AllFreeNovel
Share Us
So I don’t force a smile for Ares.
I say, “I’m pretty fucking tired. Of school, of family shit, and this fucking unsolvable problem always hanging around my neck.”
Ares’ jaw tightens. His forearms look strangely rigid where his hands are stuffed in his pockets.
“I understand.”
I look at him curiously. “Do you?”
He meets my gaze for just a moment, his dark, untidy shock of hair falling over his eyes. Then he looks away again.
“I think so,” he mumbles. “You’re smart, Zoe. Disciplined. Loyal. It seems like it has to work out for you in the end.”
“Does it always work out for the people who deserve it? Or is it all just random and fucking awful sometimes?”
He bites his lip, really considering this.
“I don’t know,” he says at last. “But I’m gonna act like there’s some kind of destiny, or karma, or whatever you want to call it. ‘Cause otherwise, what’s the point of anything? We might as well give up now.”
“And you don’t want to give up?”
SometimesIwant to give up.
“No.” Ares shakes his head vehemently. “I never want that.”
We’re quiet for a moment, Ares looking uncomfortable, as he always does when he says more than twenty words in a row.
He and I have spent a fair bit of time alone together, but I don’t know that much about him. Only that he’s from a tiny island in Greece. That the Cirillos were one of the ten founding families of Kingmakers, but they’re hardly mafia at all anymore. He grew up on a farm. He’s the oldest of four, and his younger siblings miss him desperately—he’s always writing letters to them, picking up their responses from the little post office in the village.
I know what everyone else wants to do after we graduate: Anna will take over the PolishBraterstwoand Leo will become the Italian Don. Together they’ll rule the lion’s share of Chicago.
By rights, Miles could take over the Irish territory, but he intends to go to Los Angeles instead, to make his own way in the world.
Chay is the Heir of the Berlin Nightwolves, and she already knows exactly how she’ll expand their network of tattoo shops, nightclubs, concert venues, motorcycle shops, and racing teams.
Even Hedeon has been named Heir of the Gray’s London-based empire, with his brother Silas ordained to act as his top lieutenant. How they’ll manage that when they can’t eat breakfast without trying to kill each other is beyond me, but the plan is in place.
Only Ares abstains from talking about the future.
“What will you do?” I ask him. “After we graduate?”
“Take over my father’s business,” he says at once.
“Really? That surprises me.”
“Why?”
“Well, you’re so good at everything here. You’ve got some of the best marks in the practical classes as well as the academic ones.It’s true!” I say, as Ares shakes his head modestly. “Don’t think nobody notices just because you’re standing next to Leo all the time. Do you really want to be a farmer?”
Ares looks at me, smiling his gentle smile.
“You’re kind, Zoe,” he says. “Don’t worry about me. I like growing things.”
“Alright,” I shrug. “I’d never tell you there’s no joy in a peaceful life. I’d take that deal in a second.”
We’ve reached the Library Tower. I already feel a swoop of happiness as Ares cracks open the heavy, iron-strapped door. The scent of parchment and leather hits us like a cool, dry wind. Mixed with that, a light, exotic note that just might be Miss Robin’s perfume. Her apartments are directly above the library, in the attic of its pointed roof.
We climb the spiraling stone steps to the first level. The whole library is one enormous spiral, like the inside of a conch shell. The bookshelves are curved to fit against the wall, and the floor slopes upward like one long, continuous ramp. Wedge-shaped platforms prop up the tables so our pencils don’t roll away while we’re working. It’s a bizarre design that makes the library seem infinite and endless. The thick oriental rugs and book-stuffed walls muffle the sound so you never know who might be on the levels above you.
