Page 25 of The Never List
I have no idea why he thinks I didn’t give my real name, but I can’t waste my mental energy trying to figure it out.
Their littletesthas me on high alert. I didn’t even get a second to adjust, goddess damn them. Damn them all.
I take a deep breath, shaking out my limbs to try and ridthem of the adrenaline crackling beneath my skin.Think. Plan. I have to survive.
First, I need to wrap my head around the game I’m now playing. I can only win if I get the Legends of Chaos to fall in love with me. Not easy. Not with their reputation for mayhem and cruelty.
Jax didn’t feel cruel while we danced; then again, his father just held me immobile while he reached for my breasts. That kind of evil is easily passed down bloodlines, isn’t it?
Before I can think of a second step in my plan, the elevator rumbles again, the doors sliding open. I know it’s the Legends before they step into the room—their powers arethatpotent.
I breathe deep, knowing the next part of this game: I have to sleep with them.
That’s what the invitation said. That’s what I gave consent for by exchanging my invitation for a pin at the gates when I entered the Choosing.
Erin, what would you do?My sister was always the more confident one, the more seductive one. She had kings’ enforcers and wealthy men eating out of the palm of her hand. She taught me some tricks, but she had it in her blood.
I mentally check myself as the Legends step into the room, and I slip into that in-between space where I’m half myself and half imitating the person my sister would want me to be. Erin certainly wouldn’t cower behind these doors in a panic. She’d make the Legendsbegfor her by the end of the night.
Can I do that? Can I be like her?
We’re about to find out.
10
Rylee
Seeing the Legends of Chaos without their masks literally takes my breath away.
Jax is the first one out of the elevator, and my eyes are immediately drawn to him. His blue-black hair is slicked back, his skin so pale it looks like he lives off moonlight instead of the sun. He’s shed his jacket, leaving him in a black long-sleeved shirt and a leather harness filled with various blades strapped to his ribs. Those indigo eyes are set deep in a chiseled face that looks like it’s constantly shifting between glaring and growling. Except the warmth from earlier is all but gone, and my heart plummets as he walks by me without a second glance.
Like he didn’t choose me. Like it isn’t his fault I’m here in the first place.
“Thank you for returning so quickly. I know you don’t have to.” I force the words out. I can’t play their game if I let myself be starstruck.
Axl smiles at me. His lips are full and wide, that grin absolutely infectious as he walks up to me. He’s so damn tall, with bronze skin over tons of muscle, and his energy is just as large. It’s a marvel there’s space enough for him in this room; it makes me wonder what else about him mightbe big.
“Just because we’re Legends doesn’t mean we’re assholes,” Axl says, dropping into a chair at the table. He plucks a berry off a silver tray and pops it into his mouth. “Well, some of us are,” he amends.
Jax stalks through the room—it’s the only way I can describe his walk, like he’s always on the prowl—and sits at the opposite end of the table.
“Which ones?” I ask.
Axl’s eyes are practically sparkling. “Guess that’s for you to figure out.”
I can’t help it—I laugh. It’s small and quick but real.
Jax’s brows raise just slightly at the sound, and it takes everything I have to not pick the seat right next to him. I can’t deny the connection I feel, but this is the Nightmare. The Legend who kills first and asks questions later. The one who, according to gossip, spends his time in his nightclub, Lust, in the Obsidian City, providing his consumers with endless liquor and enhancements while he siphons off their wealth. Plus, his prick of a father… What he just did to me…
“Will you sit?” Kal asks, his confident, kind voice jerking me to the present. He’s still standing, hands on a chair he’s pulled out. He’saskingme, giving me a choice in the matter.
As if I have one. I belong to them now, and my lifespan directly correlates with how long I can keep it that way. My earlier search of the room presented no bed, but there are plenty of couches spread throughout the massive space. Goddess, they could take me right here on this table if they wished.
Heat flares through my core, and I quickly take the seatin an effort to hide how unsteady I feel. After Baydel’s test, I should be in no mood to entertain these princes, but I can’t stop my body from reacting to the thought of it.
Kal helps push my chair in, and I give him a small nod of thanks as he takes a seat to my right. Pierce settles across from me as Kal reaches for an empty crystal glass and pours sparkling wine into it before giving it to me.
I wrap my fingers around the offering, and the way Pierce tracks the movement makes my heart race. His dark brown eyes lock with mine, and I’m immediately overwhelmed by their depth, though I honestly can’t tell if he’s intrigued by or indifferent toward me.
