Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
He lifts it in the air. “I’m not your enemy, Levi.”
“You invited her,” I retort.
“So what? She’s not your enemy here.”
I groan out loud. “Remind me again why we’re having this party?”
“Just try to have some fun,” he says. “Live a little.” He steals the basket of masks from me. “My turn.”
“I’m gonna go kick that asshole out of this house,” I say.
He frowns. “Who?”
“Grey.”
He snorts. “You can’t.”
“Watch me,” I growl back.
He blocks the entrance. “You. Can’t.”
“Give me one damn good reason.”
“He’s a Phantom.”
My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. “He’s a what now?” I shake my head, throwing the basket of masks aside. “No. No. It’s not happening.”
“It already did,” he says. “He passed the test.”
“You let him go through the initiation?!” I yell, and I shove him. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“Relax. He came to me on his own. Said he wanted to join, so I let him try. Didn’t think he’d actually do it, but he did.”
“Well, undo it,” I yell.
“I can’t, you know that. He’s one of us now.”
“No.” I keep shaking my head because I can’t fucking believe it. “You shouldn’t have fucking let him.”
“Anyone has a shot.”
“He’s not staying one goddamn day in this fucking house,” I growl.
“He’s a Phantom now, with as much privilege as you.”
This is a nightmare come to life. “Fuck no!”
“It’s already done, Levi. It’s out of my hands now.”
I grab him by the shirt and scream up close. “You let him in!”
“Calm. Down.” He grabs both my wrists. “Before you hurt yourself.”
I jerk free. “I’m not gonna calm down when he’s infiltrated our goddamn Society.” I march past him.
“He’s joined fair and square!” Apollo yells after me.
I sigh out loud and rub my forehead as I head inside. I’m already done with tonight, and it hasn’t even started. All because those two came to a party I didn’t know they were invited to. What was Apollo thinking, allowing Grey to join our Society? Is he trying to provoke me? Or is he trying to mend things back together when no one asked him to?
I get to the dance floor and lo and behold … there he fucking is, chatting with her friends. It infuriates me so much that I nearly pull my knife from my pocket and throw it at him.
Grey looks me dead in the eyes with that dumb smirk on his face, and I know he can see it.
I know he can see the fury building inside me.
The unquenchable fire he started.
“You can’t hurt him,” Apollo says, pulling my hand from my pocket. “Not now. Not ever. He’s one of us now.”
One of us now.
It’s like Grey’s eyes are saying the same words.
I can’t hurt him.
And he fucking knows.
“Those are the rules,” Apollo adds. “I’m sorry.”
I know the fucking rules.
My own damn father created them.
“Just ignore them for now. Have a drink or two. Dance with a pretty girl, maybe one with big boobs so you won’t be able to see him.” Apollo winks. “Eh, have some fun.”
“Leave me the fuck alone,” I say, grinding my teeth.
He raises his hands and backs off. “I’m just saying, you really don’t want another murder on your hands when half the campus already hates your guts.”
Of course, he’d remind me of my darkest moment to keep me from making another.
But I’ll be damned if we let this fucking weasel into our sacred place.
Grumbling, I make my way to the drinks table and pick up a glass filled with hard liquor, dunking it down in one go.
“Wow, you must be having one shitty night.” It’s a blond-haired guy in a mask, but his affected voice immediately gives him away. It’s Orion Torres, Apollo’s half brother, who doesn’t even belong to the Phantoms, but apparently he goes wherever the party is. “It’s only just begun.”
“Tell me about it,” I say, picking up another drink.
“Normally I’m the one getting shit-faced at all the parties.” He laughs.
“I might join you tonight.”
“Any reason in particular? Beyond your mortal enemy being here, of course.”
“Not that I’d tell you about,” I reply, annoyed he already figured me out even though we barely ever talk.
“I’m not the target of your vitriol, don’t fight with me.” He raises his glass. “I’m all love. Friend, not foe.”
“You’re probably the only one who still says that after what happened.”
“You mean after what you did?” He glugs down a glass of vodka as if it’s easy. “At least, that’s what they all think, right?”
But that comment totally put me off drinking, and I set down my glass. “You don’t know me.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But someone in this room does, and you’re letting her walk away with another guy.”
His words make me do a double take.
How did he …?
He puts down his empty glass and lets out a sigh. “Now that is a tragedy worth writing about.”