Chiara
CHIARA
A fter a shower, I slip on a dress to enjoy the last days of warm weather before I go freeze my ass off in Scotland. I’ve managed to work up an appetite in the gym, so after eating a snack, I join Nikolai and his friend in what I know now is the parlor.
They’re already drinking when I get there, which shouldn’t surprise me. Nikolai looks up when I enter and rolls his eyes.
“God, you took your time. I was starting to think you didn’t want to learn about the Five Crowns,” he says in that lazy drawl that always makes me want to slap him.
“Well, excuse me for being hungry,” I say and sit down on the chaise lounge opposite him and his friend. I realize then that I haven’t introduced myself yet, so I turn to him. “I’m , by the way.”
He takes my outstretched hand and before he kisses it, I notice that he has a playing card club tattooed on his ring finger. When he kisses my hand, Nikolai slaps him behind his head.
“Fucker,” he says, glaring at Nikolai. “I’m Mihai Vasile. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, . ”
“You’re not going to get under her dress, asshole, she’s too good for you. Touch her and you’re dead,” Nikolai says, and I’m shocked at the over protectiveness in his tone.
I scoff. “And since when did you become my keeper? What if I wanted Mihai to get under my dress?”
Mihai’s eyes widen greedily at this, and Nikolai leans back, crossing his arms. “Since my father told me I’m responsible for you. You’re family, and that means something to a Mikhailov,” he says, as if it’s the most simple explanation. “Now, if you’re quite done…”
Hmm, so Nikolai sees me as family now. At least now I know he won’t try anything funny with me anymore. Something tells me I’ve earned Nikolai’s respect, but I still don’t know how I managed that. I thought the guy hated me.
I nod and get comfortable on the chaise. “Why is it called an Academy, anyway? When you think of the word ‘Academy’ the one thing that comes to mind is a private high school or something. Shouldn’t it be a University?”
Nikolai shakes his head. “An Academy is a place of further learning, or rather, further learning into a specific field. In our case, further studies into the world we’ll be entering when we take over from our fathers.”
“Further crime studies, then,” I say, catching Nikolai’s grin.
“You can call it that, but the field we study into will prepare us for our lives after Willow Bridge. My major is computer science and engineering, while Mihai’s major is international law and business. But that being said, even though it’s an Academy, Willow Bridge is basically the Switzerland of the criminal underworld.”
Oh. So, I don’t have to worry about dying in my sleep, at least.
“Hmm, I see. So do women who have grown up in that life attend, or is it mostly for the male heirs? ”
“How much of a feminist are you?” Nikolai asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Enough to punch you if you say something misogynistic.”
He shrugs. “Too bad. There are female heirs, but the other women attend Willow Bridge because wives need hobbies,” he says, then he laughs at the scowl on my face. “There are people from your average walk of life there. Kids of millionaires, but all of them have ties to the criminal underworld.”
I think about this for a while, then something clicks. “So this is where you can make connections for when you head into your life of full-time crime?”
“Exactly. See, you’re already learning,” he says with a smirk. “Okay, so the Five Crowns are the five families who own Willow Bridge. They’re all equals. There’s no competition to be a leader because all five of them have their own strengths; strengths another Crown can’t possibly hope to obtain.”
“That makes sense. To avoid conflict,” I say and Nikolai nods.
“That’s it. But while our fathers hold their place now, we’re training to take over from them in a few years’ time. Hence me saying you’re royalty now, because that’s how everyone at Willow Bridge will treat you after they find out about your ties to my family,” he continues.
Fuck. I wasn’t one of the popular kids in school; I craved being in the background, but now I’ll be front and center? Holy shit.
“But how would they know my connection to you? Can’t I just stay in the shadows?” I ask.
Nikolai chuckles and shakes his head. “No, seeing as you’ll be living in the Mikhailov Suite and members of Five Crowns need to wear a specific pin,” he says, then he points at Mihai. “Mihai’s Suite is right next to ours. I think you’ll probably get along with his twin sister, Marina. She’s an artist as well.”
My head whips to Mihai. “You’re one of the Crowns?” God, it sounds like such a weird thing to ask .
“Romanian Crown,” he says in a bored tone, tilting his head to the side to show me his tattoo. “That’s what this means. All five of us are there; Giovanni, Connor, and Sofia. Cosa Nostra, Irish Mob, and Cartel, respectively.”
God, this feels more and more real when they talk about being criminals, like they’re discussing the weather. How the hell am I going to survive this?
I take a deep breath and get to my feet. “Sorry, I just — I have to…” I trail off and get to my feet before running the hell out of there.
I need air, or to just be away from those two and what they symbolize. How stupid could I possibly be? There’s no fucking way I’m going to survive that school! They’re going to chew up and spit me out used.
Rushing out of the mansion doors, I run down the steps and just walk. I need distance right now to have my panic attack in peace. My heart is racing and my palms are clammy; black spots dance in my vision and I feel like I’m about to pass out.
I don’t even hear the footsteps behind me until I nearly stumble and someone reaches out to grab me before I hit the cobblestone. The smell of Nikolai’s cologne seems to calm me down, and when I look up, it’s right into those icy-blue eyes.
“You alright?” he asks with a hint of worry in his tone. I’m leaning against him, and when I realize this, I move to stand up.
“Yeah, I … uh… I needed a minute. Everything seemed to hit me all at once there,” I admit, wiping my clammy hands on my dress. “Thanks for catching me. It felt like I was about to faint.”
He shrugs. “No big deal. I kinda get why you’re freaking out; this is all very new to you. But I think you’ll be fine at Willow Bridge. You don’t need to be a Crown to rule, if you know what I mean.”
Somehow, I don’t believe that.
“I’m a nobody, though, and I prefer it that way,” I say and cross my arms over my chest. “But like you said, I won’t even be close to being a ‘nobody’ from next week.”
“Unfortunately for you, no,” he says, then he gestures to the mansion. “Are you ready to come back inside? I can’t promise that what we teach you won’t be overwhelming. It’s a lot to take in, especially when you weren’t born into this life.”
I look at him and can’t help but chuckle, and it makes him frown. “What?”
“It’s just weird,” I shrug. “You’re being so nice to me after you went out of your way to be so welcoming to me on my first day here.”
“Oh, shut up, I was just looking out for my family,” he says, rolling his eyes at my sarcasm. “But I’ll be the first to admit that I was wrong about you, and I apologize for treating you like shit. Now, let’s go back inside before Mihai gets into my father’s good whiskey.”