Page 75 of Pretty Little Psycho

Libra hands me an ornate mask. “Yeah, you look hot as fuck.”

“What’s this?” I ask as I take the mask from her.

“The Winter Solstice is a masquerade ball. So we got you a mask. Those are real raven feathers.”

I smooth my hands over it before tying it around my face. I look back in the mirror and my stomach does a little flip. “It’s perfect.”

“Where are they? I thought you were going together.” Villette can’t hide the concern in her voice.

That eerie feeling snakes up my neck again. “I’m meeting them there. They have some Nocturnus business they need to handle.”

Libra snorts. “I’m surprised they let you off your leash.”

I chuckle. Nothing is going to ruin tonight for me. Not the promise of murder, or even Libra’s snarky comments. “Maybe I like my leash.” I press my lips together after applying another coat of lip gloss.

Villette chokes on a sip of champagne. “Damn, Maur. You’ve been hanging out with them too much.”

I smile and take another look in the mirror. Butterflies dance in my stomach. My first ball, and I get to go on the arms of Riot, Atlas, and Valentin. I’m their pretty little psycho, and they’re my nightmare. The dark spark that ignites my fire. They are the nocturnal haze I exist in. The tangled web I don’t ever want to be free from.

We clank our glasses together in a toast. “Cheers to a wicked night, ladies. May we all find what we’re looking for,” I say.

“Yeah, let’s hope the rest of us get fucked as hard as you tonight,” Libra drawls. “I’ve been bored out of my mind.”

Villette flinches as if her words physically assaulted her. “Calm down, Lib. It’s a Tenebrose ball, not a sex club.”

Libra shrugs. “That’s a matter of perspective.”

I burst out laughing. “You’re growing on me too, Thorn,” I tease.

The three of us finish getting ready and head downstairs.

Fireflies flicker past us as we cross the lawn to the path that leads to the Erebus Ballroom. Paper lanterns light the way as far as the eye can see. It’s like a page out of a fantasy novel. Others gather in groups and join us in their tuxedos and gowns on the walk down.

The night is beautiful. Magical. The moon is bright and full, illuminating us like ethereal goddesses. Libra wears a baby pink satin dress that invokes old Hollywood vibes. And Villette is the picture of class and elegance in her emerald-green silk gown, the skirt covered in sparkly beads. The three of us look unstoppable tonight. A trio of devious vixens stalking through the woods like night sirens.

“I bet those boys just needed extra time to get ready. I swear they are more high-maintenance than any girl I know. Including myself,” Libra jokes.

That was part of it. But I didn’t have the nerve to tell them that they were lagging behind because Atlas was using his raven sight to track down Zeke. Villette and Libra aren’t naïve to what Nocturnus is or does. They knew before I did. But they are just as excited as I am to drink and dance the night away. I don’t want to spoil the mood with talk of murder and betrayal. Not yet. That will come later…

I laugh as the two of them go on and on about how boys are secretly more obsessed with their looks than girls are. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single hair on Atlas’s head out of place. And don’t even get me started on Riot and his perfectly pressed black T-shirts.”

Villette snorts. “Don’t forget about Valentin’s obsession with suits. I swear he’s been wearing them since we were kids.”

I’d forgotten how long they’ve all known each other. I should have been picking their brains about my guys from the start. “What were they like as kids?” I ask. “Were they always so…”

“Depraved and disturbed?” Libra pipes in, laughing. “Yep. Atlas and my brother, Aries, started playing with poison in junior high.”

Villette giggles. “Yeah, pretty sure Valentin was the reason all the graves in Raven’s Gate Mortuary were dug up that summer. He watched a bunch of George Romero zombie movies and was convinced that the dead were going to reanimate.”

A warm nostalgia sweeps over me even though these aren’t my memories. I feel closer to all of them at this moment. “What about Riot? Was he always so… angry?”

Libra and Villette exchange a look before my beautiful, yet snarky friend opens her mouth to speak. “His house was not fun. The Graves family is fucking intense. This curse as they call it, consumes them constantly.”

I almost trip as the path gets rockier. I stumble and catch myself. “You don’t think it’s really a curse?” I’m confused by her nonchalance.

She shakes her head. “No, it’s not that. They really did get banished from Ever Graves. If Riot leaves Raven’s Gate, he will age quickly, and then die. His power, his lifeblood, is forever tied to this place now. To the ravens. I can understand why his family is angry, but it’s all they ever think about. Like fuck, accept it and move on.”

“Riot never had a childhood, Maur. He has been on a mission since the day he was born to consume as much power as he can,” Villette adds. “That’s his family’s legacy.”

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