Page 41 of Dig Your Grave

“Then speak your vow,” the masked man called Laudari said, his voice resonating in the crypt.“A vow that severs you from your past.”

I felt everyone’s eyes on me.My throat burned, the wine from last night still lingering in my system.I saw Toccara’s face in my mind, my old room, that tiny house up for sale, the bike rides in the wind.My mother, my father’s absence.

I exhaled unsteadily.“I vow to let go of…my fear,” I said haltingly, tears pressing behind my eyes.“The fear that’s ruled me since I was young.I vow that I won’t let my past define me.”

Something pulsed through the room, an electric hush.I wasn’t sure if it was enough.My voice echoed off the stone.

But Sophie gave a small nod.“Accepted.”

The watchers stepped forward, brandishing slender rods with glowing tips.They traced arcs in the air, as if sealing our vows with invisible ink.The tension in my chest eased.

Laudari raised his hands, commanding attention.“Tonight, you have bled together and sacrificed your old selves.You are reborn as novices in the Skulls.Prove worthy, and we shall open every door for you.Fail us in the coming months, and you will discover how swiftly the river claims the unworthy.”

A trickle of relief poured through me.We’d passed.I could feel it, sense it in the hush that followed.

Sophie’s lips curved into a chilling smile.“Thus begins the Bone Trials.”

Begins?

By the time we emerged from the crypt, dawn was fully breaking over the estate’s manicured grounds.We were ushered into an antechamber where the watchers removed our cloaks and gave us discreet medical attention for our palms.Then, as if everything was perfectly normal, the masked members congratulated us briefly and vanished into side rooms.

The next step was a celebratory breakfast, apparently.A bizarre tradition, but the Skulls loved their symbolic theatrics.

We drifted into a grand dining hall set with a buffet of fruit, pastries, and steaming coffee urns.I found a corner with Anubis, away from the clusters of exhausted novices.

“You did it,” he murmured, handing me a cup of coffee.

“We did it,” I corrected, sipping with trembling hands.“Now what?Are we stuck here until classes?”

He glanced around.“Usually, they let novices return to campus after the induction.But we’ll be called upon.This has been too easy.Except for…” he wouldn’t mention the dagger.“We’ll get tasks to prove ourselves, to climb the ranks.Meanwhile, Sophie and the higher-ups will be watching us closely.”

I lowered my gaze to my bandaged palm.“It’s not over, is it?”

Anubis leaned in, voice low.“No.The Bone Trials are just beginning.But we’re inside now.That means we can see how the Skulls function, find out if they had any hand in Toccara’s death, or if there’s a deeper pattern behind these so-called suicides.And…expose them if we’re careful.”

A swirl of determination settled over me.“Right,” I said.“We can’t let them keep hurting people.”

His hand found my waist, pulling me close.For a moment, we forgot the opulence and the onlookers.“I’m proud of you,” he whispered, pressing his lips to my temple.

Despite the fear, the exhaustion, something warmed in my chest.I rested my head against him, inhaling the faint cedar of his cologne.

Sophie’s voice rang through the hall, announcing the final formalities.We parted before she could see us too cozy.For the next half hour, we pretended to mingle, picking at fruit and pastries while masked members came by with quick remarks about “our bright future.”

Eventually, we were dismissed.A cluster of black SUVs waited outside, and watchers ferried novices back to campus.

I caught a glimpse of Sophie at the threshold, smiling her predator’s smile as she watched me leave.It felt too similar to Toccara’s final wave in the corridor the day she died.The hair on my neck stood up.

In the SUV, Anubis held my hand, occasionally stroking his thumb over the bandage.No words seemed enough to quell the swirl of emotions.The beginning trials had ended, but our dark romance with Edenvane’s underbelly was only beginning.

We arrived near dawn’s full light.Other novices trudged toward dorms or apartments, some in tears, some in shock.The driver dropped Anubis and me at a discreet spot near Eden Hall, the “slums,” ironically where I used to live.

Tiredness pressed on my eyelids like a heavy weight, but I strained myself to stay upright.“I need a shower, a change of clothes,” I mumbled.

Anubis tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.“Go rest.Meet me tonight at the caretaker’s cottage.We’ll compare notes about what happened in the crypt, see if there are next steps.”

I nodded gratefully, slipping away before campus security or the gossip mill could note our arrival together.

My new dorm room felt stale, the air heavy.I peeled off the slip dress and cloak, stuffed them in a bag, and stepped under the shower’s hot spray.The water turned pinkish near my bandaged hand, reminding me of the vow, the dagger, the entire twisted night.

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