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CHAPTER 2

Amber Marigold

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Amber stood her ground, even though she was shitting herself on the inside. Her lungs were tight, the tips of her fingers tingling. Why did she have the urge to smile? A nervous tick?

"Did you say something?" Leather Leader asked, his sneer curling over. With Amber still trying to figure out what was happening, he turned to his goons. "Esta chica es muda," he snickered, and the group laughed before he stared her down again.

Amber did not need perfect Spanish to know she was the punchline of a joke. She set her jaw.

"Jessica, did your friend say something?" Leather Leader asked.

The sneer was gone, and instead, his silver eyes grew cold. Some of Leather Boys tensed up while Amber's jaw dropped. She had no idea Jessy knew these idiots.

"Uh, yeah, I said something," Amber finally answered. She turned to her cousin and said, "Chico es sordo."

Nobody laughed. Tough crowd, she thought. Her cousin's trembling hand was tugging at her jacket. It made her wonder if keeping her mouth in check was perhaps the wiser approach.

A cruel smirk etched onto Leather Leader's stone-cold face while everyone else kept staring. He took a step closer. Close enough for her to smell cigarettes. Lazily, he raked his narrowed eyes over her body. He had a black piercing through his brow.

"If you plan on opening your mouth again, I can find suitable ways to shut you up, Cariño."

Amber prepared a response she would most definitely regret—

"Threaten one of your whores, Bowmen," Coat Leader yawned.

"Eh, Ave María, you're quite literally the one with whores, Rhodes," Leather Leader jabbed. "And since when do you care about who I threaten on neutral ground? This one of your hookers?"

"Goldilocks? Never seen her before."

Amber was unsure how she felt about the nickname.

"In that case," Leather Leader said, "you can go fuck right off before I get you a nice pair of wheels like your father."

"Oh, yes, that's really scary coming from a coke-sniffing puppet-boy. Why don't you dirty the streets in your own country?"

"I was born in this town, you fucking pimp."

The boys unsurprisingly jumped into an argument drifting back to territories. Though Amber was entertained, her cousin's shaky breath was not quite right. She needed to leave. Attempting to walk away, the girl was promptly stopped by an icy glare.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going, Cariño?"

Amber was now sure she needed to get out of there as soon as possible, but for that to happen, she needed to get the attention off her. Coat Leader lifted his hand to yawn again, and the gesture sparked at the girl, allowing her to grab her chance. She took a step back, rounded her eyes, and raised her hand to her lips. Shocked.

"Whoa, were you really going to hit him while he had his back turned to you?" Amber asked. "That's so shameless."

"What?"

Coat Leader raised a brow at the accusation, but it was already too late. The dark-haired boy checking her out whirled around, teeth bared, and sent a death glare.

"You seriously thought you could sucker punch me, Rhodes?"

"What the heck are you on about? I'm just standing here. You're the one that always cheats in duels, you little rat."

"Want me to break that nose of yours again?"

"Try it, and you'll end up like your brother."

"Fucking pimp."

The boys were searing, seconds from throwing a punch, and thus, Amber got her opening. She hunched over, taking the petrified Jessy with her, and snuck away. One of the other boys noticed, but he let them pass, and the girls safely made their way across the parking lot. Inside the building, they caught their breath.

"Jeez, who were those idiots?" Amber laughed.

She peeked out from behind the glass entrance doors. The group was still preoccupied with each other. Clouds darkened, and Amber rolled her eyes at how dramatic it all was. Even so, when she caught her reflection in the glass, she took a step back. She had not seen that expression in a while...

"What were you thinking!" Jessy finally snapped.

Amber's eyes widened as she turned to her cousin.

"I was thinking we didn't need to be late for class because of some guys with huge egos."

"They're not just any guys, Amber," Jessy blurted. Her voice neared a crack, and her hands trembled. "They're the West and Eastern bloodlines. I— I didn't think they'd show up today. I mean, they almost never show up at school. Why today? It's just a regular Tuesday, isn't it?"

"Bloodlines?" Amber questioned. "Those idiots are part of the Dynast? No way. Come on, Jessy. Dynast bloodlines are out bribing politicians, not arguing on school parking lots like pubescent teens."

She laughed at how ridiculous it all sounded.

"Good grief, Amber," Jessy cried. "This isn't child's play! These guys kill people! They wouldn't hesitate to gun you down."

That got Amber's attention.

"If it really was that bad, they would've been in jail by now. The cops won't let murderers just run around." As the words left her, she knew it was not entirely true. She knew first-hand.

"Amber, be real. You're smarter than that. I've watched Mother investigate the police of Tygerwel for three years now. It's so obvious that they're all on the payroll of these bloodlines. Trust me when I say that they're the real deal. This town can be a dangerous place if you stand out. That's why you don't break the number one rule! You don't attract attention unless you're prepared for the consequences!" Jessy said. "And trust me, Amber. I've seen you fail at making two-minute noodles. You are definitely not prepared."

Amber slowly realised how much trouble she had possibly caused. Jessy was pacing up and down at that point, her hands still shaking as she chewed at her nails.

"That guy you talked back to? The one with the leather jacket and black hair? He's Blake Moreno Bowmen, the current cyng of the Western bloodline. Trust me when I say he does not have a good side. And Owen William Rhodes. The fine, rich-looking guy that Blake was arguing with? The one with the green scarf? He's the cyng of the Eastern bloodline. I don't know too much about him, but he's known as a sex god. Don't be fooled by the title, though. I've seen that guy drag a girl by her hair. And both of them, Amber, have killed. They're bad news."

"They're just teenagers, Jessy," Amber said in one last attempt to calm the situation. "This Blake and Owen looked like kids that didn't know what they were doing."

Jessy lost a little of the panic she was running on. Instead, her expression softened.

"Yeah, that lifestyle tends to make kids grow up when they need to step up. The Dynast... they don't care about age, experience, or whether you're a good person or not. They just care about blood. And these guys, Amber, they've spilled a lot more blood than adults twice their age. Cyngs don't exactly have the longest life expectancy, y'know."

Amber's head spun with all the information she had to process. The Dynast? Bloodlines and cyngs? She knew the words but never understood them. 'Cyng' was a term used for the highest position in a bloodline. Still, it simply did not make sense to her that teenagers would oversee such large criminal organisations. She always thought the Dynast was this distant, faceless concept only seen on the news. And now, she offended two big-shot bloodlines in a span of twenty-four hours since arriving in Tygerwel.

What did this mean for her? Was she in danger now? For the first time after her life changed a year ago, her blood rushed. It had not been this hard to blink and breathe since she hid under her mom's bed, a year ago.

"Oh, no, Amber. You have that look."

"What look?"

"The 'oh, what a nice game' kind of look!"

Amber smirked.

"No, no, no, no, stop. Stop that."

"What? What am I doing?"

"Stop it."

"I'm not doing anything!"

Jessy threw her hands up in defeat and said, "You're going to get us killed. It's official. We're dead now. We're dead. Might as well dig our graves while we're at it." Incoherent mumbling followed.

With Jessy still raving about their funeral, the girls rushed to the front office to fetch Amber's class schedule. Though she was grateful for having a guide, her cousin did not once shut up about how much trouble they were in. Only once they got to their shared homeroom, gave a valid excuse to the teacher for being late, and sat down, did the girl take a breath.

"So, what kind of casket are you considering? Personally, for me, I think dark oak with a purple silk fitting would be great."

"Stop freaking out so much," Amber said. She leaned forward in her seat. At the back, nobody could eavesdrop. "Just let me in on everything I need to know," she urged. "It's not over until we're dead, and I'm not gonna act all helpless. If they haven't forgotten about us already, I can figure a way out of this somehow."

"Yeah, like that time we filled your house with bubble bath, and when we got caught, you blamed it on climate change. You sure figured your way out of that one," Jessy snickered.

"Hey, I've gotten a lot better since then! We were kids!"

"And now we're dead."

Something dug at Amber's side. She was calm while her cousin was genuinely terrified. But to her, this was more like one of the predicaments she would find in chess. Whether it was because the girl had no sense of self-preservation or she had already seen her worst nightmare come true, she felt challenged more than scared.

"Well, it won't help if I'm kept in the dark," Amber said.

"Nope. Na-ah. You only want to know the rules and the players of this game you're about to play. I've known you since diaper days, Amber, and I am not helping you with your death wish."

"Not knowing the rules or the players is why we're in this situation in the first place."

Amber had a decent point for a change, and Jessy was sulking because of it, cheeks puffed and arms crossed.

"Alright, fine, I'll let you in on the basics. First period's about to start anyway," she gave in.

Amber sat propped up with her elbows on the desk, unblinking.

"I really didn't think they'd show," Jessy started. "I mean, they never come to school. And now suddenly they're here on your first day? What kinda' bad luck is that?"

"Don't they have class?" Amber asked. "They look young."

Jessy snorted.

"You think cyngs of multimillion euro bloodlines care about school? Bribes and threats get them enough passing grades."

Amber mulled the information in her head.

"I still don't understand how teenagers could be in charge of these organisations. It sounds ridiculous."

"You can thank the Laws of Blood for that."

"Laws of Blood?" Amber asked. She had heard the term somewhere before but could not recall where.

"Yeah, it's like the rules of the Dynast. There's seven of them, and it's what bloodlines live by. You don't need to know them, though. It's only applicable to those who are wholly a part of this life. All you'd probably have to be aware of is the first law."

"Which is?"

Jessy took a deep breath, like giving even a crumb of information could set off the ticking bomb that was Amber's curiosity.

"Blood rules the Dynast. If the blood of James dies out, the Dynast ceases to exist," she answered like it was textbook.

Amber quirked a brow.

"Blood of James?" she asked. "The hell's that?"

"You don't need to know the details. All that the first law really says is what I told you earlier. Blood means everything to these people. It's their source of value. So don't ever accept a deal that involves spilled blood, and if you see people with cuts on their bodies, you stay away. Anything more, however, you definitely don't have to know. I mean, not even I know all the laws."

"Honestly, Jessy, this is starting to sound like the start of a bad vampire plot."

"It's no joke! These people take their customs seriously."

Amber did not want to push her cousin too much. "How is it that you know all this?" she asked instead.

Jessy's face drained of colour. The bell rang.

"Don't be late for class." She got up and left in a blink.

A grin slowly snuck onto Amber's face.  

To the girl's horror, she did not share a single subject with her cousin. First period was English, and other than the teacher whom most of the girls fawn over, nothing was noteworthy. Second period, Business Studies, was just as dull. She expected something to happen during Break, but her cousin had to finish copying notes. When Amber glanced out the classroom window, the sports cars from earlier were already gone.

After Break, hell awaited the poor girl. During her third period, Maths, she figured out why her cousin and she did not share a subject together. She was dumb. Or, more accurately, Jessy was brilliant and attended all the advanced classes while Amber merely hoped to pass. Fourth period did make her feel a bit better, though. She had Visual Art Studies, and the teacher was great. What was more interesting was the student referred to as Mr Lynch. She distinctly remembered his boyish face and wild, curly hair. The leather jacket was also a dead giveaway that he was one of Blake's goons. She kept a close eye on him but did not say anything for her cousin's sake.

When Amber questioned Jessy about the curly-haired boy during lunch, she was not panicked. Rather, it looked like her cousin thought of him fondly when she said not to worry too much.

It seemed that with that, for the rest of the day, Amber could relax. She had French as her fifth period, and though she was not great at it, her home-schooling teachers drilled her with the basics of all kinds of languages. As the last day's subject, she had PE, and everyone was off the hook after two laps around the rugby field.

By the time the last bell rang, Amber's expression was unnervingly similar to that of a dead fish. She met up with Jessy at the Ford, dragging her feet. They got in the car and headed home.

"You downright overreacted! Nothing even happened after this morning," Amber said.

"Be grateful," Jessy sighed. "And put your seat belt on."

"No. I'm throwing a tantrum. You made it sound like those guys were out to kill us."

"Stop saying it like I didn't get you your favourite ice cream, Amber. You're complaining about not having dangerous people try to murder you. Why are you so eager to get us into trouble?"

"I just..."

Amber bit the inside of her cheek. She did not know where she was going with her argument. What was it that she really wanted?

"I know this is bizarre, but it's like every part of me has been alert and on edge since learning of all this. My foot hasn't stopped shaking, and I feel this strange clench in my chest that makes breathing hard."

Jessy glanced over at Amber, eyes fixed on the tapping foot. Her face slacked and her grip on the steering wheel loosened. Soft brown eyes returned to the road in front of them.

"It's okay," she said. "I think it's over now. You don't have to worry about it. I'm sorry I've been so panicked. It's just that... These people... They aren't always satisfied with one death. They can wipe out entire families if they feel offended. But I forgot that, well, you're probably the last person I have the right to preach to."

Amber bit her cheek harder. She could not say it. She could not say how the nerves were not a bad feeling at all. She had not considered her family during any of this, and for that, she knew she was scum.

"Seat belt," Jessy said.

"Alright."

Amber dropped the subject of Dynast bloodlines. It was now clear that an element of selfishness came with her curiosity. She had already lost her home. She would be damned if she did anything to hurt the family she had left. And now that she knew what this town really had to offer, protecting her family was priority number one. Her own wants were out of the question.

On the 19th of March, the following morning, Amber was in deep shit. She heard everyone in her room yell 'happy birthday' and crackers went off, but she heard it from all the way down in the basement, where she once again fell asleep. By the time she rushed into the kitchen, covered in whites and yellows, her family did not look impressed with her.

After a few apologies and Uncle Anton reattempting the surprise, they laughed and had Amber's favourite for breakfast. Pancakes. Getting dressed and ready for school, her phone buzzed.

Unknown
Happy birthday, Marigold. Take a breather today.
07:45

It was the same number as two days prior, but when Amber again asked who it was, they stayed quiet. Before she could give it much thought, Jessy grabbed her by the arm, and they left for school.

A chill scraped over Amber's spine when the old brick building came into view, but her worries were all for nought. No fancy sports cars or dangerous boys were at school that morning. The day blurred by, and only once the girls were back home, getting ready for dinner, did she accept that yesterday was a one-time thing. Her reckless actions would not cause her family any danger.

"Alright, birthday kiddo, as requested," Uncle Anton said, placing a steaming box of pepperoni pizza on the dinner table.

"A second choice, but good enough," Amber grinned.

"You got pancakes for breakfast. It can't be dinner, too," Jessy scolded.

"I could live off of pancakes for the rest of my life," Amber said, her expression dead serious.

"Let's start on presents, shall we?" Aunt Tessa suggested. "The overgrown child and I will give ours first."

Amber happily took the big yellow box her aunt and uncle handed her. She tore at the wrapping and marvelled at the gift.

"I was definitely running low on paint supplies," she beamed, reaching over to hug and thank her aunt and uncle.

"I told them to get you a boxing bag, but Father figure couldn't install a hook. They copped out with paint supplies," Jessy said.

"Hey, no need to expose me like that!" Uncle Anton panicked. He pushed his glasses up with a sulk. "I'm sorry, Kiddo. I know you liked staying fit and all that."

Amber laughed it off. "I can stay active in other ways, Uncle, but I can't paint without paint. I love the gift."

"My turn!" Jessy insisted.

She revealed a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it over. There was something written on it.

"One free coupon from Doctor Jessy," Amber read. "With this coupon, you can have your life saved, free of charge, and at any time by your favourite cousin."

Amber cracked up and held her sides.

"Hey, it's no joke! That's a serious present!" Jessy said.

"Kiddo, I'll save your life free of charge as well. No coupon needed," Uncle Anton chipped in.

"Don't belittle my gift!" Jessy snapped. "I'll be a better surgeon than you one day!"

Amber pocketed her gift and watched the two argue about who would be better suited to save her life. She smiled and laughed and ignored how her blood felt... slow. This is all I need, she thought. The girl would do anything to protect those she loved. Anything.

"Okay, but that was only part one of my presents," Jessy said once she bullied her dad into silence. "Here's the real thing."

She revealed a pastel purple wrapped box, a bit smaller than the first gift. Amber opened it and grinned ear to ear.

"I love it," she said.

"You always carry around that chess piece, and I know you like the game, so I thought a chess board would be great. I couldn't find one with a silver set like the king you have," Jessy said.

"It's perfect," Amber gushed, setting the beautiful wood chess set aside as she hugged her best friend.

Everyone dug into the pizza, and Aunt Tessa asked Amber about her paintings. Jessy was still arguing with her dad about who would be a better doctor, but when Uncle Anton threatened to stop giving her private lessons, the girl was quick to cease fire.

When dinner was done, and everyone helped wash up the dishes, Aunt Tessa turned to Amber.

"Oh, right, before I forget," she said as she fetched a large brown envelope. "You got mail from your lawyer today."

"Mister Lium?" Amber asked, taking the heavy envelope. She opened it and read the contents of the first letter.

"What does it say?" Jessy asked.

Amber kept her eyes on the paper.

"Hmm, it seems he sent a few documents to read over and sign. We're meeting at the end of the month to head over to the bank. It's regarding the will."

Jessy leaned against the kitchen counter.

"That's next week," she said. "Which means I get you to myself this weekend, right? I've been meaning to show you around town."

Amber read the last of the letter, and her eyes went round before she checked the rest of the envelope. A gasp left her. She took the wad of cash and flipped through. All of it. Every single one of the bills was a €200 note, and there had to be at least a hundred.

"Whoa, that's some serious dough," Jessy said.

"What the hell is Mister Lium thinking?" Amber asked. "Sending the allowance in cash? I'll have to tell him to wire it."

"Damn, what did Aunt Mel and Uncle Rob do for a living again?"

"Jessy, stop it," Aunt Tessa scolded.

The girl blinked innocently.

"What did I say?"

Amber was already putting the money back in the envelope, drawing a sigh. I'll hide the cash in my car later, she decided.

"They worked for a defence contractor company. Not exactly cops like Aunt Tessa, but they were still heroes to me. Protecting people until the very..." she trailed off. "I think they just had really good life insurance. That's what my lawyer said, at least."

"Ah, yes. Of course. Defence contractors," Jessy said. "Explains half your skills."

Aunt Tessa clapped her hands together and declared the day a success. The house was cleaned up, and everyone wished each other a good night. Amber got dragged upstairs and was threatened by her aunt's shiny police badge to sleep in her own room for once. She was not daring enough to object. It was only once the girl was in bed and with the lights off that her thoughts had a moment to collect. It had officially been a year since she hid under her mom's bed. More than that, she could not think about.

Amber picked up her phone from the nightstand and stared at the messages sent by this unknown number. Was it her lawyer? No, she had his contact information already saved.

As the girl's eyes grew heavy, a text came, but she slipped into another terrible dream before giving it much thought.

Unknown
I hope your wishes come true. Sleep well, Marigold.
23:45

By the time the weekend came, Amber had forgotten all about the dangerous people that lived in Tygerwel. The sky was clear for a change, and she took it as a good sign. Not once did she see the young cyngs from Tuesday morning and had since discarded it as a strange dream.

Jessy was all too eager to show her around town. With the pleasant weather, the girls dressed lightly and drove with the windows down. They visited the mall for some window shopping and, once tired, grabbed lunch at the harbour. Amber asked if they could visit the spruce forest up North but was quickly refused and told the only part of town worth visiting was what they already saw. She did not press the matter.

For the rest of the weekend, things stayed normal. Jessy helped Amber with homework, and the girls enjoyed each other's company like the good old days. It was only Monday, the following week, when that twisting feeling returned to the girl.

The morning was routine. Uncle Anton still struggled with the toaster, Aunt Tessa cursed at the news, and Jessy was complaining about the paint Amber could never seem to wash off. The moment it was clear that this was not going to be another average day, however, was when the girls drove past the school gates.

There, on the spot where Jessy always parked, was a familiar matte black sports car. It had trouble written all over it.

"Amber," Jessy gulped, "I'm going to need you to lay low."

"Sure thing," Amber said.

It was not a sure thing.

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