Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 44009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
I understood his point, but we would never reign without some sort of drama. Complication and power were a package deal, but trouble didn’t scare me away. I knew what I wanted, and I would get it one way or another. I just wanted to avoid unnecessary complications if possible.
That was what a good leader would do. I doubted that I was the best leader around, but I tried to guide the Kings with strength and mindfulness. That was the only way that we would continue to thrive without someone like Dean Schmidt wiping us off the board.
“What next?” I sighed, wanting to move on. There were some things that Arvo and I would never agree on, but we didn’t have to. Multiple Kings meant multiple opinions, and we could choose the best to implement. Hopefully, my way worked.
“Sol,” Arvo barked out immediately like he had been impatiently waiting to bring Sol up. “He’s been in constant contact with Schmidt.”
“How do you know that?” I questioned him.
“It makes sense for them to be working together. Schmidt wants to take us down, and Sol is a betrayer,” Arvo assured me, seeming to believe every word that left his mouth.
I wasn’t fully convinced about the connection between Sol and Schmidt, but there was something suspicious going on with Sol. He was a greater concern to me than Schmidt since he knew the ins and outs of the Kings.
“We need to figure out what Sol is doing. He’s been dodging us for a reason,” I said. Sol was always mysterious, but that could be a disadvantage for us now. I didn’t want to be blindsided by another King. Everyone underestimated the power of the Kings, but I wasn’t going to be a fool.
“What we need to do is get rid of him so that we don’t have to worry about him any longer!” Arvo replied sharply, words cutting through the air like glass.
I scowled and shook my head, wishing that Arvo would contribute something else besides a death sentence or a kidnapping plan to every problem that came our way. We weren’t an assassination squad or criminals. We were Kings. We had some class.
“I don’t want to kill another King. What if either of us meet the same fate? Then, the Kings will be non-existent,” I pointed out. We couldn’t eliminate ourselves. We had to be smarter than that.
“He might be the one who kills us!” Arvo argued as he turned away from the pool, moving to stand in front of me. “He almost killed Biba by bringing her to this school. Remember?”
I narrowed my eyes as I stared at him, tightening my grip on the glass. I didn’t like Sol for having such a plan, even if he didn’t carry it out. He still had the intention of killing Biba, and that pissed me off to no end. Even the thought of him laying a damn finger on her made me heated.
Before I could reply, Arvo reached into the pocket of his dark blue blazer, slowly pulling out a Tower tarot card. He held it up between two fingers with a hint of a smirk on his face.
“I’m sure this will convince you,” he said, tone bordering on treacherous.
My chest tightened at the sight of the card. Each King was given a single Tower card, which gave each of us one wish to be granted. It was only used in the most extreme circumstances because it could only be drawn once. The other Kings couldn’t object. The order had to be carried out no matter what.
I couldn’t believe that Arvo was so serious about having Sol killed that he drew his Tower card. It was a death sentence, an order that even I had to follow! Sol had to die.
“You want him dead that bad?” I asked him once I managed to draw air back into my lungs. We weren’t playing games any longer.
Arvo didn’t say anything. He merely smirked at me with darkening eyes. This was a thrill to him.
“Fine, but you handle the particulars. I don’t want any part of it,” I muttered, waving my hand at him dismissively. I didn’t want Sol killed, so I wasn’t going to be involved. Arvo could carry out the deed and leave me out of it.
Besides, I didn’t need to be anywhere near Sol right now. If he indeed had the mindset to kill Biba at one point and was now sexually involved with her, I would possibly strangle him to death with my own hands. Did he manipulate her? How could she want to be involved with him?
At the end of the day, I didn’t believe that I could trust Sol. What mattered more was upholding the legacy of the Kings and my family. Unlike Sol, I had to show some sort of loyalty, and I wasn’t about to become a traitor to the foundation of people who aided my power.