Page 28
Story: Princes of Ash
God, I’d laugh if it was funny, but this place is a hellscape. “This is my fight. I wish I could say I still follow the original dream, but the truth is, I don’t. I’m doing this because, in less than eight months, I’m having his grandchild. And one of his weapons is going to be the father.” This. This is what runs through my head at night when I can’t sleep. “That’s not a Royalship that ends once we graduate. This is life.”
Understanding, Lavinia adds, “It’s survival.”
Story raises her chin. “Then let us help. What’s the plan?”
“The Princes are his weapons, but they’re not loyal. Not really.” I pull at the front of my shirt, seeking air. “Ashby controls them with an iron fist. There’s no room for rebelliousness, but there are cracks. I’ve seen them.”
I think back to the recording of Lex getting whipped. The way the others fell into line. How they’re programmed to accept abuse from their vile father. But each has shown me small moments where I know they hate the hold he has over them.
Story’s eyes brighten, revealing a glimmer of hope. “You think you can turn them.”
I snort. “Not even remotely.”
“Then we take them out,” Lavinia says matter-of-factly. “What’s their strength in East End? Their last name? Because you’re the real deal.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not that. It’s not money, influence, or name allegiance that makes the Princes powerful.”
It’s yet another way they’re different from the Lords and Dukes. The Princes don’t think of East End as theirs. It’s an obligation. A duty.
No, their power is entirely internal.
I stop short, realizing. “It’s their bond. They love each other. They’re the only people in this world they’re loyal to. It’s how Ashby manipulates them, by leveraging their fear for one another. It’s why they stay and fight. It’s their weakness.”
“So if you broke their bond…” Lavinia says, forehead creasing in thought.
I smirk, the pieces of a plan falling into place. “I break East End.”
6
Verity
I givea little time for the hallways to clear before stepping out of the bathroom. Walking across campus has turned into a landmine—like an invisible ripple in The Force. Everyone senses it, even if they aren’t a part of it. The PNZ frat boys stumble over themselves the minute I’m in their presence, while the DKS boys glare protectively at anyone who crosses my path. The Lords clearly want to keep a distance from the shit-show, and the Barons couldn’t care less about any of it.
This is driven home when I stumble upon the demoness herself, Regina Thorn, the current Baroness. Of course, the problem isn’t necessarily Regina, who’s leaning against a pillar beside the elevator.
It’s the two Barons currently sucking on either side of her neck.
I snap back around the corner with a grimace, shuffling my feet as I consider taking the stairs up to the studio. But my muscles are sore, and I do enough stair climbing at the Dukes’ loft. Reluctantly, I take another peek hoping they’ll be moving along soon. The last thing I need is for someone in PNZ to see me in proximity to the Royals of yet another rival house.
Unfortunately, Regina looks as though she doesn't have a care in the world.
Her head is tipped back, eyes fluttering as one of the Barons—Liam, I think—nibbles at her ear. On her other side, her second Baron is palming her bare thigh, lifting her skirt. The motion tugs at something within me, the sight of his hands on her flesh like that, so possessive and familiar. It’s like…
Like they’rereallovers.
Liam whispers something into her ear that makes her bite down on her bottom lip, and when he reaches up to grope at her breast, she releases a low, agonized groan.
Both Barons chuckle distractedly, their hands all over her, pulling and squeezing and stroking.
For a moment, I get the strangest vision of being in her place.
Not with the Barons.
With the Princes.
Certainly, Wicker would be the one with his fingers trailing up my inner thigh, dipping beneath my skirt. Pace would be the one teasing my nipple through my top, whispering in my ear about the dirty things he’d be doing to me if we weren’t in public. Only, maybe that’d actually be Lex, memories of his quiet, deep voice teasing me to orgasm down in the palace’s exam room ringing in my mind.
It takes me a long moment to shake out of this… fantasy? Only that’s not quite the right word. Envy, perhaps. Their soft intensity is what I always thought being a house girl would entail, with the passion, pleasure, and intimacy.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192