Chapter One

Maureen

T enebrose Academy is a beautiful monstrosity. It sprawls across the grounds, taking up most of the city of Raven's Gate. A mass of cold stone and pointed arches. It's ominous and sharp and stunning, warning you away. Drawing you in. It gives me breath and yet takes it away. A dark and stormy chaos seems to chant softly from behind its stained-glass windows. Whispers that flutter across my flesh, wrapping around my neck like delicate bony fingers, like twisted vines on iron spires.

"Are you going to stand there all day, or can I get inside before my balls freeze off?" a sharp gravelly voice barks at me from behind.

Breaking out of my trance, I spin around. Oh, fuck. My belly flutters as I meet his icy glare. With black hair and dark brown eyes I can get lost in, the most beautiful yet intimidating man towers over me.

I stumble back. "Sorry. Just taking it all in."

He steps into me, sending chills across my back. "I don't care if you like taking it in the ass, do it somewhere else, freshman."

My mouth drops open. I haven't even been on campus a full hour, and already some asshole, albeit a gorgeous asshole , is barking at me. The old me would have snapped back, but I am trying , for fuck's sake, to start over.

I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks as I step aside. "Gotcha. Won't happen again."

The beautiful asshole clenches his jaw and continues to stare down his nose at me. "Better not."

When he finally brushes past me, I blow out a deep breath. And I can't help but notice a few students snickering in my direction. Fuck . I'm off to a great fucking start.

"I'd stay out of his way, if I were you," a pretty blonde girl whispers next to me. I hadn't even noticed her standing there. She chews on her lower lip as I size her up.

"Oh? And why is that? Who was that?" I'd promised myself I would keep my head down here, but now I'm intrigued.

The girl wraps her arms around herself as if she wants to shrink into her own body. "Valentin Erebus. He's dangerous. They all are."

I look back toward the double doors he disappeared behind and my skin prickles. "They? What's so dangerous about—" As I turn back, my breath hitches. The girl is gone. What the actual fuck? I scan the front lawn but can't find any sign of her. And now I just look like a lunatic talking to myself.

I start for the doors when a loud squawk makes me jump and almost knock over my luggage. "Fucking hell." I look up to see a raven perched above the archway. Its glare seems to mimic Valentin's. "Well, screw you, too!" I hiss. A few more students whisper and laugh at me as they pass.

An uneasiness washes over me. As excited as I was to come here, something is off. I can't put my finger on it, but a creepy feeling began seeping into my bones the second I drove through those front gates.

I push on the double doors, and my jaw drops open when I enter the lobby. With dark wood-paneled walls, marble floors, and massive stone statues, Tenebrose looks like a museum. There's an iron staircases lined with ornate wall sconces that have actual burning candles in them. I look up to see the ceiling's painted as elaborately as the Sistine Chapel in a mural of runes, botanical elements, and alchemical symbols. I inhale a deep breath. Even the air smells and tastes different here.

The other students bustle around me seemingly unaffected by the visual onslaught of Victorian Gothic ambience. They don't even look up or around as they chatter with each other about their class schedules and their dorm room assignments. Am I the only one here who is blown away by all of this? It feels like at any second Edgar Allan Poe himself could come around the corner.

And then it dawns on me. These students are used to this. I'm a long way from Wickford Hollow—my sleepy small town where our idea of fun is breaking into abandoned houses, eating sweet potato fries at Ruby's Diner, and getting so drunk you forget your own name. Oh, and it's full of dead people walking around as if they are still alive. I understand creepy and weird, but this place is on a different level of macabre. How am I supposed to fit in here?

Hi, my name's Maureen. My mother hates me for being born, my father is the town Sheriff and also the town drunk. I've fucked half the football team, mostly while I was unconscious. Oh, and I did I mention my best friend is a ghost?

Fuck. I've only been gone for a day, and I already miss Bailey. She's my ride-or-die. Literally. Yeah, I'm sure people will be lining up to hang out with me. Ugh.

I make my way inside the admissions office, shuffling ahead of a group of girls who are prattling on about all the parties they can't wait to go to. The door swings open as I reach for it, and I walk straight into a wall of solid muscle. I gaze up only to lock eyes with the beautiful asshole from earlier. Fuck.

"You, again. For fuck's sake. Didn't anyone show you the proper way to walk through a doorway?"

I can feel that same heat rising to my cheeks again. His arrogance is astounding. "Seems like you walked into me."

Valentin clenches his jaw. His eyes darken while his nostrils flare. "Are you calling me a liar, freshman?"

The girls behind me gasp and stop talking. They are clearly afraid of him as much as the mystery girl from outside is. But I'd dealt with my fair share of monsters this summer. The things I've done…

I tilt my chin up. "I'm simply pointing out that maybe you should also watch where you're walking."

One of the girls behind me literally whimpers.

He cocks his head to the side and a strand of shiny black hair falls over his eye. It makes him look sexy and provocative and dangerous as hell. I hold my breath and wonder if I should have just kept my mouth shut. Fuck, I'm always taking things too far. Why can't I be more fucking docile?

When he takes another step closer, I almost stumble back. Looking up, I notice just how square his shoulders are, the flex of his chest as it stretches his T-shirt across his pectoral muscles. He's lean but strong, chiseled and carved like a piece of stone. And as my breath catches in my throat, I get a whiff of roses and cedar mixed with embalming fluid. When your best friend owns a mortuary, you become familiar with that scent.

Valentin licks his lips as his dark eyes flicker with something hungrier—feral. "I'll be watching a lot more closely now, freshman." He tugs on the hem of my skirt, and I bounce forward. Butterflies swarm my belly as he leans down and whispers in my ear, "I'll be watching your every move. No one disrespects me and gets away with it. Not even needy girls with pretty mouths and hard nipples ."

Holy fuck. I glance down my shirt to see that my tits have indeed betrayed me by way of two stiff peaks poking out from under my thin cotton blouse. But before I can fire back or even process what he said, Valentin Erebus has brushed past me, leaving me and the entire office speechless. And judging by the pale faces and looks of terror, I have a feeling that I just pissed off the one person I shouldn't have.

Fucking great. Off to a smashing start.

The line moves rather quickly and within minutes I'm at the front. "Maureen Blackwell." I shove my ID across the counter toward the pale lady with jet-black hair. She narrows her dark eyes at me while typing furiously into her computer. I avert my gaze to her name tag, focusing on the sharp letters that spell out Miss Florian .

"Here we go," she states. I flinch as the printer squeaks. Why am I so fucking jumpy? "This is your class schedule. Make sure you familiarize yourself with it thoroughly. Our esteemed professors do not tolerate tardiness, absences, or insolence." The lines on her face seem to get sharper the more she talks. "Here is a map of our campus. It would do you well to memorize it. It can be easy for one to get lost." She pauses and looks up over the rim of her glasses, her eyes narrowing. "Do not get lost, Miss Blackwell. The fog is thick, the shadows are dark, and the ground is hallowed. Not all who wander can be found."

I swallow down the lump in my throat as goose pimples tickle the backs of my arms. That eerie feeling I had when I first drove through the gates returns. Where I'm from, the dead walk around freely. It's the devil I know. But Raven's Gate is disorienting. I nod my head for her to continue because she seems to think I need to acknowledge her words before she'll go on.

Miss Florian sighs as her hand starts moving around the map again. "Dormitories are on the east end of the property near the Mourning Café and the campus bar. All paths are clearly marked, do not venture off them."

"Right, got it. Don't get lost in the woods." A larger structure catches my eye near the graveyard. I place a pointy, black-painted fingernail on it. "What is this place? It's unmarked."

Miss Florian snatches the map off the counter and stuffs it into a folder with my schedule and a few other papers. "A word of advice, Miss Blackwell—keep your questions focused on your studies and you'll get through this unscathed."

Get through this?

She smacks the folder into my hands along with a key which I assume is for my dorm room. "Good day, Miss Blackwell."

Before I can utter another word, I'm shoved aside by the group of girls behind me. Miss Florian throws me one more side glance but it's so subtle I wonder if I imagined it. I stuff the folder into my purse and spin on my heel, dragging my luggage behind me.

The rain's coming down hard by the time I make my way outside and back to my car. If I had known how big this campus was, and that I'd be driving to my room, I wouldn't have lugged all my bags out like an idiot. Another reason why people are staring and snickering at me, I'm sure. I load everything back into the trunk and let out a sigh as I look toward the main hall.

This place has secrets. I feel it in my bones. But so do I. And mine are dark enough to make the devil smile. But I came here to start over. To leave all that behind. So I need to keep my head down and take Miss Florian's advice—don't ask too many questions and stick to the designated paths. Because the last time I went wandering, I killed a man. A chill trickles down my spine. No more murder, Maur.

I can barely see through my windshield as the rain turns into a torrential downpour. Through the thick fog, I inch along, praying my old clunker of a car makes it the last stretch. Bailey had insisted on loaning me her Mercedes, but I refused. She's already paying my tuition and giving me spending money. Best friend or not, I won't be anyone's charity case. And I have every intention of paying her back in full.

I pull up to the dormitories and my blood runs cold. More like Dracula's castle. I lean forward, straining to see through the violence of my windshield wipers at full speed. " Fuck ," I mutter under my breath.

Its stone walls are covered in a thick layer of rotting vines and black roses. As if decay were a living thing and actively consuming the building, piece by piece. If it weren't for the flicker of lights from some of the windows, I'd think it was abandoned. I gaze up higher, following its sharp lines all the way up to the two points that threaten to stab the heavens. It has to be at least six stories.

A massive iron sign hangs between two posts: The Nest . I blow out a deep breath and pull into the closest parking spot I can find. By the time I reach the entrance, I look like a drowned rat. I'm kicking myself now for not allowing my dad to come along to help. Although, the last thing I want is for anyone here to find out that I'm a phony.

Even though I've never met my mother's family, I decided to register under their last name because they're fucking rich as hell. But they cut ties with my mom the second she got pregnant with me, so we never saw a penny of it. In Wickford Hollow, I'm just the Sheriff's daughter. But I can't be that here. They'll ask too many questions. Tenebrose Academy is the most expensive school in the country. And I don't want to have to explain how my dead best friend is footing the bill. Hence why I'm lugging all my shit through the rain by myself—so no one will find out that I don't belong here.

The main floor of the dormitory is cozier than I expect. On the farthest side of the room, there's a massive stone fireplace surrounded by brown leather couches. A few students gather around it, completely oblivious to my presence. A knot forms in my stomach. Everyone here seems to know each other already…

"Need a hand?" a tiny voice squeaks out.

I jump. "Jesus, where the fuck did you come from?"

The pretty but weird as fuck blonde girl from earlier smooths her hands over the purple and black lace of my largest suitcase. It's almost as big as her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you. Professor Erebus always says I'm too light-footed for my own good."

As I look closer at her, I notice her eyes are bright blue like a neon sign. But their intensity is masked by the dark circles under them. She looks like she hasn't slept in days. Her skin is pale with just a slight tinge of pink dotting her cheekbones.

" Professor Erebus? I thought that asshole was a student."

She purses her lips. "Valentin is a student. Julian, um Professor Erebus I mean, is his uncle."

I slump down onto my middle-sized suitcase, using it as a makeshift chair, and whip out my class schedule. "Awesome. I have his Gothic Lit class first period and his nephew already hates me."

She studies my face, looking at me as if I'm the most interesting thing she's ever seen. "I think you can handle him."

I snort. "You don't know me."

Her eyes widen, and she shoves her hand toward me. "How rude of me. I'm Jessamine. But you can call me Jess."

I hesitate for a second before taking her hand and shaking it. "So proper, aren't you? I'm Maureen… Blackwell."

Jessamine's eyes widen again. "Oh, you're from Ever Graves?"

Fuck. I have to remind myself that I'm using a name that really doesn't belong to me. "Um, no not exactly. My mother is from there originally. But I grew up in Wickford Hollow."

She nods. "Well, it's lovely to meet you, Maureen." She grabs my key. "Follow me, I'll show you where your room is. We'll have to take the elevator. Looks like they put you on the top floor. You must be special."

I cock my head to the side. "Not sure what that means but if you say so." Fuck, I thought Wickford Hollow was strange. If I'm so special then maybe I'd have a room that wasn't the farthest away from the front door. Guess I won't be snoozing my alarm on Monday morning if it's going to take me twenty minutes just to get down here.

After helping me load all my crap into the elevator, Jessamine and I squeeze in, and she hits the button for the seventh floor. "The ravens keep watch on the roof. Don't feed them, though. Or they'll always expect it."

Is this chick for real? "Noted. Don't feed the birds." What in the actual fuck did I just sign up for?

"Don't call them that," she hisses. "They'll hear you… The ravens are so much more than just birds."

I'm starting to wonder if this girl even goes to school here. I might have just gotten into an enclosed space with a tiny deranged serial killer. My eyes dart to one of my smaller bags, remembering the knife Bailey tucked into it. "My bad," I mumbled.

Jessamine unclenches her jaw and smiles. "It's okay. You're new here. But you'll be one of us soon."

I nod, unsure of what else to say that won't elicit more of this bizarre rambling.

The doors open, revealing a lavish space, and my jaw drops. How can this be my room? I step inside to find myself in a small apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows, a sunken living room, and a small kitchen. I spin around in circles, taking it all in. "This must be a mistake. Are all the rooms like this?" I find it hard to believe that every dorm room has its own private elevator entrance.

Jessamine giggles. "No, silly. Only families of Ever Graves get these. Like I said, you're special."

My heart is literally pounding. Fuck. I don't belong here. How long before the school realizes that the Blackwells cut my mom off twenty-five years ago? I should have just registered under Maureen Gray. I came here to blend in with the crowd, not be the center of it. This room is anything but subtle.

I walk to the window and draw back one of the black velvet curtains. Peering down at the headlights below, a wave of nausea takes hold of me. I shake my head, my palms sweating. "I'll talk to them about this tomorrow. I can't stay in this room."

"Not up to your standards, Blackwell?" a girl's voice calls from behind followed by the sound of heels clicking across the marble floor.

I turn around to see a tall blonde girl with thick pouty lips and eyes the color of sea glass. Her slinky black dress hugs her curves like a lover's embrace, making me suddenly feel like I'm dressed in rags. "Who the fuck are you and where's Jessamine?"

She scrunches her eyebrows together. " Jessa-who? "

I sigh. "The tiny fairy-looking girl who was helping me bring my stuff up? She was just here."

She looks even more confused than I feel. "No idea what you're talking about. I hope you aren't always like this. Blackwell or not, I refuse to live with a weirdo."

My stomach drops. " Oh . You're my roommate… Sorry. I'm Maureen."

She snickers while looking at me up and down. "Yeah, I know. My name's Libra. Libra Thorn. And I can't wait to see the look on Riot's face when he finds out you're here."

I'm seriously starting to think someone slipped acid into my coffee this morning because this is all unreal. Like maybe I'm just having a bad trip in my basement back in Wickford Hollow. "I'm sorry, but you must think I'm someone else. I don't know anyone named Riot."

Libra shrugs. "Doesn't matter. Our names define us here at Tenebrose. You're a Blackwell. I'm a Thorn. How else do you think we got a whole floor all to ourselves?"

While a part of me wants to be excited, this whole thing feels wrong. Not to mention my other little blonde friend who keeps appearing and disappearing without warning. "Yeah, again, I think there's been a mix-up. I'll figure it out in the morning."

"Classes don't start till Monday," Libra hisses. "Now, go clean up. We have a party to get to. For fuck's sake, you look like you fell into the ocean."

The nerve of this bitch. Who talks like that to someone they've known for five minutes? But I'm not na?ve to the fact that Libra Thorn is a spoiled rich girl. I can tell she's used to getting what she wants and she's not afraid to push people around to get it.

I look back toward the elevator, suddenly preferring the weirdness of Jessamine over this bitchy beauty queen. "Look, I've been driving all day and just dragged all my shit through a thunderstorm. Not really in the mood to party."

I actually can't believe those words came out of my mouth. I was the fucking party in Wickford Hollow. But something about this place makes me want to curl up under the covers and cry myself to sleep.

Libra stalks over and glares down at me. "Listen, we don't have to be besties, but you will attend the parties. I've spent my entire life curating my image and part of that is having my own floor with a roommate who is equal in stature. Everyone expects us to be there tonight. If I go alone, the families will look weak. And if that happens, I will make your life a living hell."

Yep, should have just registered as Maureen Gray and told everyone I'm on financial aid or something. Fuck me. I tilt my chin up. "Fine. But threaten me again, and I'll stab you in your sleep."

Libra grins. "That's more like it. See, I knew you were a Blackwell."

I don't know who the fuck I'm supposed to be now. But the vibe in the air tells me I'm going to have to decide real soon.