Chapter Nineteen

Maureen

I never should've left Wickford Hollow. Raven's Gate… Tenebrose… is fucking cursed. Every nerve in my body stands on edge as Riot, Atlas, and Valentin ride in silence. All of my deepest fears resurface as they steer me closer toward their depraved world. I may not survive tonight. So why do I feel more alive than I ever have?

Nocturnus House has an ethereal glow about it tonight. Muted light flickers through its iron-barred windows. It feels different. I feel different approaching it. I can still smell the hemlock in the air but breathing it in doesn't hurt my chest as badly as it did the last time. Maybe Atlas's micro-dosing is already working.

My stomach flips when I see the hooded figures lined up in the driveway. What the fuck? They're all wearing masks. I want to run. I didn't sign up for this level of insanity. But Riot drags me out of the car before I can even think about bolting.

"If you run, I'll hunt you down like the fucking predator I am. Maybe I should let you try. Nothing gets me harder than the chase." He has a crazed look in his eyes. A look that means he's either going to torture me to death or fuck me so hard I won't remember my own name. Moisture gathers in the crevices of my thighs despite how terrified I am. It's a sickness. This addiction to their brutality. I hate that I crave it. That I need it.

The interior also looks different without the crowd of drunken students and full staff serving them whatever they desire. Now it's just me and the guys and their seemingly mindless initiates. Chills sweep up my back as they guide me down a staircase that goes so far down below the house, I wonder if I'll ever breathe fresh air again. It's dark and damp and musty. The humidity clings to my skin like burnt honey.

When we finally get to the bottom, I find myself in a circular room with stone walls lined with iron sconces. There's what looks like an altar in the center, stained with blood and other substances I can't place.

My stomach knots, and I have to breathe deeply through my nose to keep from vomiting. Fuck. I'm in so much fucking trouble.

"Riot," my words echo through the hollow room, causing me to jump. I lower my voice to a whisper, "Please tell me what's going on."

He nods at two of his initiates and within seconds they grab my arms and pull me toward the altar.

Oh fuck. No .

Panic spreads in my chest as I try to swallow and almost choke. "Wait, what the fuck are you doing?" I cry out. "Let me go."

My heart races as I feel the cool metal shackles enclose around my wrists. I try to pull away but it's no use. I'm alone with all of them. And I'm at their mercy, even though they have none.

"Atlas, don't let him do this to me," I beg.

" We are doing this to you, Firecracker. No one here is going to save you." There's a more sinister tone to Atlas's voice. It matches the others', so now I know I'm completely screwed.

Once the initiates finish chaining my wrists to the altar, they do the same to my ankles, before getting back into formation with the others.

Riot stands over me and glares down. He licks his lips as his gaze travels over every inch of my body. "Time for penance, Firecracker."

I can't stop trembling as I glance around the room. The fact that I can't see their faces is unnerving. I feel like I'm about to hyperventilate. Fuck.

Riot slowly unbuttons my shirt and pulls it back. It's deliberate and agonizing. I feel my chest heave with each flick of his wrist. One of his initiates hands him a knife and he uses it to cut my bra off.

"Riot, stop. I'm sorry I insulted you earlier," I plead.

He doesn't respond while he drags the tip of the knife down my belly, careful not to break the skin. He cuts through my skirt and flings it to the cement floor. I'm shivering now despite the humidity. Am I going into shock?

He grunts as he slices through the fabric of my panties, tearing them to shreds. "I want you all to bear witness," he addresses the room, "to the claiming of Maureen Blackwell. She belongs to Atlas and Valentin and me . You may look but never touch. Her blood has cursed us. But that ends soon."

Oh, fuck. Is he really going to kill me?

Tears stream down my cheeks. "Riot… please ."

He strokes my cheek. "Shh. Relax." He leans down and whispers in my ear, "You're going to cum so fucking hard."

My traitorous clit spasms. "What are you going to do?"

"Feast on you in this sacred place. Your tears and cum will spill onto this altar. I'm going to have my pussy and eat it too."

I shudder as he pulls back the tender flesh, exposing me to the entire room. "If a single one of you initiates touch my pussy, I will kill you. If any one of you sees someone touch my pussy and you don't kill them, I will kill you after I kill them. Understood?"

A collective murmur of agreement breaks out in the room. What the actual fuck is happening to me?

Riot traces his thumb in circles around my clit, and I buck. "That's a good little slut. Open up. Show them how bad you want to cum for me."

I can't control it. Every touch from him sends my body into a state of ecstasy. I try to stifle a moan, but I choke, and it turns into a wail.

He leans over and licks the length of my entrance from taint to nub. "Mmm, taste that sweet cunt," he grits out while beckoning for Valentin and Atlas.

I'm unraveling, unafraid of them watching me now. In fact, it's starting to turn me on. I can't help it. The ache in my swollen nub festers as Valentin and Atlas take turns thrusting their tongues inside me. I rock toward it as much as my restraints will let me.

"Oh, fuck," I whisper as Valentin and Atlas's dive in together, their tongues entering me at the same time. They kiss each other passionately while they devour my pussy, their tongues crossing and twirling feverishly as they lap up my juices and each other's saliva.

Riot eyes me like a hungry wolf. "For the raven," he mutters. "The Blackwells may have cursed us but now we have one of theirs."

He grabs the knife and slices it into his own hand. He holds his open wound over my body and lets the blood splatter against my breasts. "This is my offering. My sacrifice. You are ours, Firecracker. Our light . And we are the darkness." He smears the blood on my chest. "In absentia lucis, tenebrae vincunt. In the absence of light, darkness prevails ."

Valentin takes the knife and does the same thing. "Mors tua, vita mea. Your death, my life ," he murmurs with my juices still dripping from his lips.

I'm covered in blood and about to cum just as Atlas follows suit by cutting his hand and holding his open wound over my chest. "Mors vincit omnia. Death always wins ."

A buzz thrums in the room like a pulse. The stone altar is suddenly hot against my flesh. I glance between them to see their eyes glowing. My core spasms like it's been jolted with electricity. Fuck. I grind my hips against the stone as something deeply carnal comes over me. What is happening?

The initiates begin to chant so loud my ears ring. Fuck. I want it to stop but the three of them are touching me again. Their fingers pinch my nipples and circle my nub. I close my eyes and surrender. I don't want to fight it. It feels too good.

An orgasm tears through me as the humming gets louder. I feel like my ears will explode at any moment. But I don't care. I open my mouth and scream as an onslaught of spasms grip my core. "Uhhh," I moan over and over again. I can't stop. Their hands move faster, pressing harder on every erogenous part of me. Everything is a blur. My back is raw from rubbing against the stone altar. I don't stop, though. I need to keep chasing this high. I can't get enough.

And right when I think I'm going to die, Riot kisses me hard on the lips. He kisses me like he cares. Like he wants me… like he needs me. I kiss him back and lose myself in his breath.

It's dark when I come to. I have no idea how long I've been asleep. I'm not in the altar room but in a bedroom, wrapped in soft sheets. My body aches. Every muscle hurts to move. But I roll over and see Riot's back. It's covered in markings. They're not like tattoos, but raised, scarred, symbols that almost look like they're alive.

By the way he breathes, I can tell he's awake. "Why did you bring me here?" I whisper in the dark.

"I told you last night. To show you what we are," he mutters.

I want to reach out and caress his back. But I don't because it's quiet and peaceful, and I don't want to disrupt it.

"No, I mean here. In your bed. Why did you bring me here ?" I ask.

The silence is so loud it's deafening. It goes on for what seems like an agonizing amount of time. Endless quiet as the tension between us begins to climb and then seemingly fizzles out.

He turns onto his back and glares at the ceiling. "You're mine. You sleep in my bed."

My heart flutters for a moment. His voice is soft and achingly beautiful. "I thought you said I belong to all three of you…"

He turns his head to look at me, and I almost cry when his blue eyes meet mine. "Yeah, but you were mine first. Before…"

"Before you knew I was a Blackwell," I say sadly.

He sighs and looks back to the ceiling. "I was raised to hate you."

I wait to see if he'll elaborate but when he doesn't I'm filled with grief. Remorse for a life that was thrust upon us without our say. "Yeah, well, I was raised in the dark. To not know anything about you or my own family. I know you think I'm lying, but it's the truth. I grew up in Wickford Hollow, the daughter of the town's alcoholic Sheriff and his cheating wife. My best friend is a ghost and after you zipped me up in the bathroom that night, I went upstairs and killed a man."

Riot rolls over to face me. "Why did you kill him?"

I pull the sheet up around my body as I shiver at the memory. "Because he and his friend tied us up and threatened to do horrible things to us. And they would have if we hadn't gotten away. Because they'd been taunting us since we were kids. Because they used to spike my drinks and make me suck their cocks. Because his friend killed my friend. An eye for an eye."

"A soul for a soul," Riot whispers back and a wave of chills trickles over me. Those had been Bailey's exact words.

I nod. "When I stuck the knife in his neck, I didn't feel shame or guilt… just relief."

"If those bastards weren't already dead, I'd kill them myself." Riot cups my face in his hands, and I want to melt. To drown in his icy blue eyes forever. "I don't want to hate you," he rasps. "Especially after that night…"

Butterflies swim in my belly. I remember seeing his eyes through the ski mask that night in the bathroom. I was drunk and sloppy and a hot fucking mess. But I remember how he looked at me. The same way he's looking at me now.

My lip trembles as I stifle a sob. "Why did you really kill those guys from the bathroom?"

He breathes in another deep breath and presses his forehead to mine. "Because they didn't deserve to touch you. They were bragging about spiking your drink. About fucking you like you were a piece of trash. You're so much more than that, Firecracker . And no one gets to hurt you but me."

I don't know how to respond to that. His words confuse me. I know he struggles with this lifelong vendetta of hating my family, but I can see he's torn between it and the way he feels for the version of me he met back in Wickford Hollow. So I don't say anything back. I just let him hold my face in his hands. We fall asleep like that I think.

And when I wake again, I'm back in my own bed, wondering if it was all a dream. Until I turn my head to see a black rose on my pillow attached to a note that reads: In absentia lucis, tenebrae vincunt.

"In the absence of light, darkness prevails…" I murmur, remembering their chant from last night in the altar room.

I shudder and burrow myself in the blankets, wishing I was still in Riot's arms.