Happy birthday, Ry.”
“Same to you.” He leaned into me, lowering his voice. “If you wanna escape for a bit after this, I’ll cover for you.”
“Will you? Or will you be too busy?” I gave a pointed glance to the cluster of girls nearby shooting him blatantly admiring looks.
“Mmm, yeah. I might be busy.”
“Ugh.”
His teasing expression disappeared. “Seriously. I’ve got your back. Arson and Jay will watch out for you too.”
“I think you’re underestimating their brainpower with the number of available girls here tonight. They do all their thinking with their dicks,” I whispered harshly, and I watched as he bit the inside of his cheek, only just managing to keep his cool composure.
Our parents interrupted the moment, my father clearing his throat before shooting Ryker a warning look, and we both straightened up.
My gaze landed on the cake, and I launched into effusive praise, while Ryker inserted noises of agreement every now and then.
I doubted he was even listening. My mother nodded along with everything I said with a smile fixed on her face, while my father stood there impassively, angling his body towards us as if he were interested in the conversation, even though I knew his focus was directed elsewhere.
From the outside, I was certain it looked as if we were having a bonding moment—a family celebrating a milestone birthday.
The father and son, both tall and dark-haired, with penetrating grey eyes and stern expressions.
The identical blonde of the mother and daughter, with eyes of a lighter, softer grey.
My father clapped his hands together, and the room turned silent almost immediately. When Graham Thorpe, aka Guillotine Graham, demanded your attention, you gave it to him, or you’d quickly regret it.
“Thank you all for being here to celebrate the coming of age of my children, Ryker and Nova.” He paused, waiting for the applause to die down, before he delivered his fatal blow. “I hope you will also join me in celebrating the upcoming joining of the Thorpe and Volkov families.”
I didn’t dare look towards the bar, where my future fiancé stood, just as tall and imposing as my father and brother, and even more cold.
All I wanted was to escape.