Alex shakes his head at him.
"Told you," Christian says. "Fucking dog."
With my own blunt between my thumb and forefinger, I push from the hard ground we're sitting on and gesture toward the trees. "Going for a piss."
I stumble over some roots as I melt into the darkness, walking for longer than necessary. But the promise of a few minutes of peace is too much to deny. I want to party. I want to enjoy myself, but I'm not sure the majority of the people who are here are the people I want to do it with.
They all want to be them. They want the chance to be invited into Kingsley’s inner circle, whereas I'm more than happy staying in the shadows and doing what I need to do until I can finally make my own decisions and embark on my own life, as far away from Sterling Bay and Gravestone as I can get.
When I'm finally alone, I take a piss against a tree before taking another hit and continuing forward when something catches my eye. Walking out from the shadows, I find I'm at the other side of the lake. I must have walked farther than I expected.
Movement at the water's edge startles me. Looking up, my breath catches when I find a girl sitting with water lapping at her feet. "Shit, I'm sorry. I was just…" I trail off, instantly forgetting my words when she turns her huge, dark eyes to me.
"It's okay," she says softly. So softly, in fact, I have to get closer just to hear her properly over the rustling of the trees behind us. "I just needed—"
"Some peace."
"Yeah. It can get a bit overwhelming. You want to…" she gestures to the ground beside her, and before I know what I'm doing, I lower myself down.
"You're in my economics class, right?" I ask her, recognizing her as the quiet girl who tries to hide at the back.
"Uh… yeah."
"Why do you sound so shocked that I would have noticed you?" The words spill out.
"Habit, I guess. I often get overlooked."
"I really doubt that…" I don’t only recognize her from class, I recognize her from high school.
"Mia.” She smiles, and I swear it’s like being hit with lightning. “Mia Thompson."
I want to say I remember her name, but I don’t. But I didn’t exactly embrace senior year at a new school.
"Well, Mia. Mia Thompson.” A smirk plays on my lips. “I'm Bexley. Bexley Danforth."
I hold my hand out to her, and I feel like an idiot for the move—that is, until she throws her head back and laughs. Then, everything I’ve been holding inside me for months—hell, for years—seems to settle. If only for a few seconds.
2
Mia
He has nice eyes.
That’s the first thing I notice about the guy who sits beside me at the edge of the lake. I vaguely recognize him from the couple of classes we’ve shared. Not that I’ve really been checked into life since the semester started.
I came to Gravestone U thinking it would be my ticket to freedom, to break free from this town. But my life is no longer my own.
I’m Cade Kingsley’s prosapia.
I belong to him now, and come Monday, he and the Electi will start to sow the seeds that will mark the end of my freedom.
If I survive until then.
Brook Moore has already made it more than obvious I’m the enemy. Like everyone else at the Eligere two weeks ago, she is sworn to silence. No one talks of what happens at the ceremony outside of the verus bloodline. But it hasn’t stopped her letting me know how much she hates me.
It’s one of the reasons I fled to the lake. At least down here I’m not forced to endure her death stares or cruel barbs.
I snatch up the bottle of vodka I swiped off the counter before I left Cade’s house and take a long pull.
“Whoa there,” Bexley says. “Things must be bad if you’re necking neat vodka.”
“It was the first thing I grabbed.”
It burns, but I swallow the urge to shudder.
“Want to talk about it?”
“I…” I let out a resigned sigh. “I really hate this place.”
“Kingsley’s house? Seems pretty sweet to me.” He glances around.
“Not the house… Gravestone.”
“Want to know a secret?” He nudges my shoulder. “I’m not a big fan either.”
“You moved here last year?” I can remember him starting Gravestone High last winter. We were in the same class, but he kept himself to himself, and I didn’t exactly put myself out there. “God, I miss high school,” I blurt out.
“You do? Because it kind of sucked ass for me.”
My eyes slide to Bexley’s, and his crinkle with amusement. “At least in high school all this is a distant dream.”
“All this?”
“Yeah… the big life decisions, responsibilities, the pressure… If I’d known what I know now…” I exhale a steady breath. “I would have done a lot of things differently.”
“Oh yeah?” He plays along, but I can tell from his cloudy eyes that he doesn’t really understand.
There’s a big commotion from somewhere behind us, and I freeze.
“You okay?”
“I just don’t want anyone to come down here.” Especially not Cade.
He’s given me my space until now, but I know come Monday that will all change.
Dread fills my chest, and I take another large gulp of vodka. “You want?” I thrust the bottle at Bexley.
It’s a bad idea, sitting out here, getting drunk at the water’s edge, but there’s something thrilling about it too. Like I’m breaking all the rules as a giant F-you to Quinctus and their stupid traditions.
If only Mom could see me now.
The thought makes me smile.
Bexley notices, frowning. “What?”
“Just thinking… my mom would really hate the idea of me being out here alone.”
“I’ve got to admit, you’re making me a little nervous, so close to the water’s edge.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re swaying,” he points out.
I want to argue, but he’s right. My body sways gently side to side as my feet swirl in the tepid water.
The noise from the party cuts through the silence again, and this time, a
