Page 8 of Wicked Lord

Oh, but it had.

I threw my shoulders back, the confidence Axel instilled in me from that one act of kindness snapping my spine straight.

“Sorry, Brock, I’m not feeling so great. Period cramps.” I threw him a sneer, and his perfect composure cracked for amillisecond. I was sure his ideal wife would never mention menstrual issues either. “I hope you’ll excuse me. I’ll see you tomorrow before you leave, maybe?”

I threaded my arm through Axel’s, and he tossed my escort a shit-eating grin.

“Ta-ta, Haversham.” Axel whirled me away from the dickhead, and my arm tightened around his, my heart lighter than it had been in months.

CHAPTER 4

BROTHERS ABOVE ALL

Axel

Chills ran down my spine at the Domnus’s goat-skull mask nestled within the hood of his ebony cloak, horns poking through. The stark contrast of white against the backdrop of black only made the ominous scene worse. Crimson rimmed the cloak like the edges had been dipped in blood.

These formal Serpents & Daggers ceremonies were always creepy as shit.

Wasn’t it enough to be shoved into the catacombs beneath the school where gas lanterns, candles, and flames curling from the giant ebony fireplace were the only light sources?

A briny taste hung in the air from the ocean, mixing with candle wax and arrogance. And with several Ascended members, Lords who had graduated, in attendance, the confidence and egotism practically choked the room.

They all sat silently in high-backed chairs to the left of the room near an altar withFratres Super Omnia, brothers above all, carved across the wall.

I readjusted the plain white mask on my face for the hundredth time since pulling it on. It was all a necessary part of the passing of the dagger ceremony for the new Domnus. At least we were getting rid of that douchebag Bass.

Vaughn, the former pledge master and his best friend, wasn’t much better, though. I would have preferred Killian as the new leader of our organization, but he wanted no part in it. Becoming president of the Sigma Delts was enough for him. Plus, being the Domnus came with certain responsibilities, and now that he was happy—as happy as the moody bastard could be—and in love, he didn’t want to add anything that would take him away from Lexi for any longer than absolutely necessary.

As if this brotherhood didn’t own us enough.

Gage elbowed my ribs. “Stop fidgeting, Vanderhart.”

I scowled, not that he could see. He seemed right at home with the macabre setting.

“The shit is suffocating,” I hissed beneath the mask. “And I’m fucking hungry.”

Gage scoffed. “You wear twenty pounds of football gear and a helmet while running and tackling other guys, but this little mask and cloak is smothering?”

I flipped him off. “Did I mention I was hungry?”

“You’re always hungry, big guy.” Slate patted my back from behind. “Once they pass the baton or whatever, they’ll break out the spread.”

My mouth salivated at the thought.

“It is with great honor that I hand the reins to the new chosen.” Bass’s voice carried through the atrium directly beneath the Sigma Delta house as he and Vaughn stood on the raised stage in front of the crowd. “He’ll continue to lead this sect to new heights.”

Killian snorted from my other side. “Bass is dying with every fucking word, having to give up his seat of power.”

We practically destroyed the guy last spring, wrapping a noose around his neck with the incriminating evidence we passed to Arcane, an underground organization that dealt in a myriad of illegal activities. Now Bass walked around with his tail between his legs. But I wasn’t stupid enough to believe the little weasel would just vanish quietly into the shadows.

Positioning his best friend as the new leader of the Serpents & Daggers at Stonewall U wasn’t a coincidence.

“I promise to uphold the laws of the brotherhood, put our needs first, and pledge my fealty to every member standing before me.” Vaughn poured a generous amount of red wine into a golden, jewel-encrusted chalice, and I shuddered at what was coming next.

Bass used an ornate dagger to slice his palm. As the blood pooled across his pale flesh, he held his hand over the chalice and let a few drops fall into the wine. “Let our blood unite us once again.”

Vaughn grabbed the same blade and cut his palm, donating a couple of heavy drops into the chalice.