Chapter 10
Fuck, fuck, fuck. That was close. I could feel Cole's eyes burning into my back as I rushed away from him and back into the ballroom.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I pushed through the crowd, the sounds of laughter and music feeling distant and muffled as blood pounded in my ears.
Cole hadn't seen Damien, thank God, but the way his eyes had narrowed told me he suspected something.
The last thing I needed was for him to start digging deeper into what I'd been doing.
Or for any of them to find out that I was still in contact with Damien.
It had been stupid to meet him, especially in such a public place, but Megan had slipped over and told me that Damien was waiting in the halls and needed to speak to me.
Logan and Cole had seemed busy with some older guy, although they didn't look pleased about it, and soon after Ryder stopped following me around enough to go talk to them.
I'd used that opportunity to slip away, telling Luce I was going to the bathroom.
She had been too pissed off by Max trying to be a good escort, even if it was to save his skin from Ryder's many threats.
I had quickly found Damien in the hallway and he had pulled me further away from the ballroom, almost roughly so. He had seemed off somehow, almost erratic, and his words echoed in my mind, sharp with frustration.
"I need evidence, Cade. Something concrete from inside Covenant House.
Without it, I can't help you break the contract.
" I'd tried to explain that the guys barely let me breathe without supervision, that getting access to anything meaningful was impossible.
I even told him about the loophole in the contract that the guys had found.
But Damien had grown cold, distant, like my inability to deliver made me useless to him.
The doubt in his eyes had stung more than I cared to admit.
"Maybe you are getting a little too comfortable with them," he sneered, "and you don't want saving from them anymore.
Maybe she was right about you all along.
" I was about to ask who the fuck he was talking about when we had heard footsteps and I had to rush around the corner so that Cole didn't see Damien.
It really felt like things were starting to get complicated, as if they weren't already. Between Damien's demands and obvious disappointment and the guys trying to get me to cave, I was beginning to feel in way over my head.
"Should have left while you had the chance," I muttered under my breath, pushing past a group of masked partygoers. The irony wasn't lost on me, those were the exact words from the threatening notes I'd been receiving.
I scanned the ballroom, my chest tightening when I spotted Ryder cutting through the crowd toward me, his blue eyes locked on mine even behind his mask. The intensity of his gaze made me feel like prey being stalked by a predator.
"Poison," he said as he moved in close to me and pulled me into his chest. "We've all been looking for you." His voice was low, almost a purr, but the possessive grip of his hands betrayed his concern. For fuck's sake, couldn't they just leave me alone for five minutes?
"Geez, Ryder, can't a girl go to the toilet without a search party," I spat back, hoping that my mood would make him back off, but all he did was laugh, the sound vibrating against my skin where he held me close.
"Come dance with me, beautiful," he whispered against my ear, his breath hot against my skin, sending an unwelcome shiver down my spine.
I tried to pull away from his arms but the harder I tried the tighter it felt like he was holding on.
The walls felt like they were closing in, the air thick with perfume and the cloying scent of too many bodies pressed together.
I needed space. I needed air. I needed to think without one of them breathing down my neck.
"Ryder, please," I pushed at him again and his face flashed to concern as I leant against the wall and tried to breathe. What the fuck, was I having a panic attack?
"Poison, what's wrong." All the flirtiness had drained from Ryder's face as he knelt down onto the balls of his feet in front of me.
"You look pale." His hands hovered near me, uncertain whether to touch me. I tried to wave him off, I needed to clear my head, but it just felt like I couldn't get a coherent thought.
"Air," I stuttered, my lungs feeling constricted in my chest, "I think I just need some air." I pushed away from the wall and Ryder was up quickly, with his hand out to steady me as I gained my balance.
"Of course. Do you want me to take you outside?" His voice was gentle now, genuine concern replacing his usual predatory tone. I shook my head quickly, stepping away from him.
"No, I can go on my own." I pivoted sharply, heading for the exit that led to the courtyard without waiting for a response.
The cool night air hit my face as I pushed through the doors, a blessed relief against my flushed skin, but even outside, I couldn't escape the suffocating weight of their control.
I needed to get away from it all so I could process my thoughts, but I doubted that the guys would allow that at all.
I could see Ryder watching me through the doors, and I was pretty certain that it wouldn't be long before the other two were with him.
I looked around for a quiet corner but students milled about everywhere, some laughing and joking with each other, others waiting in line for the haunted house that stretched across the far end of the courtyard.
The haunted house. Perfect. I was involved in the layout design of the place.
I knew every twist and turn, every dead end and hidden passage.
More importantly, I knew about the service door at the back that led behind the administration buildings.
If I could slip through unnoticed, I could probably make it back to the house and lock myself in my room before they realised I was gone.
My phone buzzed in my clutch. I glanced down at the screen to see Ryder's name flash with a message, and looked up to see him still watching me through the glass doors, phone in hand.
I couldn't deal with him right now, I needed to get away.
They'd figure out I was gone soon enough, but maybe I could buy myself an hour of peace.
An hour to think, to plan, to figure out how the hell I was going to get out of this nightmare.
I had started moving towards the entrance before I had even fully made my decision.
The line for the haunted house stretched nearly to the main building, students chattering excitedly about the elaborate decorations and special effects.
Part of me was proud that I had, in part, been responsible for their excitement.
I bypassed the queue entirely, heading straight for the entrance where Hannah and Harrison were checking tickets.
Hannah's lip curled the moment she saw me approaching, her eyes narrowing with unmistakable disdain behind her glittering mask.
"Excuse me, you need to wait in line like everyone else," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
"Yeah, I don't think I do," I said, not slowing my pace. "I'm not waiting in line."
"I don't care if you are the favourite right now, if I am stuck taking stupid tickets all night, you can wait in the line with all the other scratters," Hannah snapped, stepping into my path. "Rules are rules, scholarship girl." The condescension in her voice made my already frayed temper snap.
"If you had actually helped and showed up to meetings instead of spending your time being fucked against a wall between classes, then you might not have been on ticket duty." Hannah's face flushed crimson, and I noticed a strange look cross Harrison's face, and realised what I'd said.
"No offence intended, Regent," I said quickly to Harrison. He smiled quickly, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"None taken, darling," he said, his voice silky smooth.
"It's good to know if my brothers are making our Consort late for her duties.
I will be sure to have a word about proper etiquette in the future.
" He gave a pointed look to Hannah, who looked like she was going to be sick, and I felt like there was more to the exchange than I understood.
Harrison turned back to me and with a slight bow, waved me towards the Haunted House entrance.
"Please, Consort, enjoy your evening," he said with a bright smile. I returned the smile with a nod and stepped past the pair.
"I can't believe you did that," I heard Hannah whispering furiously to Harrison as I passed. "She's not even a legacy, she doesn't belong here."
"Don't be a snob, Hannah," Harrison replied, his voice carrying just enough for me to hear. "Cadence has earned her place, more than you, I might add." Hannah's face flushed with indignation, but I was already pushing past the entrance curtain into the darkened maze beyond.
The sounds of the party faded as I navigated the twisting corridors, my muscle memory guiding me through the elaborate setup we'd spent weeks constructing.
The air inside was cooler, scented with artificial fog and the metallic tang of fake blood.
Fake spider webs brushed against my arms like ghostly fingers, and automated jump scares triggered as I passed, a mechanical werewolf lunging from behind a false wall, a recorded scream echoing down a corridor, but I ignored them all.
My focus was singular: get to the back exit, slip out, and make it to the house before they realised I was gone.
My footsteps echoed on the plywood floor as I moved deeper into the maze, past groups of students who shrieked and laughed as animatronic monsters sprang to life.
The red emergency lights cast everything in a bloody glow, turning shadows into menacing shapes.
I turned left at the witch's cauldron, ducked through the fake cemetery, and finally reached the dead-end wall that wasn't actually a dead end.
The service door was exactly where I'd left it, hidden behind a false wall that looked like part of the maze's final scare.
I pushed it open carefully, wincing as the hinges creaked slightly.
The night air was sharp against my skin as I stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind me.
The back of the haunted house faced away from the main courtyard, giving me a clear path to the road that led up to Covenant House.
I gathered my cloak around me and started forward, my heels clicking softly against the pavement.
I'd made it maybe ten steps when a figure stepped out from the shadows.
"Excuse me," I said, trying to step around him.
The man was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a plain white mask that covered his entire face.
Probably just another student heading back from the party.
But he moved to block my path, his head tilting slightly as he studied me.
The empty eyeholes of his mask seemed to swallow all light, making it impossible to read his expression.
"Look, I'm trying to get past," I said, irritation creeping into my voice. "Can you move?" He didn't respond. Didn't move. Just stood there, silent and still as a statue. Unease prickled down my spine, raising goosebumps along my arms. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Seriously, just move," I repeated, louder this time, trying to mask my growing fear with bravado. That's when I saw the glint of metal in his hand. The blade caught the moonlight as he raised it, and my blood turned to ice.
"You should have listened to the notes," he hissed, his voice low and rough through the mask.
"You should have done what you were told.
" I stumbled backward as he lunged forward, my heart seizing in my chest. My heel caught in the hem of my cloak, sending me sprawling to the ground.
Pain shot through my palms as they scraped against the rough pavement, bits of gravel embedding themselves in my skin.
"Help!" I screamed, trying to scramble away, the rough concrete tearing at my knees through my stockings.
"Somebody help me!" But we were too far from the party, too isolated behind the haunted house with the music and excited screams from inside drowning out my cries.
There was no way anyone would hear me above all the excitement that was going on.
The guy wasn't even deterred and was on me in seconds, his weight pinning me to the ground.
I thrashed wildly, my nails clawing at his arms, my knee trying to find his groin, but he was too strong, too heavy.
The smell of sweat and something chemical filled my nostrils as he leant over me.
"Keep still, bitch," he growled, grabbing my wrists and pinning them above my head with one strong hand.
The knife gleamed in the moonlight as he raised it above his head with the other, the blade pointed directly at my throat.
My scream caught in my throat as I stared up at the weapon, time seeming to slow to a crawl.
The blade hovered there for a heartbeat, two, the metal reflecting the cold light of the moon, my own terrified face distorted in its surface.
There was no way that I could stop what was going to happen. This was how it would end, at the hands of some masked stranger in the dark. I screamed as the knife came down and screwed my eyes shut, waiting for my end, for the bite of metal against my throat, for darkness to claim me.