Chapter 1
Violet
Seven seconds.
What happened to you, Cal?
Who did this to you?
“So, um… I don’t really know any other facts about the clock tower.” Allegra, the tall strawberry-blonde sorority girl who’d been tasked with giving me a campus tour piped up beside me. “So if you’d like to move on…”
I blinked, snapping out of my dark reverie to focus on her foxlike face. “Sorry,” I said, forcing a small smile. “Guess I kind of zoned out there for a second.”
She glanced down at the clipboard in her manicured hands, brows furrowing. “Next up is the Chapel of Saints,” she said, jabbing a thumb eastward. “It’s pretty creepy, but they make us show everyone anyway.”
Fog started to gather in the air as we trudged down a cobblestone path.
It smelled faintly of sea salt and wet stone, and the weak sunlight bleeding through the clouds gave everything a soft, silvered glow that made the university campus feel like it was balanced somewhere between the living and the dead.
The shape of the Chapel of Saints finally emerged through the fog; an austere gothic structure with spindly spires and arched windows lining its facade. At its highest point, a blackened iron cross tilted slightly.
“This chapel is actually the oldest building on campus,” Allegra said as we climbed the steps. “It was built in 1723, before the university even existed. The ossuary underneath came later.”
“What was the ossuary for?” I asked, lifting a brow.
She stopped at the heavy oak doors, which were carved with intricate designs: angels, hourglasses, and vines winding through skulls.
“They added it after a diphtheria epidemic started in 1734, because after a while, there wasn’t enough room in the cemeteries,” she replied.
“So they brought the bones here. Thousands of them. Something about sanctifying their deaths, I think?”
“Oh, right.”
“When the university was built, they used it as a crypt for the founders once they died. Important professors and donors, too.” Allegra wrinkled her nose.
“Apparently it’s a huge honor to be laid to rest down there, but I personally couldn’t think of anything worse.
Oh, and just wait until you see the chandelier… ”
She pushed the door open just enough for me to see inside.
Light poured through the stained-glass windows in fractured blues and reds, spilling over rows of pews and stone statues.
A chandelier made from bones hung in the center of the vaulted ceiling.
Skulls formed its base, ribs arched like wings, and vertebrae spiraled outward into candleholders.
It was delicate, intricate… and downright horrifying.
“Tourists love it,” Allegra said, rolling her eyes. “It’s one of the university’s most-visited sites. There are even night tours in October.”
A shiver ghosted down my spine. “I can see why.”
“We don’t actually need to go inside,” Allegra said, letting go of the doorhandle. “If you want to check out the ossuary later, it’s down the stairs at the back of the chapel.”
Just before the door creaked shut behind us, I thought I heard something from below; a faint, rhythmic sound, like the echo of footsteps on stone. But when I glanced at Allegra, she was already chatting again, oblivious.
“So we did the admin building, the dining hall, the library, all the historical sites, and all the major lecture theaters. What have I missed?” she asked, mostly talking to herself. “Oh, I know! The medical center. It’s all the way over on the west side. I really should’ve taken you there first.”
She quickened her pace, and I followed, wrapping my coat tighter around myself as the chill deepened. A moment later, she gave me a sidewards glance, brows rising. “Where did you say you transferred from again?”
“Ravenswood University. It’s in California.”
“Oh, that’s right. Long way to travel.”
“Yeah, it took me a whole week to drive here,” I replied. “Counting rest breaks, that is. But I wanted to keep my car, and it was an amazing road trip, so it was worth it.”
Allegra’s nose wrinkled again, ever-so-slightly, and she waved a hand around us. “Why would you trade in all that sun for this?”
I took a deep breath before I answered. I had to get used to answering this question without telling the morbid truth.
“Well, the weather isn’t always perfect in California,” I said. “Besides, I actually love gray skies and all those spooky season kind of vibes. Also, BHU’s a great school.”
“That’s true. Did you see we beat out half the Ivies in the rankings last year?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“But… Ravenswood did really well too. Just as well as BHU, from what I recall,” she said, giving me another curious sidewards glance. “So I guess you really did transfer for the vibes, huh?”
I forced another smile. “Yup.”
She tugged her scarf tighter around her throat and nodded toward a nearby path winding past a garden.
“There’s a pretty cool statue over there.
Saint Dionysius. Or, you know, Dionysus, depending on who you ask.
The university insists it’s the saint, but…
” She shrugged and gave me a lopsided smile.
“The wine cup in his hand says otherwise.”
Her voice faded as my attention drifted past the statue she was pointing to.
Three men stood near its base, their breath visible in the cold air as they talked.
One of them—taller than the others, with tousled dark hair and the kind of self-assured stillness that instantly drew my attention—had his hands tucked into the pockets of a black coat.
I could see a tattoo curling out from beneath his collar, black ink against tan skin.
As if sensing my gaze, he turned, eyes locking on me. His face was breathtakingly handsome with stormy gray-blue eyes and a jaw that could probably cut glass.
His stare was steady, unblinking, like he was cataloguing me. Stripping me down. Then a slow, crooked smile ghosted across his mouth, and his head tilted ever-so-slightly, angling more toward me.
Even though he was easily one of the hottest guys I’d ever seen, something about his fierce gaze was unnerving. It didn’t feel like attraction. It felt more like a warning. Like a predator watching something small and unaware wander too close to it.
I swallowed hard and tore my eyes away, pretending to be deeply interested in whatever Allegra was saying about the history of the statue. My pulse wouldn’t stop hammering against my throat.
“Oh, another thing I forgot to mention earlier,” Allegra went on, pointing to the opposite side of the path. “If you head that way, you’ll end up on Sorority Row. All of the major houses are along there, including mine. Delta Theta Sigma.”
“Oh, cool.”
“That’s actually why I do so many of these campus tours for newbies. It’s part of our community service requirement,” she went on. She paused, head tilting. “Are you planning on rushing any of the sororities?”
“I don’t think so,” I said with a polite smile. Considering what I’d really come to BHU to do, joining a sorority wasn’t exactly at the top of my list. “It sounds fun, but I don’t think I’ll have time.”
Allegra arched a brow. “If you’re holding out hope for an invitation from the Dionysus Club, don’t bother. They only recruit men.”
I frowned. “What’s the Dionysus Club? A fraternity?”
She glanced at me for a beat, brows knitted like she was unsure if I was serious or not. “Kind of, but not really,” she finally said, shrugging. “It’s a secret society. You know, like Skull and Bones at Yale?”
My brows rose. My sister had never mentioned anything about secret societies at BHU. Then again, maybe she hadn’t known about them, given the whole ‘secret’ part of their deal.
“I’ve never heard of it before,” I said, head shaking. “I mean, I’ve heard of Skull and Bones. But not the Dionysus Club.”
“Well, us normies don’t know a ton about them, for obvious reasons, but we do know that it’s men-only.” Allegra rolled her eyes. “Totally sexist, right? But I guess they have their reasons, with the Selection and all.”
Allegra didn’t elaborate on whatever the Selection was, so I could only assume that it was something related to the club’s recruitment strategy.
Half an hour later, the tour was complete. “Do you need help getting back to your dorm?” Allegra asked, pointedly looking at her watch. “Or are you good with that?”
I gave her a small smile. “I think I can find my way back. Thanks again for the tour.”
Unfortunately, I was wrong about finding my own way back. Only five minutes after Allegra hurried away from me, I found myself lost in the heart of BHU, surrounded by unfamiliar buildings. This place was too damn big.
With a sigh, I pulled out my phone to check the map I’d saved earlier, and then I took off down a covered walkway lined by fluted columns. This seemed like the right way. Probably.
As I walked, the wind whistled through the open archways, scattering dead leaves across the stone-tiled floor. Halfway down, I froze. Loud male voices were echoing from somewhere up ahead, and judging by the tone, it sounded like an argument was taking place.
I slowed my pace, trying to pinpoint exactly where the men were standing. It sounded like they were just beyond the end of the walkway, on the right. Close enough that if I kept walking, I’d have to pass right by them.
Awkward.
I hated walking by people who were in the middle of some sort of conflict, so I decided I’d wait for them to be done before I continued on my way. I lingered a few steps back in the shadows between the columns, pretending to check my phone again.
“Just stay the hell away from him, okay?” the first voice said, practically spitting out the words.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the second guy replied. He didn’t really sound angry. Just bored. But still, something about his deep voice made my skin prickle. “I’m not a Dionysus member, and I don’t know your brother.”