A knock at my door sped my heartbeat up. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I smoothed my hands down my hair, trying to calm myself down.
It was Flynn. There was no warmth in his eyes as they met mine. His eyes were as dark as his raven hair. Just like the day before, he was dressed only in black. I wondered if he owned any clothing in a different color. I opened the door and he stepped inside. The power emanating from him sucked the air out of the small room. To keep my hands from shaking I clasped them tightly together.
"How's your arm?" he asked, looking at it.
"It's okay," I said and then realized it shouldn't be okay. "A little sore but I'm sure it will be fine."
He studied me for a moment and I held my breath. His midnight dark eyes took in every slight movement of my eyes.
"We are going downstairs to have breakfast," he said before abruptly turning to leave. I hesitated for a moment before I followed behind him.
Silently I trailed him down to the kitchen. It was quiet, so when I stepped inside I was taken aback that it was full of people eating. The kitchen was quite big but with fifteen people it was rather crowded.
No one spoke a word as they looked up to take me in. It was eerie. They all had the same mannerisms as Flynn. Dangerous and controlled. There was no need for light conversation.
They all wore the same black shirt and jeans. As I dropped my gaze I took in the fact they even wore the same black boots. It was like a uniform. Keepers of the order.Orderbeing the operative word.
"Don't be nervous," Flynn said, and I noticed he was standing right beside me.
Easier said than done. I had seen what Flynn was capable of, so how could I not be scared of a room full of Keepers? There was no way to know they were Keepers, but the fact that they all had that ruthless air about them made me assume they were.
"No one will harm you," Flynn said, seeing my nervousness as he indicated for me to the table to help myself to breakfast. If they knew what I really was, they would kill me.
I gave him a slight inclination of my head as I walked to the food. I had no appetite but I had to try and eat something. I grabbed a piece of toast and buttered it. When I turned to find a place to sit, a couple of the Keepers rose and Flynn and I took their seats.
Mechanically, I chewed the toast as my eyes drifted over the Keepers sitting in front of me. No one made eye contact, no one spoke. It was so weird. The only sound was the cutlery against the porcelain plates.
They were all a similar build. I knew, despite their slight builds, they were dangerous. They did not need the strength that came with bulked-up muscles. It was an inner strength they'd inherited through DNA that could kill a rogue in minutes.
In a deep silence, I ate my toast while Flynn ate beside me. When I was finished I pushed the plate away from me.
My eyes caught Flynn's as he gave me a side glance. Despite his assurance, I reeled from the emptiness in the depths of his eyes. The saying that eyes were a window to a soul didn't apply to them because there was nothing. And that scared me.
To someone with emotions, with a conscience, you could appeal to them and even beg for your life, but that was going to be a waste of time with these guys.
His eyes broke from mine as an array of questions popped into my mind. But I wasn't brave enough to break the silence so instead I kept a note of the questions and when I got the chance I would ask him.
The seat beside me emptied and another Keeper sat down. Flynn nodded his head in the direction of my new neighbor.
My eyes flickered from Flynn to the guy seated on the other side of me. He had blonde hair and the same color brown eyes. Despite the fact his eyes were lighter than Flynn's, his held the same nothingness.
Seeing my interest, Flynn introduced me.
"Hayden," he said to me.
"I'm Crystal," I said to him. He nodded his head to me. His hair was shorter than Flynn's.
"I know who you are." Did he really? I doubted that. "How's your arm?"
"It's still sore," I said, hoping it sounded convincing. The truth was it was fine.
It was another reminder to get out of here before they discovered who I really was.
I gave a dismissive shrug. I was awkward in most social scenarios but this was the most nervous and uncomfortable situation I had ever encountered.
It was hard not to compare them to the werewolves. It was like night and day. Werewolves were loud and noisy, with strong emotions. Breakfast in the pack was a noisy affair with everyone talking, eating, and laughing.
Here, there was none of that. Even when they spoke, there was no hint of emotion. They were controlled, almost clinical.
