by RuNyx .
Corvina turned her face sideways, their lips aligned. “You give me more.”
“Fuck,” he kissed her, thrusting in deep, swallowing the sound of her moan. His lips trailed down her neck again, and Corvina rested her head on his shoulder, spreading her legs wider to ease his motion.
A sudden sensation of phantom ants crawling over her skin made her freeze.
Corvina lifted her head to look around, her eyes falling to her reflection in the glass, and saw her eyes blackened completely.
“What is it?” she heard his voice from behind her as another came to her head, a voice she hadn’t heard in weeks, accompanied by that scent of decay.
‘You didn’t find me.’
Chills skittered over her body and she was suddenly empty and turned around.
“What did you see?” he demanded, his eyes serious as he tucked himself in and came to her.
She opened her mouth to speak but the voice came again.
‘I needed you to find me. You’re next.’
She began to shake, gripping her hair, not understanding what was happening to her mind. It had stopped. It was supposed to have stopped. She hadn’t heard a voice or seen a shadow in weeks. It had been blissful. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not again. Because it just meant her mind was still splintered.
“No, no, no, no, no,” she started to chant, rocking like she used to when something upset her as a kid, closing her eyes, trying to escape.
A tight pain in her scalp made her snap out of it.
Vad stood before her, looking pissed and concerned, his hand gripping her hair tightly in his fist as he tilted her face up, demanding all her concentration.
“Talk to me,” he commanded, and she caved, gripping her wrists, her head slightly clearing. He gentled his hold a bit but didn’t let it go, his silver eyes intense on hers in the moonlight and the candlelight.
“I heard the girl again,” she began, detailing out exactly what she’d seen and experienced, and what the voice had said.
“I don’t even understand how my subconscious could be doing this,” she said after she finished. “I don’t know what clues it could have picked up to make this happen. And why now? Why when we were in the middle of-” her voice broke on a sob, all the confusion, the frustration, the fear, the anxiety mounting inside her, trying to drag her deep into the pit of despair the likes of which she would never recover from intact, not with her genetic history.
“Hey, hey, come here,” Vad pulled her in closer, engulfing her in his arms. Corvina inhaled a lungful of his scent, replacing the ugliness the voice carried with the warmth of the burning woods and headiness of the brandy, a scent she recognized in the marrow of her bones. He tucked her in tight, rooting her in place, anchoring her, protecting her from things neither of them understood or knew about.
Corvina buried her nose in his chest, wrapping her arms around him, taking in the comfort he gave, a comfort she had been unfamiliar with until him, her frame tucking perfectly with his.
He held her for long moments, pressing soft kisses to the top of her head, swaying her slightly and Corvina let her heart settle, her mind clear, and her eyes open.
She pulled away a bit and looked up at him. “Sorry for pulling out of the moment. Literally.”
His lips curled slightly as he cupped her face, his thumbs wiping the tears she hadn’t even realized had fallen down her cheeks. “You feeling okay now?”
She gave him a nod, fixing her gown straps, realizing her breasts had been uncovered the entire time.
Corvina sat down on the window ledge, watching him perch himself on the opposite side, the candles burning behind him, casting him in his black clothes in an eerie glow.
“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to find.”
He gazed at her thoughtfully for a long minute, tilting his head to the side. “Have you tried asking Mo?”
Corvina blinked at his suggestion.
“Considering these voices are internal, that they’re your subconscious,” he explained at her obvious confusion, “they come from the same place. Since Mo is a voice you have known your whole life, one that you trust, why not try asking him? What could it hurt?”
It had to be the most bizarre conversation she’d ever imagined having with him. It also made a weird kind of sense.
“You want me to ask now?” she raised her eyebrows.
He shrugged. “I’d rather you do it with me. Just in case.” Just in case she had a breakdown.
Corvina sighed and closed her eyes. She felt him take her feet in his lap, rubbing the arch in circles she was sure he must’ve meant as comforting but were slightly arousing, especially considering the way she’d left them both hanging.
She focused on his touch, letting it anchor her, and thought to herself.
‘Mo? Are you there? I need your help. Help me. Tell me what I’m meant to find.’
She waited. And waited. And waited. And nothing.
Slumping in defeat, she opened her eyes and gave a shake of her head. “I don’t know how to talk to him. Usually, it’s the other way round.”
He tapped her feet with his fingers, playing a tune she couldn’t hear on them. “Trust yourself, little witch. I do.”
She sighed, looking out at the moon, and blinked, something suddenly coming to her, something from her childhood, an old ritual she and her mother performed only a few times in her life.
“The moon,” she gasped, turning to look at Vad. “The Black Ball. Is it always held on the same date?”
Vad frowned. “No. The dates change.”
“But it’s always a full moon?” she asked, her heart pounding.
She could feel his confusion at where she was going with this. “Yes. At least to my knowledge. Why?”
Corvina pushed her hair back with her hands. “There’s a special full moon every five years. It’s called the Ink Moon. Not many people know about it,” she informed him, seeing his gaze sharpen. “Mama told me it was the most powerful full moon on earth, one that spiritually had the power of many eclipses. I was born on an Ink Moon.”
“Okay,” he processed what she was telling him. “So, the Black Ball falls on this Ink Moon every time. What does that mean?”
She grit her teeth in frustration. She wished she had any idea.
“I don’t know. But mama used to say energy is high that night. If so many people were murdered on these grounds on such a night, and of them claimed to be an actual witch who cursed the killers, the energy that night must be powerful,” Corvina felt goosebumps litter her arms at her own words.
“You think the disappearances are truly something preternatural?” he asked her, his fingers frozen on her feet.
Corvina pondered his words.
“Honestly, at this castle, I’m beginning to believe anything is possible.”
Chapter 25
Corvina
The Black Ball was a week away.
And Verenmore was in delightful chaos.
While a huge part of her was scared shitless, both anxious about what the voice had said and history repeating itself, especially with someone she knew, another part of her was excited for something so novel. Especially since exams were over and assignments were submitted, classes were on pause for a month before they resumed again with a new semester. During the month, students could go visit family if they had any or choose to stay at the castle. From what she had gathered, most kids stayed back which was both sad and not.
The wonderful thing about the Ball though was all the new faces around campus. The Board went all out for the Ball. The Main Hall Tower’s first level which had stayed locked was opened for the occasion. Extra crew and staff were hired for the week, from chefs to waiting staff to electricians and musicians. Instruments, furniture and cutlery from storage were brought down and put in place.
Residents from every tower were called to the Admin Wing at different hours, to meet a team of shoppers and tailors who took measurements and notes and fitted everyone for their outfits that
would be ready a day before the Ball.
The only downside of the chaos was the lack of any time she could spend with Vad. With all the people roaming on campus and no classes, there was no way and no place she could sneak to meet him, not even in his own building, without getting caught. And this close to the Ball, they really didn’t want to risk it.
The four days of separation made her realize how much she missed him. She was enjoying her time with her friends and her books and enjoying the entire atmosphere of the castle, but she would have enjoyed it more with him. He was important to her mind, and she settled herself with glimpses of him across the grounds, his tall, dark form making her heart ache with the need to touch him.
She equally hated and loved the time.
Standing in the Administration Wing for her own fitting along with the girls from her tower, feeling giddy because she’d never had anything like this happen before, she was surprised when the spectacled guy called her over to one of the back offices.
“What does he want?” Jade asked her, curiously looking towards the back.
Corvina shrugged. She had no clue. She made her way to the office and raised her eyebrows at the guy who had never been helpful to her.
“Your dress is there,” he told her and walked out.
Corvina frowned and entered the office, confused at what he meant, and froze.
A deep burgundy, almost dark purple dress hung from a hanger on one of the open windowpanes, a color so deep it shimmered with purple and black, its sleeves full and made of some kind of a lace, its neckline a plunging V that almost went to the waistline, a slit up the side of the skirt that to the upper thigh area.
She had never seen something so exquisite.
It was her in a gown.
And there was only one person who could have chosen this absolutely perfect dress for her.
A note pinned to the cuff of the dress caught her eye. She went to it on jittery legs, extending a careful hand to the note, half afraid to take it out in case she ruined the dress. Thankfully, she didn’t. She unfolded the paper and found his bold scrawl, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings at even the small contact with him.
My little witch,
I went to Tenebrae on the weekend for a legal meeting and found this. The color reminded me of your eyes right after you come. It was a dress made for you to wear and for me to take off.
You’ll find your mask in the box by the shoes. (Yes, I know your size).
I won’t tell you what I’ll be wearing. Instead, I want you to recognize me from a sea of masked people. I need you to find me in the sea.
Leave everything in the office for now. It will be safe. Collect in on the day before the Ball to avoid questions.
I hope you miss me. Your pussy is going to be sore as fuck once I get my hands on you after this.
And be careful on the night of the ball, little crow. Every time, wicked things happen.
Your devil
Corvina clutched the note to her chest, a squeal of happiness bursting from her lips before she controlled herself, rereading his words, again and again and again until they were memorized.
She looked down at the box below the dress, squatting down to see the shoes he’d picked for her, hoping he’d picked something with heels. She had one pair of heels and she loved them, but it hadn’t been smart to wear them around the castle.
The footwear was indeed a pair of heels, block heels in silver with straps that laced around her ankle up to her calves. So very sexy but also practical for the cobblestoned paths.
Something wrapped in the same bag, covered in paper tissue, had her intrigued. She picked it up, pulling out a stunning silver half-mask, one made with silver glitter and crystals, shimmering in the light and sending little rainbows in reflection, curving into the shape of a cat-eye at the tips. It would cover her face from forehead to nose, leaving her lower half exposed.
Corvina put everything back and absorbed the vision of the dress in again, etching it into her memory. It was beautiful but what truly moved her beyond words was the fact that he had gone for a meeting and thought of her, that he had come back with a gift that would make her first night like this better, that even though he couldn’t meet her, he had found a way to get it to her, leaving her a note that made her all warm and fluttery on the inside.
It was the little things behind the big thing that touched her.
God, she loved him, so, so much.
She didn’t know when she fell, when her lust transformed into this deep-seated need, or if she even fell in one moment or gradually. It didn’t matter. The end result was that she did.
Leaving it all behind just as she found it, Corvina tucked the note inside her top and walked out of the office to see the girls giving their measurements.
She must have been wearing some kind of a look on her face because Roy raised her eyebrows at her. “Yo freaky eyes, did you smoke something in the office or what?”
Corvina mentally shook herself, schooling her face. “If there was anything worth smoking here, I’m sure you’d be the first to know Roy,” Corvina ribbed back, comfortable enough with the girl and her brash but well-meaning ways by now.
Roy rolled her eyes and stepped up to get measured.
“So, what was in the office?” Jade asked her as they waited at the side.
“A letter,” Corvina gave her the truth. “From someone important.”
Their turn to give measurements came and Corvina complied, well aware that people would question it if she didn’t. The tailor however knew she already had a gown, probably Vad getting things set up, and simply pretended to take Corvina’s measurements.
Within a few minutes, they were done and walking out of the building under the beautiful, sunlit day, when the wind carried the scent of sandalwood to her, and immediately after she heard Mo’s voice.
‘That house, Vivi.’
Corvina froze.
What house?
The creepy shack in the woods?
“What’s wrong?” Jade paused at her side, looking at her with worried eyes. “You just froze, Cor.”
Corvina blinked as the scent disappeared, opening her mouth to tell her but something stopped her, with all the other girls around. She shook her head, her eyes spying a familiar figure talking to a guy on the other end of the Wing.
“Nothing, I just remembered I had to talk to Troy’s brother about something,” she told Jade, pointing towards Ajax’s big form. “You go on. I’ll meet you in a few.”
Jade glanced between her and Ajax, her eyebrows going up. “Oh god, he’s the hickey guy!”
Corvina almost denied it, then shut up. Better she thought that than the truth.
“Damn girl,” Jade grinned. “He’s fineeee. Go see him. Catch you later,” with a fluttery wave of her fingers, Jade was gone.
Corvina took a deep breath and headed towards Ajax.
He spotted her coming, and the determined look on her face, and excused himself from the guy he’d been speaking with.
“Do you have some time?” Corvina began without preamble.
His face got serious. “Sure. We’re just finishing the forensics at the lake. What’s going on?”
She looked around, checking no one was within hearing distance. “I need you to come to the woods with me.”
His big body straightened. “What’s going on, Corvina?”
“There’s a shack in the woods,” she began, not knowing how to tell him what she knew without telling him what she knew. “Do you know it?”
Ajax frowned. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“Just, come with me,” she told him, buying time. “I’ll tell you on the way.”
Looking around, he caught one of his colleagues and told him he’d be unavailable for a bit, indicating for Corvina to lead him.
Corvina wanted to let Vad know about the development, but not having seen him on campus since yesterday, she had no idea where he would be. But he knew Ajax and she trusted him, so s
he had to make it work.
They entered the sunlit forest and Corvina pointed to the right, towards a direction she hadn’t taken since that day. “That way.”
The woods looked unreal bathed in the brightness of the sun. The trees stood wall, a plethora of earthen colors from browns to greens and colorful flowers dotting in between, azure sky peeking from between the branches. Without the constant grey and the fog, it looked like something out of a fairy tale. And yet, darkness clung to it.
Ajax followed her down the incline by her side. “What’s with the shack?” he asked, jumping over a log and helping her over it.
“We went there once,” she told him the truth. “Troy and our group. He just wanted to explore the woods once, and we randomly headed in this direction.”
She picked up her skirt, walking around a hedge of weird-looking flowers, and descended down the incline.
“Did something happen?” Ajax asked from a few paces away, turning to look back at her with eyes the same as Troy’s had been.
“We saw something,” she reminisced, remembering the long silhouette they had encountered that day. “A long dark silhouette behind the windows. It was moving. But Troy noticed the lock on the door. Whatever it was, it had been locked in.”
Ajax let out a breath. “Fuck, this place would give creeps to the bravest bastard.”
They kept a quick pace, the castle having disappeared behind them above the thicket.
“And why did you want to check it out now?” he asked her as they almost neared the place.
“Just a hunch.”
Ajax slid her a look but didn’t say anything as the shack came into view in the distance.
“Is the lake close from here?” she asked as the smell of decay that she’d always associated with the lake infiltrated her senses again.
Ajax paused and looked to the left. “Just about there, I’d say. Maybe a five-minute walk. Why?”
Corvina felt her heart begin to pound at the realization that the rot had always been coming from this place. While the lake had hidden horrors, there was something else in the shack.