Code of Conduct |18+ (Ménage)✔

⊰22⊱

🌹

The eerie silence comes to a close when Arthur announces, "Slaves of the covens, return to you daily chores." He didn't need to tell them twice, the echoing of boots reverberating off the black and malachite marble floor signaled to me that most of them were already through the now accessible ballroom doors. While the room is practically cleared out, we however, are still kneeling in front of the council member who selected us.

For what?

I still have no clue as to what this selection is for. Rochelle never went into great detail...except for the whole probably everyone ends up dying scenario.

I hear Arthur shift his balance, more than likely turning in respect to the rest of the council. He notes, "Take your selections and prepare them for what is to come. When they are well informed of their duties, they are free to relax in the pool room."

It's funny when others take charge over Aohdan. I wonder if after his last stunt that maybe Arthur is trying to take control of this festival. Or, maybe there are just some parts to this gathering that are reserved specifically for the eldest council member to make the decisions for.

Good news is, I might actually get to relax before I'm slaughtered.

"Rise slaves," Aohdan's voice spews like venom, his resentment in Cormac's choice still clearly annoying him. There was just something about watching him being knocked down a peg that brought some sense of joy.

At his words, Cassidy, Desiree, Rochelle, Warren, and myself all lift our heads before slowly rising to our feet. A wave of uneasiness washes over my body when my eyes meet with Cormac's green ones for a split second. It quickly passes when I divert my gaze elsewhere.

Too bad I end up briefly locking stares with Arthur.

His cerulean eyes are almost unblinking, watching me carefully while Cassidy waits for Arthur to lead her away. He breathes in and out slowly, my own breath catching in my lungs when I find it almost impossible to break away from his gaze. It's only when Cormac's words, "Come along...slave," are spoken that I blink rapidly and turn away from the trance I'd been put under.

When I look around me, Taft already is walking out of the ballroom doors with Desiree close behind him, Arthur now stepping away from the remaining council line and taking Cassidy through the very same doors. Aohdan pauses, his eyes burning into me with so much hate and resentment. He should...he's the one who brought this on himself.

I won't forget.

I won't forgive.

"What game are you playing at Cormac?" Aohdan's question forces Cormac to stop in his tracks halfway across the ballroom, my own feet feeling as though they were buried in cement and stuck to the marble floor.

He arches a brow and states, "The same game you're playing, only I know how to play it better."

Them fightin' words right there.

I'm not the only one to notice, Rochelle's clear blue eyes nervously glancing around in fear, Warren continuing to keep his own eyes on the floor. There is tension and my heart beats fast against my rib cage, my breathing coming short and uneven while the two council members continue their stare down.

The scary part is, I don't even fully understand what ranks mean within the council and the fact Cormac was able to select me and Arthur allowed it...there's so much more here than meets the eye. What type of control, if any, does Aohdan truly have? Surely he has some...otherwise Cormac wouldn't have allowed him to take me from the estate and to the hospital, but maybe punishments are something to just bat an eye at and not question.