Page 14 of Dig Your Grave

He grabbed me by the arms.“See, I’m sweet and you get all violent.”

Spinning me, he flung me onto his bed.Falling on me, he found my mouth with his, melting my heart for a second.

“I’m not falling for that,” I huffed.“You already said it was lies.”

“But is it a lie, Nubia?Can’t trust anything a liar says?Like I love you.”He gave me a sly smile before planting another kiss on my lips, whispering, “Or perhaps I can revoke it.Make you feel like shit again.Take you by force.Which is it, Nubia?What will it take for you to help me succeed?”

I didn’t know, but I stayed and let Anubis fuck me again.Our initiation into the Skull Society was going to be more than rough.It was life or death, but I planned to enjoy it all I could.

Chapter 6

I stood outside my new dorm just after dusk, cradling a note that had magically appeared on my door earlier in the afternoon.Thick, ivory parchment embossed with a dark, swirling emblem.It was unlike any stationery I’d seen at Edenvane before.With all the drama of the last several weeks, I was half-convinced it might be another vicious prank, some elaborate trick.But the swirling emblem looked legitimate, closer to a seal or a crest than a doodle by bored, rich kids.

The message read only:

“Nubia—Come to the Boat House at midnight.—A.”

Nubia.The name struck me, though I still felt uncertain about claiming it.The meaning, gold, or golden one, echoed in my head with a sense of dark irony given how tarnished everything felt these days.I knew it was Anubis’ half-joking, half-ceremonial nickname for me, though I hadn’t granted him permission to re-christen me anything at all.

I tucked the note in my jacket pocket.My fingers shook with dread, and maybe something else.I still didn’t fully trust him.Anubis Edenvane, the ultimate bad guy who seemed to thrive on controlling the board in whatever twisted game he was playing.He reeked of danger and promise and money, the trifecta that had undone many people before me.

And yet, in my silent grief after Toccara’s death, I found I didn’t entirely hate him.More shocking was that part of me wanted to see him again.If anything, I needed answers.

I looked around the near-empty hallway of the new dorm, half-expecting to see someone peeking out to confirm I’d found the note.The campus police had still been roaming around, questioning anyone who even vaguely knew Toccara.Meanwhile, the Dean had demanded I join a campus organization so I wouldn’t make further “poor” decisions.Therefore, I’d rushed headlong into the Howler, our campus newspaper, only to be told to investigate the rumors of an elite secret society, the Skulls.The entire experience was overshadowed by Toccara’s funeral, which I’d attended alone.

That was a week ago.A week of emotional purgatory, of me sleeping in this new dorm and venturing out only for coffee and to sign off on the last bits of police paperwork regarding Toccara’s room.The authorities insisted my roommate’s death was a suicide, but I couldn’t accept that.The Toccara I knew was a high-octane influencer, in love with her own reflection, chasing success.Would she truly have thrown it all away?

I gnawed at my lip.A new wave of sorrow prickled my chest.As I closed my eyes against it, I caught myself whispering the words, “They floated her.”

The real possibility my roommate was murdered by the Skulls weighed me down as I remembered Anubis’ explanation for why students ended up in the river.His threat, that either I joined him in some insane initiation or they would float me too.

Nevertheless, whether it be lack of sleep, grief or my wits working, I didn’t trust anything that had happened the other night, down in that cold, dark grave.After all, it could all be an elaborate prank, like all the others.Anubis could be playing me.

With trembling resolve, I headed for the Boat House.

The night air was crisp and the moon low, casting silvery shards of light over Edenvane’s manicured lawns.A few late-night study lamps glowed in students’ windows, but no one else walked the cobbled paths.That quiet loneliness comforted me.Even if Edenvane’s campus was vast and often unwelcoming, at least in the stillness of this hour, I felt less judged.

The Boat House loomed ahead, a structure that never quite seemed to fit its name.It was more of a palace by the river, a grand wooden building combining sleek modern architecture with old-world money.The fieldstone walkway leading to its doors was lit by tall torches dancing in the breeze like it was hosting some medieval festival.

A single figure stood in the shadows.A guard, presumably.I wondered if he was hired muscle or simply a student pledged to guard the premises.He wore an Edenvane jacket, black with a discreet silver crest over the breast.The crest looked suspiciously like a stylized skull.

When he caught sight of me, the guard shifted his stance and seemed to assess me head to toe.I zipped my jacket higher, conscious that I was wearing only leggings and a fitted tank top beneath.I might’ve chosen something else if I’d known someone would be waiting.

“Card?”he said, his voice echoing against the quiet.

I pulled out my gold pass from earlier in the semester, the same one Anubis had given me for that disastrous party.The guard gave it a quick once-over and nodded.“Swipe,” he directed.

I whipped it across a small electronic reader on a portable table.It chirped pleasantly, and the guard pressed something on his own device.

“Head inside,” he said.“You know the way.”

I didn’t.But I forced a nod and passed by, heart hammering.The large wooden doors were cracked open, inviting me into the lavish interior.Inside, the Boat House had this faint smell of orange blossoms mixed with that rich, old-money scent, leather, cologne, the whole nine yards.

Walking deeper into the hall, I half expected to see more partygoers strewn on velvet couches or around glass tables with lines of something illegal.But it was quiet, too quiet.The overhead lights in the main lounge were off, leaving everything cast in moody half-shadows.A single overhead fixture from the second floor created a warm golden spotlight that fell onto polished floorboards.

Where was Anubis?

I took a few slow steps.The hush was eerie, especially after my last disastrous experience with parties here.Then, from a corner beyond the bar, a figure emerged.Deliciously tall, strong upper body with brown hair that captured the golden hint of that overhead light.

---