AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So neither of you have been here before?” I looked between them both, and they shook their heads. Katy took a step closer to me, lowering her voice a little as she stopped on the edge of one of the rough-hewn stone stairs.
“We’ve never been invited before. Not until you came along. And here you are, at the end of your first week in a new school, already getting invited to the popular-people parties and getting us an invite in the process.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I’m still not sure how that happened, actually. Aria and her friends seem to like me for some reason, and they insisted that we should come tonight. I don’t think it’ll be enough for me to escape Knox’s wrath when he sees me, though.”
Will gave me a look that was almost admiring. “I know we told you to stay under his radar, but I get the feeling that you can handle him.”
I wasn’t quite so sure about that as he seemed to be, but I’d fucking well try. “I can,” I said aloud, and it felt like a promise. “Let’s do this.”
Tossing my hair back over my shoulder, I entered the elite’s inner sanctum.
The first thing that hit me was the noise. The heavy bass of the music thrummed through the huge space, a dark and heady undercurrent to the sound of voices. People were packed into the area in front of me, and it was difficult to make out the features of the room we were in. It appeared to be an open-plan space, all stone walls and arching ceilings. I spotted a couple of sofas pushed up against the walls and a few smaller pieces of furniture, all in shades of blacks and greys—unsurprising, given Knox’s penchant for black.
“Drinks?” Will shouted over the noise, and I nodded.
“Just going to look around,” I called back. “I’ll come and find you.” What I wanted to do was to find Knox before he found me so that I could put him at a disadvantage.
I pushed forwards, swallowed up by the crowd, and began my hunt.
There was no sign of him anywhere. I spotted the other two members of the three gods—Roman and Tristan, holding court in the centre of the space, surrounded by what looked to be most of the lacrosse team, with the usual girls fawning all over them, the mood celebratory from the team’s win earlier today. Lincoln Bellingham was there too, with a lopsided crown on his head and a garish “18” badge pinned to his T-shirt. But Knox wasn’t with them.
Maybe he was busy with a girl. I gritted my teeth at the thought that came from nowhere. No way did I want to walk in on him with someone. My gaze travelled to the far side of the space, to an arched opening. Before I could think it through, I found myself pushing through the crowds and entering the new space.
Another shiver ran down my spine as I looked around me.
This small area was filled with tombs. Some crumbling, some solid, seemingly almost pristine, other than the thick layer of dust coating the surface. I brushed my hand over the nearest one, the inscribed words faded, although I could just about make out a date—1232.
Wow. This was old. Ancient.
I stepped back, taking everything in. Candlelight illuminated the spaces around me, a contrast to the coloured lights in the previous room, dancing and flickering, sending long shadows across the space, throwing the edges of the tombstones into sharp relief. Wax dripped onto the stones, trickling into the dusty cracks.
It was dark, it was eerie, and something about it called to me.
I loved it.
For a moment, I forgot why I was here. Why I’d ventured into this place.
Until I remembered.Knox. I was here in his domain.
There was a door set into the stone wall, just visible in the gloom. Was that his bedroom? If the rumours were to be believed, he had a room down here.
The door was firmly shut, so if it was his bedroom, then the likelihood was that he was busy in there with a girl.
Fuck him. I’d just have to stay alert for his eventual appearance. In the meantime, I needed to find Katy and Will again.
My gaze caught on a waving arm, and I turned to see Aria, along with Gracelyn and Samira, all three of them looking in my direction. Abandoning my hunt for Katy and Will, I headed towards them.
“You came!” Mira smiled at me. “How are you finding the creepy vibes of the underworld?”
“It’s definitely creepy,” I said truthfully. “But I’m glad I came. It can’t hurt to find out more about Knox’s inner sanctum.”
The three of them smiled at me, then exchanged glances. “Yep. Welcome to the crypts. It’s…an experience,” Aria murmured. “Just remember, no one here has power over you. No one.”
“You’re right.” Straightening my spine, I gave a decisive nod. “Thanks. I’m going to find Katy and Will and make sure they’re okay. It’s their first time here. I’ll come and find you later.”
Pushing back through the crowd in the direction I’d seen Katy and Will heading, I cursed my stupidly high heels. My feet were aching, and I wished I’d worn flats, but I’d been told to come dressed up, and I’d had to ask Maria Ashcroft for help, because fuck if I knew what kind of thing to wear to these kinds of parties.
I was almost too distracted to notice the heavy wooden door at the side of the cavernous main crypt space, but the second it caught my eye, I was immediately intrigued. When I reached it, I studied it for a moment before glancing around me to make sure no one was paying me any attention. Then I took a breath, closed my hand around the handle, and pulled.
