“And you’ll be needing some new ink,” Kyan added, reaching out to tap the back of my neck.
A tingle ran along my skin at that suggestion. Of course I’d noticed the matching tattoos the three of them had in that exact spot on the backs of their necks. Each of them slightly different but clearly linked. An arrow in flight. Violence waiting to happen. There was beauty in the art of those designs, but there was danger in it too. Would I really let them mark me out as one of them in such a permanent, obvious way?
“I doubt there are any tattoo parlours open,” I said dismissively.
“Luckily for you, I have my own gun,” Kyan said. “I can do it for you.”
“You expect me to let you near me with a tattoo gun?” I scoffed.
“He did ours,” Blake said. “And half of his own tattoos too. It’s one of his many hidden talents.”
“Like sucking your dick to get you singing his praises?” I drawled, mostly because I felt like I was being backed into a corner here and I needed time to think. This offer could be the answer to my dreams or the start of a serious fucking nightmare.
I’d seen and heard all about the way they treated Tatum since they’d gotten her to agree to be theirs and even though I had zero intention of agreeing to any terms like that, I had to think this came with a catch. If I tied myself to them this way, it would be a lasting bond. One they wouldn’t let me back out of easily. Although I was willing to bet that tearing Saint’s family apart and burning them to the ground might be enough to get me cast out.
“Yeah, I suck dick real good,” Kyan teased. “But only for my brothers. You can find out for yourself when you swear in.”
Blake snorted a laugh and Saint’s lips twitched with amusement, but none of them took their attention from me.
“How do you expect me to get away with joining up to your little gang while I’m the headmaster of this school?” I scoffed, buying time as I tried to figure out what to do. “I’m just supposed to go through with your initiation, get a tattoo everyone can see all the damn time and come hang out in The Temple with you and no one will care? The parents and teachers won’t have an issue with it? Come on-”
“I really don’t think you have any grasp on the power we hold,” Saint tutted. “If we say it’s acceptable, you can bet your ass every fucker in this school will agree it’s the best fucking thing that ever happened to them. You’re too used to living life amongst the masses. This isn’t even about being the elite. We’re beyond the elite, above all of them. They bow down to our desires and thank us for any molecule of attention we give them. What we decide supersedes any rules you may believe bind you. Because I can assure you, they don’t. This world is governed by two things. Money and power. We have more of both than you can even imagine.”
“What about love?” I asked, because he may have had a point, but I knew for a fact that love was just as powerful. My love for my family was what had driven me down this path, it made people do all kinds of insane things and motivated like nothing else.
Saint rolled his eyes at me. “Love is something that most people can put a value on. I guarantee you I could buy a night with most married women if I cared to find the right price. But I will concede that real, pure love like I have with my brothers is a force of its own. If you join with us then we would be inviting you into that bond too.”
I blew out a breath as I looked between the three of them. I could see what he meant about their bond, but no matter what position he gave me, I wasn’t just going to slot in amongst them. We all knew that, and I had more than a few questions about why they would offer this to me. They didn’t know me, not really. And killing some asshole together might have bonded us, but it certainly didn’t make us love each other. There was something more here, but I couldn’t figure it out and not knowing was like having an itch I couldn’t scratch.
“What’s the real reason you’re offering me this?” I asked, raising my chin. “No bullshit. Just the facts. What is it that makes you want me?”
Saint glanced at the other two and Kyan laughed darkly like they’d exchanged some joke.
“The three of us have darkness in us,” Saint breathed, his eyes lighting like he didn’t see that as a bad thing. “We’re all our own specific kinds of monster. And when we look at you, we can see that darkness too. We recognise one of our own. And the legend clearly states that there was always meant to be four Night Keepers-”
“You seriously believe in that Night Keeper shit?” I asked, arching a brow at them.
“You tell me,” Saint said with a shrug. “Do we inspire fear? Are we brutal beasts who thrive in the dark? Did we come and protect our people when they needed us?”
“It’s just some old legend,” I muttered, ignoring the ring of truth his words held.
“Maybe. Maybe not,” Blake purred.
“You have to admit, we make the myths seem pretty damn real,” Kyan added with a smirk. “And who gives a shit if it’s magic, legend, a curse or just some assholes telling the world that this is how it is? Point is that we inspire the fear and respect of the Night
