Chapter 4

My life has become a wakingnightmare, and staying away from Lux is nearly impossible, especially with her still living in my house, sleeping in my fucking bed. The urge to see her is so strong, it takes every ounce of my control to stay away.

And I'm not going to lie, a few dark thoughts have crossed my mind. The monster inside wants to take what it needs. If she hates me anyway, then why the fuck not?

The only thing stopping me is the pain I saw in her eyes yesterday when she realized I'd betrayed her. I can't witness that pain in her again. I can't. And it would kill me to know I've caused even more pain than I've already inflicted.

Worthless.

Coward.

The days pass slowly, and to physically remove myself from Lux's sphere, I hunker down in my grandfather's office across campus. It's in the Humanities building, and even though he died a couple of years ago, I've instructed the administration not to touch it. The office is huge with a private bathroom, a small kitchen, and a sofa that pulls out. The guys and I use it when we need a quiet place to crash.

Plus, my grandfather was an asshole—to other people, not to me—and during his long tenure here, he received countless death threats. Countless. So, needless to say, the security measures for his office are top-notch; heavy locks, cameras, alarms. His office is basically a fucking panic room.

It's morning when I finally get up and make myself coffee in the kitchenette. All night, images of Lux invaded my mind, no matter how hard I tried to push them away. So this morning I feel tired, wrung out, and honestly, half-fucking-dead.

I'm just pulling my phone off the charger when there's a knock on the door. Who the fuck even knows I'm here? I told the guys, of course, but they would have just texted.

A quick glance at the security camera reveals it's Nathan. Nathan always seems to know shit—even shit that should be a secret. He has an odd talent for ferreting out information.

I open the door without bothering to put on clothes. I'm in boxers, but if that makes Nathan uncomfortable, then he shouldn't be knocking on my door at 9 in the morning.

"What's up?" I ask, sipping on my coffee.

He looks nervous, which isn't unusual. Nathan has a weird deference toward the Sacred Sons. Most everyone does, but Nathan was my brother's closest friend, and we all grew up together, so his anxious regard has always been a little strange to me.

Whatever.

He holds up a black envelope, exactly like the invites the Sacred Sons send to the Burning Crown membership. "This is for you."

I snatch it from his hand, confused. "What? The Sacred Sons aren't calling a meeting." I know, because it requires all four of our approvals.

"It's not the Sacred Sons calling the meeting," he says. "It's Lux."

I rip the envelope open, even more confused now. "Lux is calling a meeting? About what?"

Your Attendance is Required

Tonight, ten o"clock.

Rush House

"I don't know," Nathan answers. "She wouldn't say."

I walk back into the office, and Nathan follows. I toss the invite onto the sofa bed and set my coffee cup down. My first text is to Lux.

Just got your invite. What the fuck is this about?

But the second I send my text, I notice it's green, which means she's blocked me. Again. I'm not exactly shocked by that, but it's just one more reminder of how badly I've fucked up.

Nathan is just standing there awkwardly, watching me. I call Lucas, putting the phone up to my ear, I flick my chin at Nathan, dismissing him. "Thanks, dude."

He smiles tightly and leaves just as Lucas answers his phone. "Yo."

"I just got Lux's invite," I say.

"Yeah, apparently we all got one. Every active member."

I shove my hands in my hair and tilt my head back. "Can she even fucking do this—call a meeting without the Sacred Sons' approval?"

I'd look in my book of bylaws, but it's back at Rush House, and if I pop up there, I'm going to see Lux. And I can't see Lux right now. I don't trust myself.

"Jackson looked it up, and there's no rule saying she can't."

Fuuuck.

"What's the meeting about?" I ask.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?" Lucas says, his voice raised. "She's your consort."

"You're in the house with her. And clearly, I'm not," I point out.

Lucas sighs. "All I know is that she's had Wyn running around, going back and forth to your room. Fuck knows what they're up to."

Tilting my head back, I pinch the bridge of my nose. I love Lucas, but he can be so clueless sometimes. "Have you…I don't know…asked Wyn what the fuck is going on?"

The guy is constantly looking for a reason to talk to Wyn, so why is he avoiding her now? Goddamn.

"I'm hanging up now," Lucas says flatly.

I push out a frustrated breath. Something is going on with Lucas and Wyn. Every time I bring her up, Lucas gets fucking weird. But I don't have time right now to get into all that with him. "Just talk to Wyn, and text me with what she says."

Hanging up with Lucas, I take a shower and try to go on with my pointless day. Without Lux, everything seems so fucking pointless, but I force myself to go through the motions of my day—checking in with mom, attending classes, and all that shit.

But that evening, I'm on edge as I get ready for whatever the fuck Lux has planned. Is she calling a meeting to tell everyone she's stepping down as queen consort? I wrack my brain, but that's all I can come up with. What else could it be?

I show up at Rush House fifteen minutes before ten, so I can grab my robe. The house is a swarm of activity when I arrive, people standing around in the foyer, and down the hall, already in their robes, waiting for the meeting to start.

I find Jackson, Christian, and Lucas in the study. Someone draped my robe over the sofa, so it's already waiting for me.

"Anyone find out what the fuck is going on?" I ask, grabbing my robe and putting it on.

"Nope," Lucas says, smoking a blunt. When he exhales, a cloud of smoke swirls around his head. "Wyn was tight-lipped, and the other girls didn't know anything."

Jackson tilts back in his chair, robes on, looking as annoyed as we're all feeling. "This chick has a set of balls," he says, looking at me. "I've never heard of a queen consort calling a meeting independent of the Sacred Sons. Feels like your chick is itching for a fight."

Christian has one ass cheek perched on the desk, and he shrugs one shoulder. "It's all legit, though. There's nothing in the bylaws that says she can't do it."

I'm nervous about all this, and I'm never nervous about anything. But Lux is bringing out all sorts of new facets of my personality lately. I never knew I could be a lovesick puppy either, so yeah. Revelations all around. "I just want to get this shit over with," I say with a sigh.

Seeing Lux again in the flesh is going to be fucking torture, and the faster I rip that bandage off, the better. I walk over to Lucas and take a long draw from his blunt.

"Goddamn dude," he says, snatching it back. "Leave some for the rest of us."

Tilting my head back letting the smoke seep from my lungs. I'm going to need ten more blunts to calm the fuck down even a fraction.

People are coming in and out of the study to get their robes from the cloakroom. The energy is electric. People are chatting, looking at us like we should know what the fuck is going on.

And to be fair, we should, but we don't.

I feel like an idiot, sitting here in my fucking robe, waiting for the meeting to start with everyone else.

Finally, Nathan rushes into the room. "Hey, guys. The doors just opened. I think they're ready to start."

Here we go.

The four of us guys glance at each other, then follow the horde down the hall and into the ballroom. We only use the ballroom for larger meetings because the smaller secret ceremony room is too small to accommodate everyone.

Jackson, Lucas, Christian and I skirt the edge of the room, and find spots up front, against the wall. Everyone instinctively forms a giant half-circle, two or three people deep.

My throne is sitting on a small dias at the front of the room, at the opening of the half-circle. Austin walks in from a side door, and thumps his stick three times, announcing Lux.

Thump, thump, thump. "Your queen consort."

Everyone stomps, causing the wood floor to vibrate, then finishes the greeting with a unified "Hoo-ah!"

Lux emerges in her white robe, looking fucking gorgeous and ethereal. Her long chestnut hair flows in waves over her shoulders, under the deep hood that's pulled over her head. Wyn walks in behind her but stops just as she enters. Lux continues on to the throne.

As she walks, her robe flows out behind her, making her look every bit the queen I always knew she was. The scared Lux from a few weeks ago is now a queen, and it's a sight to see.

People are looking over their shoulders at the four of us, wondering, I'm sure, if we're going to let this shit stand. It must be strange seeing the four Sacred Sons on the sidelines, just as clueless as they are.

Another thump from Austin, calling everyone to attention, silencing them. As soon as the room is quiet, Lux lowers herself onto the throne like she fucking owns it.

"You're probably all wondering why I brought you here tonight," she starts. "There has been an injustice that I feel we, as a society, must correct…"

An injustice? What the fuck is this?

"My friend, Bree Langley, was brutally murdered just a couple miles from here, washed up on the beach with multiple stab wounds..."

As Lux speaks, Wyn carries out a stiff poster board with photos on it and props it up on an easel. It's a photo of Wyn's smiling face, looking carefree, a photo of a silver knife, and a sketch of the tattoo Jackson had gotten from a witness.

"The person she was last seen with had a knife with the initials W.H., and a fresh tattoo that looks like this—" She indicates the poster. "And I suspect this person, whoever he is, might be in this very room. So if you have any information, come see me."

I glance around the room. Okay, so this meeting was about Bree? And she suspects it was a Burning Crown member who killed her? That's fucking news to me. What makes her think that?

"Now that we have that out of the way, there's another matter I would like to address…" she continues.

Her gaze wanders over the crowd of faces until her eyes land on me. I widen my stance and cross my arms over my chest, not sure what I'm preparing myself for.

"Roman Rush," she intones. "Step into the center of the circle, please."

Lucas and the guys all look at each other, like what the fuck?

Dropping my arms, I do as instructed, because why the fuck not? I could argue with all of this, but I'm curious. Where is she going with all this?

Moving to the center of the circle, I settle into a wide stance. Then I lift my hands and raise a brow. "Here I am."

This better be good.