Total pages in book: 266
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
“I don’t know—”
“Bullshit!” I shout.
She goes to slap me again, but a hand wraps around her wrist, stopping her. “Give us the room,” my stepfather demands.
“Bill—”
“Now,” he barks, making her jump. I’ve never seen him raise his voice to her before.
“We need to leave in ten.” With that, she huffs and rushes out with her best friend, slamming the door behind her.
He walks over to his desk that sits in front of the large floor-to-ceiling windows and lights up a cigar. Then he pours two glasses of brandy, offering me one. I shake my head, mumbling, “No thanks.”
He nods and sets it on his desk. “A Lord wakes up every day prepared for it to be his last.”
I frown. “Meaning?”
“Meaning your father had strict instructions left for me when I was gifted your mother.”
I swallow nervously. “What…what were they?” Bill and I get along, but we’ve never been close, and we sure as fuck have never spoken about my future or my father.
“You were to marry a Lord by the name of Winston Garvey.”
Annabelle Garvey…I don’t love it. “When?” I ask, not really sure I want to know. Once you have a date, the clock starts ticking. It makes me think of Haidyn’s hourglass that he always seems to have with him.
“Well, by your father’s orders, over a year ago.”
I frown. “Then why haven’t we been forced to wed?” Maybe the Lord is refusing me. There are cases when those assigned a Lady end up picking someone else.
“He’s not available as of right now.”
“I don’t understand.” Dear God, I hope he’s not seventy years old and married, and they’re just waiting for his wife to die first. I never stopped and took the time to think that he wouldn’t be around my age.
He sighs, taking a puff from his cigar. “I keep in touch with his father…We play golf together.”
I stay silent because I’m not sure why that’s important.
“But he recently got into some trouble and well…” His eyes meet mine. “He’s currently away.”
“By away, you mean backpacking through Europe, right?” I joke, but he doesn’t laugh. He just stares up at me, and I run a hand through my hair. I’m fucking tired, my body sore as fuck, and I don’t know if I should scream or drink myself into a coma. “You said we were supposed to get married a year ago, but you just said he’s currently away. Is he on an assignment?” Lords start doing assignments after they graduate from Barrington, so an assignment makes sense. Some take a long time to complete, depending on what they have to do. Case in point—my current situation in life. Who knows when mine will be completed.
“Think something more permanent,” he answers.
The way he says it makes my stomach drop. I stand, walking to his desk. “You mean he’s at Carnage.”
He says nothing.
“But Carnage is like death row. You don’t get taken to Carnage and then released, so…I just never get married?”
“You don’t need a Lord to be powerful, Anna.” His eyes drop to glance between my legs, and I take a step back from his desk nervously.
“You overheard our fight.” It’s not a question. He knows I’m no longer a virgin. Great!
“Your conversation, yes.”
I snort. That was not a conversation. “She’s stubborn.”
“She wants what’s best for you,” he counters and stands from his desk. “Your mother knows where you belong in our world, and she wants to make sure you’re given every opportunity to get there.”
My eyes widen. “Wait. Are you saying the reason my assignment is Haidyn is because my future Lord is a prisoner there? My mother has something to do with it?” It would make sense. That’s why they want me on the inside, and they haven’t given me much to do when it comes to Haidyn. Maybe he’s just my in to their hell.
He shakes his head. “Your mother doesn’t have power over what you do and don’t do when it comes to initiations or assignments.”
“Then why Haidyn? Why Carnage? It has to be connected, right?” Finally, I feel like I’m getting a little bit of information, but it’s only leaving me with more questions.
Bill shrugs. “I can’t tell you that because no one knows why the Lords pick what they do for initiations or assignments. But I will say they always have a purpose.”
HAIDYN
I sit at my desk back at my house. I’ve been fidgety all day, so I went for a ride and worked out. When neither helped my sour mood, I found myself here, where I’ve been for the last three hours.
The papers that Adam gave me about the true identity of Charlotte and all the pictures with Ashtyn that I was given when in Vegas are burning in the fireplace to my left. Saint knows where I live, which means it won’t be long before Kashton shows up at my door as well. I had to destroy them. I don’t want anyone able to find a paper trail that will lead to who she really is.