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“We good?” I ask without turning to face Zie or Kaiden.
“Always. Got your back.” They murmur in response.
The lift announces our arrival and the doors open to deliver us to our fate. All heads in the penthouse boardroom turn to face us and I tilt my lips upwards in a slight smirk. Tonight is about power, confidence, appearances and bluffing.
I am in control.
“Nice of you to join us, son,” my father says with a bite.
“I believe we are perfectly on time,” I reply. “Are we waiting on any others?”
“Just you.”
I nod. I know full well that we are the last to arrive because I engineered it that way precisely. Some might say that arriving early gives you an advantage but in this instance being the last to arrive, even though still punctual, sends a powerful message.
The gentlemen – and I use that term very loosely – here tonight need to recognise the shift in power. They’ll soon learn that the tables have turned and will need to choose their side, but there’s no harm in giving them a taste of what’s to come before then.
“Then shall we take our seats and begin? The empires won’t grow themselves without our input.” A blatant lie. Nothing will fall apart in the next however many hours this posturing bullshit of a business meeting will take, but it’s important my father knows I have better things to do with my time.
The business leaders all step forward on my say so and take their seats around the large oval table. My father clenches his jaw. Unbuttoning my jacket so that I can sit more comfortably, I take my place at the head of the table, directly opposite my father at the other end. Invisible lines have been drawn right down the centre, though he probably still thinks he has his dutiful little son still firmly under his thumb.
A joke.
He’s never seen me and my brothers as anything more than pawns in his games, people to manipulate and use or at best, a legacy to continue his dirty work. But he failed to realise that as I grew up I became the opposing king, my brothers are my trusty bishop and hardy rook. And once I’ve completed the Hunting Grounds and have my queen by my side, the Hunting Games can really begin. My father will find himself unseated from his throne in a takeover move he never saw coming. Everyone else surrounding the table are simply pawns. They’ve just yet to choose their side: white or black. It doesn’t even matter in the end though, all pawns are sacrificed.
“First order of business,” my father begins.
“Wait!” the leader of The Gods, Zeus, cries out. I chuckle under my breath. “Why does he get to bring backup when we all had to come alone?” He glares at me and I give him a slow, cold grin. “We could all have brought our business partners with us, could we not?”
There are a few grumbles of agreement from around the table but no one will actively speak out against us.
“Did you not bring security with you, Zeus?” I ask slowly.
“Of course I did. We all did. I have two men in the room and another dozen waiting downstairs.” I almost smirk at that. The Gods have always mistakenly thought there was safety in numbers.
“Well, meet mine.”
He sputters out a protest, but I hold up my hand to silence him. “It’s not my fault you chose to put your trust in men who are simply guns for hire. My brothers have my back in a way that your men never will, and that is why they’re here tonight. They’re security, not business partners.”
I don’t even have to look to know that Kaiden and Zie have shifted behind me to reveal a small number of the weapons they’re carrying tonight, and to know that they’re both smirking triumphantly when Zeus glowers at me.
“If that little drama between the children is over, maybe we can begin?” My father drawls. His intention is to get my back up and piss me off, but tonight I’m Teflon. I’m going to let it all slide like water off a duck’s back. Nothing will stick.
Keep underestimating me, mother fucker. I’m coming for you, your empire, and the empires of every person seated at this table.
“First port of call, the Hunting Grounds.”
I try not to let my mild surprise show in my expression. An excellent poker face is essential to survive this world. I didn’t expect my father to bring it up so soon, though of course I knew it would be on the agenda tonight.
“The sponsors are disappointed with the first challenge,” my father continues. I knew this was coming, I said as much to Odile. “There wasn’t enough bloodshed to satisfy their thirst.”
“Yet,” I begin calmly. “Four people died and one dropped out.”
“Ruptured testicle,” Zeus adds. Kaiden sniggers behind me as most of the men around the room wince and readjust themselves in solidarity.
A smile threatens to tug at my lips. How fucking sexy Peony looked with a gun in her hand - even if it was only a paintball gun.
“That’s beside the point,” my father insists. “There was no entertainment.”
