Page 41 of Pretty Little Psycho

For Nocturnus.

A surge of power spikes in my veins as we close the circle and seal the room behind us. Soon the raven will be serving us.

Maureen

“You’re not listening. Someone tampered with my car.” And by someone, I know that it’s Riot, Atlas, and Valentin. I’m fuming as I stand in the dean’s office, my cheeks burning, ready to punch someone in the throat.

The dean’s assistant scrunches her pointy nose at me. “I’m sure no one would intentionally ruin your car, Miss Blackwell. Why don’t we just call your parents and have them send you a new one?”

Fuck. “No. I don’t want to bother them. Just forget it. Thanks for nothing.” I get a few chuckles as I storm out of the dean’s office with my luggage in tow. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?

As I march back to the dorms, I pull out my phone to check my bank account. Maybe I can buy a cheap used one somewhere. There’s gotta be a car lot in Raven’s Gate.

“Hey, you okay?” Villette asks when I come to a dead stop in front of The Nest.

My hands start to shake as I scroll through my account. “What the actual fuck?”

“What?” She pinches her brows together, confused as all hell.

I hold up my phone and show her the screen. “That’s a lot of fucking zeroes in my bank account.”

She shrugs. “You’re rich. So what?”

“Villette… I’m not rich. This deposit was made this morning by the Blackwell Family Trust. I don’t know any of them. I don’t want to owe them anything.” I feel sick. Dizzy. I’ve never seen so much money in my life.

“It’s probably an inheritance from your grandfather. He passed away this year. The more important question is what are you going to do about Nocturnus?”

An ache is kicking in between my shoulders and shooting straight up the back of my neck. I shake my head and massage my temples. “I’m going to get even. They want to fuck with me, I’ll fuck with them right back.”

Villette laughs. “You’re not scared of them, are you?”

“Not much scares me, Villette. Not after the year I’ve had.” If she only knew that I helped my best friend murder a man…

Something in my eyes must darken because she takes a step back and hugs her arms to her chest. “What are you going to do?”

An eye for an eye. The wind shifts and a chill creeps up my spine. The roar of an engine gets louder just as I lock eyes with Valentin driving by. He glares at me, and my stomach does a little somersault. “I’m going to get myself another car.”

“Oh, fuck. You might be just as psycho as they are,” Villette groans.

I can’t help but laugh. “Girl, you have no idea.”

After she helps me drag all my bags upstairs, I walk back to the main building for class. As much as I like Villette’s company, I’m relieved when she tells me she’s taking a sick day. I need some time alone to process everything.

The ravens squawk at me the whole way, and I do my best to ignore them. But the sound is unnerving, like nails on a chalkboard.

With each step I take, I try to focus my thoughts. I remind myself that I’m a fighter. That I don’t run away. But I’m also drawn to them. As much as I protest, a part of me knows that I can’t stay away from them. My body lights up like a beacon whenever they’re near.

I keep replaying our conversations in my head. Riot killed those guys from the bathroom at Wickford Mansion. Was that for me? Or is he just a cold-blooded killer who murders without rhyme or reason?

Atlas has a few screws loose and it intrigues me. He’s so beautiful that I lose my breath every time I see his perfectly asymmetrical face. Those blue-green eyes of his pull me in like the tide, striking and dangerous like the sea. I want to drown in them.

And then there’s Valentin. He’s so cold, he should be frozen like a block of solid ice. But he looks at me in a way that’s so feral I can’t help but imagine what his hands would feel like all over me. Would his touch be just as cold? Or would our bodies ignite and burst into flames?

They have a hold on me I can’t explain. Maybe because our bloodlines have been connected for centuries. Tied together by hate and betrayal and deception. I wish I knew more. There are just these little bits and pieces, but I’m missing the whole picture. My mother never talked about Ever Graves or her family. But the vein in her neck would protrude any time they were brought up. It was definitely a sore spot.

Finding out that she was first engaged to Julian Erebus shocked me to my core. What made her leave him for my father when she clearly isn’t happy with him either? I’ll probably never know. That woman couldn’t tell the truth if her life depended on it.

I’m so deep in thought that it takes me a minute to realize Jessamine is walking in step with me. She keeps quiet as if she knows I’m lost inside my own mind and can’t be disturbed.

---