Page 33 of Eternal

Tonight, Declan is going to pay. And I’m going to enjoy it.

10

Tonight, We Play

Declan

“How far is toofar?”

I glance over at Kole, and he’s holding a branding iron in one hand. His attention is on it as he rolls it around, his dark eyes gleaming with sick amusement.

The funny thing about his question is that it's genuine. He really doesn't know the answer to his own question. To him, there are no limits, and it’s one of the many reasons the two of us are friends.

“If anyone else were asking me that question, I’d say they didn’t deserve the marks carved into their chest because there’s no such thing as too far.” I raise an eyebrow. “But you… what the fuck are you considering?”

To be part of Sigma House, you have to be a little fucked-up in the head. Our initiations are essentially torture trials, and even after we graduate and step outsidethese walls, there are no limits when it comes to what we’re expected to do to protect and advance our brothers.

At least, that’s what I thought.

This past year, the rules keep changing.

I was born and raised to bleed for Sigma Sin. To believe House values trumped all else. I was convinced that surviving here meant something more than being a pawn in a much larger game being played by the Council.

Now, I’m starting to see things more clearly.

They think because we’re young and still wander these halls, we can’t see the truth. They lie to us and use us for their selfish motives. That might have been good enough for the generations that came before us, but it’s not for me.

They’re no longer the president of this House. I am.

And I’m no one’s pawn, especially not my father’s.

I might have pledged because I was born to. Maybe even to appease him. But now that I’m learning the extent of the Council’s manipulation, I’m done playing their games. Sigma House is ours now. It’s time to take the reins back.

After all, Sigma Sin is everything to me.

A home.

A family.

An acceptable outlet when I need to level my head.

It’s something Kole appreciates as well, given the fact that in any other social circle, he’d be locked up for half the shit he does or says.

We were born and bred for this. Conditioned to feel nothing but the need to inflict pain on those we deemed deserving of it. So that’s what we’ll do—inflict judgment.

Pounds of flesh are due.

The Council assumes that just because we took down the Westwoods to prevent my father’s secrets from getting out, we’re on their side. That’s not true at all. I stand for the House, not them. And if my father is a self-serving bastard using Sigma Sin, he’ll go down with the rest of them.

I’m going to uncover the bodies, unbury every secret. I’ll take what’s owed to those of us who honor what we do for the House.

Starting with Teal.

I watch Kole spin the branding iron around, mulling over what he has in his mind for the next trial.

“Do you trust me?” Kole asks, leaning against my doorframe.

“Depends.” I cross my arms over my chest. “How many bodies are we going to bury?”