Page 14 of Pretty Little Psycho

Fuck.

Nocturnus.

A wave of nausea pans over me, and I stumble. Villette grips my arm tight, so I don’t fall on my face. She giggles. “I got you. You’ll get used to the uneven ground here. Some say Tenebrose was built on an ancient burial site and that the dead get restless. That they shift in their graves overnight.”

Chills snake up my back. No, I will not fucking get used to that. What the fuck did I get myself into?

The monstrosity in front of me seems to glare back like I’m insulting its space just by standing there. Graves Library takes Gothic architecture to another level. With sharp edges, black walls, and stained-glass windows, it looks like a church that the devil moved into.

A chill snakes up my back as I follow Villette inside. She twists her dark hair around her fingers as she looks all the way up to the pointed ceiling and then sweeps her gaze around the room. “For as long as anyone can remember, they’ve been calling this place the graveyard. A play on the name I guess. But the books in here have a hint of darkness in them.”

“Creepy,” I mutter under my breath. “Why Graves?”

Villette pulls me forward, guiding me down the first aisle. “A tribute to the Graves family. They donated most of these books when they came here from Ever Graves centuries ago.”

I stop to finger a book with a soft velvet spine and notice that most of the books on this shelf are missing titles. “Where’s the family now?”

Her grip tightens around my arm. “They’re all still in Raven’s Gate. One of them goes to school here. His name’s Riot. And fair warning, he’s hot as fuck, but I’m convinced that pure evil runs in his veins. I’d stay off his radar if I were you.”

My stomach knots. Fuck. “Good to know. Thanks.” I wasn’t about to tell Villette that I’d already had a run-in with him and his band of assholes. I’d hate to lose my first friend here minutes after meeting her.

“Same goes for his two besties, Atlas Thorn, and Valentin Erebus. Nothing good happens when those three are around,” she continues.

I nod. Yeah, definitely not telling this chick that I’m already on their shit list. She’ll avoid me like the plague if she finds out. “I would like to avoid trouble at all costs so that won’t be a problem for me.”

We take the spiral staircase up to the second floor to find a cozy sitting area with black leather couches and a dark wood coffee table facing a large stone fireplace. A few students are studying at one end; a stack of books is piled up on the other.

A little tingle of excitement flutters through me. If there was any place I could possibly find out information about my family, this would be it. “Is there a genealogy or local history section here?”

Villette’s lips turn up into a smirk. “You doing some snooping?’

A nervous laugh skitters out of me. “Um, something like that. Just want to know what I’ve gotten myself into.”

She nods her chin toward a door that’s sandwiched between Gothic Literature and Victorian Poetry. “The archives are in there. But hey, I gotta run to the student store and pick up some more supplies for tomorrow. You going to Swallow later?”

Whoa. What? “Um, excuse me?”

She giggles. “Swallow. It’s the campus bar.”

Relief floods me, and I giggle back. “Oh, right. Yeah for sure. Meet you there later?”

Villette grabs my phone and punches in her number. “Text me when you’re ready. I’ll wait for you downstairs at The Nest so we can walk together.”

I give my new friend a hug and watch in awe as she saunters away. Every student turns to watch her as well. She’s stunning and radiates an energy that draws you in like a moth to a flame. What I would give to have even an ounce of Villette’s confidence. I used to… But I lost it somewhere in between getting passed around at Billy’s parties and everything that happened last Halloween at Wickford Mansion.

I shudder at the memory of steel pushing through flesh. I take a deep breath to try to quell the nausea that climbs up my throat. Ugh. It’s bad enough that it haunts my sleep but during the day too now? Fuck me.

The door to the archives sticks when I push against it before finally opening with a loud creak. I look over my shoulder, expecting to see an onslaught of glares for being so noisy, but no one looks up from their books. I step into the sconce-lit room and close the door behind me, cursing under my breath as it creaks again.

The room is smaller than I expect. While the walls are lined with books, only a center island of shelves sits in the middle. I peruse some of the spines—more books without titles. Some have symbols etched into the binding. They look like alchemy symbols, similar to the ones painted on the ceiling of the admin building.

As I come around to the other side of the island, a figure moves in front of me. I shriek and drop my bag on the floor. My heart beats fast and I get ready to run until I see blonde hair and pale skin. Fucking Jessamine.

“Sorry, Maur, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she whispers.

I pick up my bag and wipe my sweaty palms over my jeans. “Dude, you just walked up on me out of nowhere in a creepy dark library room. What the fuck did you think was going to happen?”

She fingers the end of her braid. “I forget how quiet I am. Next time I’ll be better. What are you doing here anyway? No one ever comes in this room.”

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