Page 29 of Pretty Little Psycho

I try hard not to roll my eyes. Because there’s another part of me that senses something strange about these birds.

“Do you really not know anything about Ever Graves? About all of us?” Villette looks concerned now.

My stomach knots. We have gotten closer to the main hall without me even realizing it. With each step I take, more students appear. The front lawn is crowded with an array of the gothiest-looking goth people I’ve ever seen in my life. I feel like I’ve been dropped into an episode of a young adult vampire show where everyone is beautiful, intoxicating, and dangerous as fuck.

My head tingles a little as a burst of ice-cold air whooshes past me. “You catch on quick,” I retort. “I know nothing, Villette. Please tell me.” It’s getting hard to breathe again. I can’t figure out why. It’s like there are these little airless pockets in the atmosphere that I keep slipping into.

Her eyes dart around the grounds. “Not here. Let’s meet up after school.”

I nod and try to swallow, but my mouth is dry.

Jessamine gives my pinky a hard pinch. “Don’t get lost, Maur. Don’t drown.”

I blink a few times and all the air rushes back into my lungs. Jessamine is gone and Villette is guiding me forward, her arm through mine.

“You’ve been marked,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

What the fuck? Everyone is mad here. I’m sure of it. “Vi—”

She squeezes my elbow. “After school.”

Chills snake up my back to the sound of a large tower bell echoing through the grounds. What is this place really?

Villette gives me an air kiss. “Bye, girl. Enjoy your first day of classes. Text me if you need anything.”

I need something right now, I angry scream in my head. I pull out my vape and inhale a deep puff. “See ya later,” I say instead.

I pull out my schedule and the map and try to make sense of it. My first class is literally called Appreciation of Melancholic Music. Fuck me.

I follow the path around the main hall and shiver as I approach the spot on my map. The ominous black building with iron spires and purple stained-glass windows, resembles a church. Three black ravens perch on its highest point.

As I near the door, I notice a plaque on the side of it with the words, Nephthys, etched in gold. I trace my fingers over the warm metal and feel a surge of adrenaline spike in my bloodstream.

“It means goddess of death,” a man’s voice breaks through my spell.

I snatch my hand away and turn to see a handsome man standing next to me. His glasses sit low on his broad nose as he narrows his bright blue eyes down at me.

“Do people worship her here?” I ask like it’s perfectly normal to hold a college class inside a creepy old church that has the goddess of death as their patron saint.

He sticks out his hand, avoiding the question. “Professor Harker.”

So the teachers here are hot too…

I shake his hand. “Maureen Blackwell. You didn’t answer my question.”

He winks and runs a hand through his black hair. “I’m the teacher. I ask the questions.”

I fidget with the zipper of my brown leather jacket. The way he looks at me makes me anxious. There is something about the men here. They all seem to have this underlying feral look in their eyes. Like they will snap at any given moment.

Students file past us, hurrying to get inside. A couple pat him on the back as they walk by. He smiles and nods back. I shake my head and start forward, not wanting to be the last person to go in. If Tenebrose is anything like a regular school at all, all the seats in the back will fill up first. No one wants to be head of the class on the first day. Especially not me.

Professor Harker steps in front of me, blocking my way to the door. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it to your grandfather’s service. Lionus was the epitome of stoic.”

My mouth is dry again. It’s one thing to know that I have grandparents in Ever Graves, but to hear one of their names out loud… It’s like a punch to the gut. My grandfather is a man I’ve never met and now I never will.

I nod, concealing my surprise. “Thank you.”

“Of, course. See you inside.” He steps aside to let me pass.

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