The Never King (Vicious Lost Boys #1)(20)

“Last night, Kas was telling me about the fae and that he and Bash are fae, but they lost their wings?”

Cherry nods. “They killed their father.”

“What?!”

And here I thought the twins were the nicer ones.

“Killing another fae is grounds for banishment and losing their wings. That’s why they’re here with Pan and the Lost Boys. They were banished from the fae court.”

“Court?”

All of this information is making my head spin, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t excite me too. This is all so interesting. It’s better than a TV show.

“And you?” I ask. “What are you?”

“Me?” Her voice is squeaky when she says the word. “I’m human. I…I come from the north end of the island. Hook’s territory.”

“And who is Hook?”

“Captain of the pirates.”

“And the pirates—”

“Hate Pan.”

“Right.”

“They want to take over the island.” She fidgets with a loose thread on the white sheets. Wraps it around the end of her finger until it turns blue.

“Do they have a shot at it?”

She focuses on a distant spot on the wall, but I don’t think she’s looking at it so much as disappearing into a memory. “Maybe. Maybe not. My—Hook—is relentless.”

She knows Hook personally. But how?

“Have you ever left the island? Do you know how to…cross worlds, I guess?”

She shakes her head, unwinds the string from around her finger and the blood rushes back in.

I set the coffee cup down and collapse back against the pillows. “Just as well. I guess I’m stuck chained to this bed, bored out of my goddamn mind.”

“Well,” Cherry says, “maybe I can talk the twins into letting you come down to the bonfire tonight. Just to get you out of the house.”

“Okay. That could be fun.”

I can just imagine all of the trouble I could cause at a bonfire.

My brain conjures an image of Kas fucking that girl’s mouth last night and my stomach lights up and then the sensation dips between my legs.

There’s something about seeing the supposed nice guy act not so nice.

“I’ll ask Bash. He’ll likely say yes,” Cherry says. “Kas will be harder to come around, but what Bash wants, Kas usually gives him.”

And vice versa, I bet.

“And Pan and Vane?”

She rolls her eyes. “Even less so than the twins.”

“Something tells me they’re the guys who pop balloons at a kids’ party.”

She laughs. “You’re funny, Darling.”

“Thanks.”

“Enjoy your breakfast. I’ll be back later,” she says and slides off the bed.

“Cherry?”

“Hmm?”

“Did Vane give you those cuts and bruises?”

It’s really none of my business, but I have to know.

She bites at her bottom lip before giving me a nervous laugh. “It comes with the territory.”

“Which is what?”

“Vane has a shadow too. From another island.”

I think I know what she’s going to say before she says it.

“And his shadow is death.”





13





BASH


Kas and I are in the hammocks strung up between palm trees down by the beach. I haven’t told Kas yet about the trouble I caused last night.

Using a long stick, he shoves off the ground, getting the hammock to swing again. Then he pushes me with it, jamming the stick into my ass.

“Fucker,” I say.

He laughs.

A gull dares to come closer, hoping we have some scraps to give, but I only have a length of rope in my hands. Tying knots soothes me.

“I have to tell you something,” I say to my twin.

The rope hammock groans beneath Kas as he resettles. “I’m listening.”

“I fucked the Darling.”

He’s suddenly silent, but the hammock still creaks. Another wave laps against the shore. A sand fly lands on my arm and I smack it beneath my palm, smashing guts on my skin.

“When should I start planning your funeral?” Kas finally says.

“Very funny.”

“He’ll kill you. Surprised he hasn’t yet.”

I take a handful of white sand from the ground beneath me and grind it against my arm, cleaning off the guts.

“What happened?” he asks.

“Pan caught us and told me to keep fucking her. Honestly, I think the Darling liked it.”

My cock twitches, remembering the feel of her tight little pussy. I’ve never given in to a Darling before, as much as I’ve wanted to. I like fucking. I like fucking what I shouldn’t even more.

“How was she?” my twin asks.

I’m hard now, aching for more.

“Slutty, just the way I like them.”

He blows out a breath. “You’re such a fucking asshole.”

“Yeah, well, the whole reason I went into her room last night was because of you.”

“You keep telling yourself that.”