Chapter Thirteen

Riot

I pace around the parking lot while I wait for Valentin to finish tampering with Maureen's car. She can't leave either way, but this will send a clear message— we own you, Firecracker, and we can do whatever we want.

Atlas perches on the trunk, chuckling at me. "You all right, man? Looks like you're about to pop a vein in your neck."

I glare at him. "Am I all right? Fuck you, Atlas."

Valentin pokes his head out from underneath the hood. "Done. I cut the fuel line, so our little slut won't be going anywhere unless it's on foot."

Atlas hops off the car and pats me on the back. "Now, wouldn't that be fun? Stalking her through the woods… I'm getting hard just thinking about it."

Valentin clenches his jaw as he runs a hand through his jet-black locks. "If you really think her blood will end your curse, then let's get it and be done with her."

A little tremor slides down my shaft. I want to punish her. Torture her. "No. Not until we've had some fun. She's fucking aching for our cocks. I can smell it on her. Don't you want to make her cry and cum at the same time?"

Atlas licks his lips and lets out a little whimper. "Mmm, yeah. I want to play with her first before we get rid of her."

I look at Val, and I can see he's warring with himself. There's not an ounce of compassion in his bones. He was raised to be hardened, vicious, and cold. But he likes to stick his cock in tight wet pussy just like the rest of us.

His eyes darken except for the tiny swirl of light that dances around his pupils. A flicker of electricity skates up his arms, casting a glow against his tattoos. "Once I go down that road, there's no stopping me, Riot. I'll fucking break her and make her lose her mind."

"Good," I quip. "She deserves nothing less."

Atlas chuckles. "So, what's our first move?"

I slide my hand across the hood of Maureen's car, imagining it's the smooth of her back. I slam my hand down hard on the metal and the whole car jerks, immediately deflating all four tires. "We wait."

"Wait for what?" Atlas asks. "I'm horny as fuck. Why can't we drag her out of bed right now?"

"Because we need to give her the illusion that her bed is safe… for now." I can't help but smile as I say this.

Valentin nods. "She'll seek us out the second she sees her car. Like the perfect prey, she'll fall right into our laps, and we won't have to lift a fucking finger."

"Oh, I'll be lifting some fingers inside her fucking pussy," Atlas drawls.

We all will. There is something so addictive about hating her. The more my anger spreads, the more it turns me on. The other girls at Tenebrose bore the fuck out of me. They are always so eager, so fucking sweet and sugary. They bat their eyelashes and open their legs with a snap of my fingers.

But not our firecracker… She fucking hates us. And it fuels me. Her anger and resistance is what keeps me hooked. It keeps me in a constant state of craving that nothing can quench. Not even her. It's never enough. Every time I get around her, I'm consumed. I want to devour every fucking piece of her.

I look up at the full moon and release a deep breath. "Let's get back before its power wanes. We need to make a sacrifice for our new sigils."

Full moons are when our power peaks. Each sigil we've carved onto our bodies is a reminder of that. They are all different and hold their own power. But they require blood and ritual. Each one is like a little oath we made, linking us to the raven and to each other.

As we pile into Valentin's car and head back to Nocturnus House, I feel a surge of adrenaline rush through my veins. It's more than just the thought of tonight's sacrifice, which always excites me , it's that Maureen does something to my blood. Something dormant is awakening within me. And I feel like her blood is the key to ending this curse against my family once and for all.

The ritual room is dark when we enter except for a few sconces that flicker against the stone walls. We are deep underground below Nocturnus House, surrounded by empty graves and tortured spirits.

In the center of the circular room is our altar. The thick stone surface in which we lay our offerings. We've been down here a thousand times and yet its power grips me like it's the first every time.

We strip out of our clothes and form a circle around it. Valentin places a pair of Maureen's panties down first. He fingers the crotch, rubbing at the dried cream. "We mark her. We claim her. We own her. Maureen Blackwell's body, mind, and spirit belong to us."

I shiver as a surge of power shoots up my thighs, encircling my cock. I'm harder than these stone walls that surround us.

Atlas pulls out a vial of nightshade and passes it to each of us before taking the last sip. "Made from the leaf that I rubbed against her flesh."

The poison burns through my veins. It gets easier each time, but the pain is excruciating. I resist the urge to panic as my throat constricts and breath leaves my lungs. It can't kill me, but it feels like it might. But after a few minutes, it settles into my blood like an old friend. I draw in a deep breath and feel my lungs expand back to normal.

I glance over to see Valentin wincing as he struggles with the poison as well. Atlas just grins as his eyes light up from the toxin. The Thorns were born with it in their veins. He could drink an entire vat of poison and not even flinch.

I remove the silver dagger from its velvet cloth and hold it up. A flicker of candlelight bounces off the blade, our gleaming source of power. The raven's blade. I have carved countless sigils into my flesh and theirs with it. It's the key to unlocking the gate. But only if it has the blood of a Blackwell on it.

Soon .

I turn to Valentin and press the blade against an unmarked patch of skin on his thigh. "Are you ready to receive the raven?"

He nods and widens his stance. "I am."

I kneel down and run my hand up the inside of his leg. I nudge his cock to the side before pressing the tip of the blade to his thigh. My skin tingles as I let the raven move through me. It feels like a rush of every emotion all at once. My head swirls and pulses as my fingers tremble.

Valentin lets out a deep guttural moan as I begin carving into his flesh. "Fuck."

Blood spills down his leg as I mutilate his flesh, digging the blade deeper and deeper with each mark. "Can you feel its power?"

Valentin fists my hair. "Yes…" His brown skin is slick with sweat and blood. I feel his cock pulse against the side of my hand as I finish up.

Fuck. It's beautiful. I smear my fingers in his blood. "Ready?"

He grips the edge of the altar to steady himself. "Yes… I need it."

Atlas pulls out another vial and tips it into Valentin's mouth. "Drink it all."

As soon as he finishes the last drop, I wrap my bloody hands around his cock and stroke up and down. "There we go. Fucking throb for me."

Valentin throws his head back and moans. "Harder," he begs. "Make it fucking hurt."

I squeeze him hard as I pull down all the way to the tip. The sight of him like this destroys me. I yearn for his release more than he does.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum." He flexes his arms as he grips the stone altar, white-knuckling it.

I stroke my hands faster now, making sure to smear his blood up and down his shaft. "In absentia lucis, tenebrae vincunt." In the absence of light, darkness prevails .

He cries out as his cum shoots out in hot white ropes. I pinch the tip of his cock, milking him against the altar. "Oh, fuck. Fuck."

"Let it all go," I murmur. I can feel his pulse quicken, his shaft constricting as each wave of pleasure grips him. "Give it all to the raven. Every single drop."

He cries louder as the last of his cum trickles out. I stroke him gently, tickling each ridge with my fingertips. "You did so fucking good."

As Valentin pants for breath, I trace my fingers around his newly carved sigil. "Mors tua, vita mea…" Your death, my life . Every sigil strengthens us. The raven gives us more power every time. Soon we will be in control of the ravens and not the other way around.

Atlas straightens and puffs out his chest. "I'm ready."

This new one is special for him. But it's also dangerous. The power he's asking for… it will seal his ability to see through the eyes of every raven. He'll become our tracker. And no matter where Maureen goes, we'll find her.

But the ravens have dark desires. Cravings of their own. It requires us to commit the most depraved acts. And the more we do them, the more we crave it too.

I walk behind him and rest my hands on his hips. "Are you ready to receive the raven?"

Atlas nods. "I am."

I take a moment to admire his physique. Every muscle is taut and smooth, chiseled like the stone in this room. He doesn't have a single imperfection. I press the tip of the blade to the back of his neck. "For the raven. For sight. No one can hide from us now."

Atlas clenches his jaw as I carve the sigil into the delicate flesh just below his hairline. The dark red blood looks like a painting as it slides down his back, a beautiful contrast to his porcelain white flesh.

I feel the power thrumming through my fingertips again with each stroke of the dagger. "Close your eyes. What do you see?"

" Everything ," he whispers.

I rub my hands in his blood, spreading it all over his body. "The raven is hungry. Needy ."

"Mmm… yeah. Take whatever you want." Atlas shoves Maureen's panties into his mouth.

I can't fucking wait to have a collection of her cream-stained underwear. I'll fucking hang them around this house like trophies.

I suck on my finger before slipping it inside Atlas's ass. Fuck. It's so hot and tight. "Damn…"

Atlas's wails are muffled through the cotton panties. He jerks forward as I wedge my finger deeper inside. Valentin reaches around and fists Atlas's cock. I need more. I want to be buried inside to the fucking hilt.

I pull my finger out and press my cock to his entrance. "This is going to fucking hurt."

Stars blur my vision as I push inside him. Holy fuck. I want more and more. We are one, the three of us. As we've always been. But now I need my firecracker. I need her fucking strapped to this altar like a pretty little rag doll.

A torturous rage fills me as I feel her absence. Atlas lets out a deep guttural moan and I tear through him, sliding my cock in and out of his ass like I want to rip it apart.

Pain is our pleasure. It's what bonds us. "Fuck, you are so perfect for me right now."

Atlas bucks his hips as Valentin strokes his cock with fury. "Good boy, Atlas. Let us fucking unravel you."

I pound him harder as tingles spread down my shaft, my blood pumping faster. "I'm about to fill you up. Fuck." I clench and release, slamming into him as my cum bursts out.

"Cum with me," I beg.

Atlas slams his hands on the altar and rocks his hips into Valentin's palm.

"Mmm, there we go. Fuck, yeah."

I'm still inside him as he releases into Valentin's hand, the three of us rocking against each other like one symbiotic unit.

I reach around and slowly pull the panties out of his mouth. "Did you see our little firecracker?"

He nods and bites his lip. "She's in her bed… naked. Her legs are spread open."

Fuck. I almost cum again. "Tell me what she's doing, Atlas."

His chest heaves. "She's playing with her pussy. Fuck… Her fingers… she's got them in so fucking deep."

I rest my damp forehead against his bloody back. My cock throbs against his ass, and I have to resist thrusting into him again. "Well, we'll have to punish her for putting on a show without us."

Valentin strokes my back. "Mors vincit omnia," Death always wins . "She's ours now, brother. We have given blood and cum and sweat to make sure of that. Let her play with her own cunt tonight. Her last night of freedom. Starting tomorrow no one touches her cunt but us."

Atlas spins around and grips my shoulders. He presses his forehead to mine. "For the raven."

For Nocturnus .

A surge of power spikes in my veins as we close the circle and seal the room behind us. Soon the raven will be serving us.