Page 6 of The Devils of Raven's Gate

I can feel my cheeks heating. If I knock her out and hide her body in the woods, will anyone miss her? “Sorry, I didn’t train to sprint in stiletto heels. How much farther?”

Libra hisses. “Nocturnus House is just up the road. Trust me, it’s worth it. Wait till you see these guys.”

“A frat house?” I groan and come to a dead stop. “Hell, no. Not my scene.”

Libra whips around and throws me a glare that sends a ripple of chills across my skin. “Nocturnus is not a fraternity. And if I were you, I wouldn’t call it that again unless you want to lose your tongue.”

I shift my weight just as my left heel begins to sink into the soft dirt. “Well, what the fuck are they then? An astronomy club?”

“Very funny,” she snaps. She looks me up and down, and I can’t tell if she’s admiring her own clothes on me or if she’s finally starting to regret dragging me along. “You’re really pretty, you know that?”

I swallow hard, unsure as to where she’s going with this. “Thanks… I think.”

It’s fascinating to watch Libra’s face change from scorn to delight in a matter of seconds. She runs the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip as she continues her assessment of me. “Nocturnus likes pretty girls. Especially new ones.”

I snicker. “I don’t really fucking care if they like me.”

Her face falls, and she grabs my arm hard. “You better fucking care, Blackwell. Earning their favor guarantees your safety.”

The memory of my best friend and I running through the woods while we were being chased by two psychos flashes in my mind. I rip my arm away from Libra and back up. “I can keep myself safe.”

We glare at each other, daring the other to break first. Libra lets out a deep sigh, her features softening again. “Chill. It was just a metaphor. For fuck’s sake, you need to lighten up. Come on, let’s go.”

Part of me wants to kick off these heels and stomp back to The Nest. I don’t like or trust this girl one bit. But it’s late and dark as fuck, and I remember Miss Florian’s warning about straying off the path. Without my map or my bearings, I would for sure get lost out here.

I sigh as I walk past her. “Fine. But you need to find me a ride or a pair of slippers later. I’m not doing this again in these heels.”

Libra giggles. “Deal.” She slips her arm around mine like we’re besties. “Now, when we get inside, I’ll introduce you to all of them. I kind of have a thing going with Riot, so he’s off limits. Not that I’m worried. You are so not his type. But you should go for Atlas. He’s tall and blond with the body of a god.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes as I cringe at every word that leaves her surgically enhanced lips. “If Atlas is so amazing, why don’t you go for him, then? Or is Riot just that much more smokin’ hot?” I literally couldn’t care less.

“Oh, Atlas is my cousin. We’re close but not that close.” She laughs.

Great. So Libra is rich, popular, and related to some super shady frat boy whom I’m not allowed to call a frat boy. The very thing I didn’t want anything to do with this year—dangerous fuckboys. And here I am letting this bitch walk me straight into their den.

As we pass a creepy graveyard, besides wondering why a prestigious academy has one, I realize that we are headed toward the unmarked location on the map. The one that Miss Florian refused to speak about.

Through the trees, I spot it. Nocturnus House. A chill sweeps up my spine. Calling it a house is an understatement. This is a proper mansion. The lights glow from every window, staking it’s claim to the space like a beacon in these dark shadowy woods.

As we get closer, I notice the paint is decaying on half the structure where other parts look freshly coated. The stairs leading up to the door are lined with flickering candles and fairy lights. With iron railings, twisting like branches, and black rose bushes as high as my chest, it’s beautiful and horrific at the same time.

I’m drawn to its melancholy. The Catherine and Heathcliff of it all. The earthiness of the fresh soil it sits in, attempting to mask the putrid stench of rotting graves from just down the road. The cloyingly sweet traces of something I can’t place, a scent that threatens to consume my every thought and desire. Like a two-way mirror with death watching me from the other side.

I grab my chest and stumble back. “What is this place?” I whisper.

Libra flashes me a grin. “The house that belongs to the night. Just like them.”

I shake my head. “No, but what is that scent? It hurts to breathe.”

“I keep forgetting you’re not from around here.” Libra laughs. “It’s hemlock. You’ll get used to it.”

Poison? Fuck me. “They’re growing hemlock? What the fuck for?”

Libra laughs again as she lets her blonde hair down from its tight bun. “Look, I know you grew up in Wickford Hollow, but I find it hard to believe that your parents didn’t tell you anything about this place. But I love how you’re totally owning this new girl naïve vibe.”

My stomach twists in knots. Fuck. I might have made a horrible mistake coming here. And not just to Nocturnus House. But to Tenebrose. And I definitely never should have taken my mother’s name. I regret not ever asking her questions about our family history.

If Bailey was here she’d tell me to be the fiery Maureen she knows and loves. And that’s exactly what I’m going to need to do to survive this place.

---