Page 72 of Gothikana

But he existed.

He was real and warm and he had been for years that she hadn’t known.

He held her face, taking everything she gave him and demanding more and more and more until she had nothing left to give, all of it plundered, all of it surrendered, all of it his.

And Corvina knew, kissing him in that darkened classroom of an empty castle building, that his possession of her was complete, and if they were to ever part ways, he would haunt her for eternity.

CHAPTER 20

Corvina

He fucked herin the classroom that evening, sending her to the Main Hall for dinner sore and full of his seed, just as he liked it.

Now, a little after midnight, Corvina snuck out of the tower and headed toward the faculty wing.

Jade had never come back to their room. Corvina had gone to check in on her after dinner and found her lying in the medical room, reading their coursework. She had looked better than she had the last few days, so when she insisted on staying in there overnight, Corvina had agreed.

With no one to ask after her, Corvina cut through the castle gardens that ran between her tower and the faculty wing, the Main Hall in themiddle of it. It was drizzling, and she knew with the way the clouds were rumbling it wouldn’t be long before a downpour.

She covered her head with the shawl, the cold biting into her as she crossed the grounds. It was eerie how dead the castle seemed at night, completely deserted, as it must have been for decades before the school started. Imagining all the empty corridors, empty dungeons, empty halls, all dark and cold and quiet, it sent a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

Without a lantern or moonlight — since she didn’t want to be spotted through a window and the clouds were too thick — to guide her, Corvina made her way through the darkest night she’d been out on since being at Verenmore. Somehow, with the little light from the electric torches outside the towers, she made it to the top of the stairs that began her descent toward his building.

And it was pitch black from the top of the path until the end, where the light from the building fell on the landing.

Was it really worth it to risk her neck to spend more alone time with him?

Yes. Yes, it was.

Taking in a deep breath, Corvina slowly extended one foot and felt the first stair, coming to stand on it. Her recent fear of the dark in the woods somehow didn’t exist in that moment. It was like it had always been. Darkness was comfortable, and even exciting, especially when it led herto him.

Corvina exhaled, and felt for the next stair. Then repeated. Twenty-one times. She counted. By the time she was on his landing, she was sweating and shaking, from the cold, from the adrenaline, from the thrill of having made it in the dark without falling to her death. He’d been right — she liked breaking the rules.

She looked at the heavy wooden door with the demon knocker and no keyhole and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, just to get to his room.

Placing her hands on the door, she pushed it open just enough to slip inside, wincing when it creaked on its iron hinges, and quickly shut it, standing in the same hall-like room as before.

Heart drumming loudly, she went to the stairs, praying nobody would hear or see her as she climbed up as quietly as she could. Thankfully, both landings were empty, the light in one of the rooms on but off in the others.

She finally came to his door, saw the little light coming from the gap underneath, and bit her lip, suddenly questioning her whole idea.

Should she even be there? What if he was sleeping? What if he didn’t want her there again?

Questions ran through her mind, making doubt creep up before she took a hold of herself. He had trusted her, claimed her, risked something important for her. She was supposed to be there.

With that, she raised a fist and rapped her knuckles on the wood just once.

She heard footsteps approaching the door, her heart palpitating as he opened it, wearing nothing but sweatpants and glasses, his hair mussed, his shirtless body all hers to ogle.

The surprise on his face alone was worth the trek.

And then he got pissed.

‘Get inside.’ He pulled her in by her elbow, slamming the door shut. He went to his window and pointed to the dark incline she had just travelled. ‘Tell me you didn’t just walk through that.’

Corvina bit her lip. ‘I wanted to see you.’

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