And then he’s walking away, mingling with the crowd as if he wasn’t just stealing my air and existence.
I slump against the wall, holding my head between my hands.
What the hell just happened? How did I attract such a predator?
And most importantly, what can I do to keep him away from me?
“Kill!”
I lift my head to find Annika accompanied by Ava. Her brows dip as she watches where the stranger disappeared into the crowd.
“K-Kill?” I stammer despite myself, and Ava levels me with a stare.
She’s well aware I’m not the type to stammer or speak without weighing my every word. But the circumstances are different now. I thought the nightmare had ended two nights ago, but in hindsight, I should’ve known it had just begun.
I somehow attracted the attention of a boundless, soulless savage.
“Killian Carson,” Annika says. “Resident charming god of our high school and The King’s U, too. He's a fourth-year med student, despite being only nineteen. Obviously, he skipped a few grades, like me. Though I only skipped one and I’m seventeen. I’ll be eighteen soon, by the way, so don’t treat me like a kid.”
Wait.
He goes to The King’s U? Is that how he knows my name? But I’m not in contact with anyone from that university except for Devlin when we used to sneak out.
He found me on IG and after that, we talked, then met.
Other than that, I’m not that familiar with the ‘dangerous’ kids.
Though I have heard about the two notorious clubs at The King’s U. Heathens and Serpents. Both have mafia backgrounds, rule the university, and they’re rivals.
If that isn’t fun enough, they both hate our own power-filled club, Elites.
The three of them compete in underground fights, sports events, and creepy night activities that are only spoken about in hushed tones behind closed doors.
Oh, and remember my brother, Lan? He’s the current leader of the Elites.
Does this mean the stranger—Killian, very fitting damn name—recognizes me because of my brother?
But then again, Lan always kept the club’s activities separate from his personal life.
“How do you know him?” I ask Annika despite myself.
She taps her chin. “We…kind of run in the same crowd. Well, not really. We’re not friends or anything, God forbid. He’s, well, you could say acquaintances with my brother. Scratch that, they’re really close and I’ve been specifically told to stay away. By specifically, I mean that my brother would take away my socials if I go near his friends. Can you imagine that type of torture?” She wraps her arms around herself. “I just got chills.”
“Oh my God!” Ava snaps her fingers. “I knew your last name sounded familiar. Your brother is Jeremy Volkov, isn’t he?”
“The Jeremy Volkov?” I repeat, incredulous.
I’m a certified hermit, but even I heard the name as soon as I stepped foot on Brighton Island. Jeremy Volkov is older than us, my brothers’ age, and is currently finishing his master’s degree.
The reason his name is so infamous in both our campuses is due to the fact that he’s a god that should not be crossed.
It’s said that he killed someone who pissed him off—strapped rocks to his body and threw him to the bottom of the ocean. Once, a student tripped against his car and hobbled away with a broken leg.
Another time, someone accidentally spilled water on him, then went ahead and punched himself to escape his wrath.
Of course, it’s all rumors, but they’re savage rumors. The type of rumors that clearly tell us peasants to stay the hell away from him.
Because, of course, Jeremy is the leader of the Heathens. Rumor has it that the initiation process into the club starts by spilling blood.
Rumor also has it that the other Heathens are as crazy as he is. Some are even worse.
I didn’t know their names before, but something tells me Killian’s name belongs there.
Kill.
That’s what Annika—who’s currently fidgeting from one foot to the other—called him. He’s a ‘kill’ type of person.
Grandpa Henry, Mum’s father, told me that every person has a share of their name.
Killian is the entirety of his name.
Annika lowers her head. “What are the chances of going back to before you learned that piece of information about my brother?”
“Slim to none,” Ava says. “Can’t believe you’re siblings.”
“I mean, he’s not as bad as the rumors say. He’s the best brother alive and cares about me.”
“He ruins people’s lives for fun,” Ava says matter-of-factly.
“We can’t choose our siblings?” Annika tries with an awkward smile.
“Can totally relate.” Ava sighs. “Still. This is big news. I’m surprised he let his sister study at REU. I thought he hated us.”
“He probably does since he said, and I quote, ‘REU is filled with spineless, spoiled brats who only know how to spend their trust funds and don’t have the slightest clue about how to grow them.’ And he didn’t get a say in it since I got Papa’s approval after a lot of begging and promising to be good. But none of those methods worked, duh. The only thing that did was having Mom convince him. Lucky for me, he can’t say no to her.” She grins, then stares between us sheepishly. “You don’t hate me?”
“Why would we?” I inch closer to her. “You’re welcome aboard.”
“Yeah,” Ava echoes. “Your brother is a scary twat, but you’re a total doll.”
She blushes, seeming over the moon with the compliment. “Aww, thanks.”
Ava and Annika gush over each other for a bit before Annika studies me as if searching for a hanging limb. “I know we just met, but I feel the need to warn you about Kill. If you think my brother is bad, Killian might be worse. He’s always been popular, worshiped and fawned upon as if he was God on earth, but there’s something off about him, you know. Like his whole social life is a façade for what’s truly lurking inside. His smile never reaches his eyes, and all his relationships have been flings and hookups. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever had a relationship. Even his own brother doesn’t care for him that much. It’s like he’s living, but not alive…as if he’s…”
“A monster,” I finish for her.
“I was going to say a psychopath. Anyhow, he’s bad news and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Too late.
He’s already took a part of me that I’ll never be able to get back.
“Is he part of your brother’s secret club?” Ava asks, then leans over to whisper, “Heathens?”
Annika gives a small laugh. “Ha…ha… I’m not supposed to talk about that or Jer will kill me. But yeah, he is, whatever. Kill is probably the mastermind behind it in the first place.”
“What do they do there?” Ava implores, closing in on her like a teacher interrogating a quiet student.