Page 20 of Cruel Crypts

“Welcome to our humble abode.” Aria opened the door with a deep bow, grinning at me. I laughed as I took in the dorm room. The décor was similar to the Epi common room, with stone walls and floors, large leaded windows with thick curtains, and huge, soft rugs. There were four beds—one in each corner, each with a desk, wardrobe, and shelves. One of the beds was empty, and the other three were neatly made.

Aria followed my gaze to the empty bed. “I wish you were boarding with us. We have a spare bed and everything.”

If only. For one moment, I let myself imagine what it might be like if this was my life. But there was no use in fantasising because all of this was temporary. Who knew where I’d end up when this was all over?

Pushing that thought away, I attempted a smile. “Where are Gracelyn and Samira?”

“Down at the lake. There’s an open-water swim meet today, and they’re both on the team. Want to go and watch?” She glanced at her phone. “It starts at eleven, so we have plenty of time. You can tell me where you and Knox disappeared to last night on the way.”

I followed her out of the door, shaking my head. “There was no ‘me and Knox.’ He took me home, then he came back to the party, didn’t he?”

“Nope. At least, not that I saw.”

“Well, he drove off as soon as I got back to the house.”

As we descended the stairs, she shot me a sideways glance. “Why do you sound disappointed?”

“I don’t. I mean, I’m not. Hey, can I ask a question? Has Knox ever been in trouble for anything?”

We reached the ground floor, and she headed for the doors that opened onto the path that led down to the lake and sports facilities. “Not that I can recall, other than stupid stuff like pranks and being out after curfew. If you want to talk about trouble, Roman’s the one you want to focus on.” Glancing around us, she lowered her voice. “Arson.”

My brows shot up, my disappointment in the news about Knox temporarily forgotten. “Arson? Really?”

She nodded. “Yep. He doesn’t have a reputation as Hatherley Hall’s bad boy for nothing. And he was expelled from a few other schools before he came here, or so the rumours say.”

A heavy arm landed across her shoulders, making us both jump. I hadn’t heard anyone coming up behind us. “Gossiping about my friends again? I knew you were obsessed with us…with me, should I say, but you should know better than that.”

“Head boy.” Aria shrugged Tristan’s arm off, giving him a disdainful look. “You’re the one who’s obsessed. First last night, and now this?”

“What happened last night?” I stared between them, but neither of them paid me any attention, too busy glaring at each other. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “What happened?”

Tristan broke the little staring contest, drawing his finger across his throat and pointing at Aria as he stepped backwards. She rolled her eyes and gave him the finger before tucking her arm through mine. “Come on. Let’s get to this swim meet.”

“What happened last night?” I repeated yet again.

“Nothing notable. Tristan was being Tristan.”

It was clear that she didn’t want to talk about it, so I didn’t pry any further, and I also dropped the subject of Knox. If he hadn’t been in any serious trouble, then that was another dead end. It was possible that there could have been a situation with a cover-up, but if there was, Aria didn’t know about it.

We reached the lake, which had been split into lanes for the swim meet. Apparently, there were four schools taking part today in various heats. Samira was in the women’s 50-metre and 100-metre heats, and Gracelyn was in the relay race.

“Roman got kicked off the swim team and diving team after the arson incident.” Aria nodded towards the sprawl of beautiful people filling the front row, two rows down from our position on the tiered seating. Right in the middle, in prime position, was Knox. The girl from last night was next to him, along with Chelsea and a couple of other girls who were hanging on to his every word. Roman Cavendish was to his left, his arms folded across his chest and his shoulders tense as he stared out at the water. “I don’t know why he tortures himself by coming to these meets.”

“Hmm.” I was only half listening, my focus on Knox. One of the girls was now in his lap, and I gritted my teeth as he chuckled at something she was saying into his ear.

Tearing my gaze away, I scanned the rest of the stands, which were beginning to fill. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Will and Katy making their way up the stairs, and I waved to get their attention. They were deep in conversation with a tall, pretty blonde with a sleek ponytail, but when Will saw me waving at them, he lifted a hand in acknowledgement, touching Katy’s elbow and indicating towards us.

“Who’s that girl with Will and Katy?”

“That’s Penelope. She’s the head girl. Probably talking to them about prefect shit. She normally hangs out with the elite.” Aria leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other. “She’s not bitchy like some of the others, but she is close to Freya. I think they’re related somehow. Third or fourth cousins or something.”

I watched as Penelope split off from Will and Katy, making her way down to the front row, while they shuffled into the empty seats next to me. As soon as they were seated, both of them turned to me with expectant looks on their faces.

“Nothing happened last night,” I said before they could ask the inevitable questions. “Knox pissed me off, I pissed him off, he took me home and drove off the second I got out of the car. The end.”

“But—” Katy began.

“But nothing. Please can we talk about something other than Knox Ashcroft? Please? Anything?”

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