“But people go there, right?” I asked, remembering the narrow dock I spied through the binoculars, along with the strange lights.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh. I saw an old dock, so I figured someone was using it.”
“Hm.” Trina twisted her lips. “I guess the swimming or rowing clubs might’ve gone there sometimes, way back in the day, but I’ve never seen anyone head out there before. Not as long as I’ve been at RFA.”
“Huh, okay,” I said, nodding slowly. I wondered what I saw that night in the observatory. Maybe the lights were just a weird reflection from the stars, or some sort of optical illusion.
I spotted the English class guy making eyes at Trina again, and a small smile curved up my lips. “He’s looking at you again,” I said. “Go over to him.”
“I can’t leave you alone.”
“I’m fine. I need to pee anyway.”
She bit her lip. “You sure you don’t want me to go with you?”
“I’ll be fine. Where’s the nearest bathroom, anyway?”
“You’ll have to go in the woods,” she said, nodding toward the trees.
“What?”
She grinned. “I’m kidding. Just walk down to the boathouse.”
My face fell with relief. “Right. Duh.”
I watched her go over to her crush, and then I headed east along the shore, making the lengthy trek toward the boathouse. I didn’t really need to pee. I just wanted to splash my face with cold water to stop it from burning up at the constant thoughts of Hunter.
About ten minutes later, I arrived at the boathouse bathrooms. The doors were open, and the lights were on. Chris must’ve arranged for them to be available when he planned the party.
Shaking my head at the ludicrous thought of an eighteen-year-old negotiating with a headmaster over a party on school grounds, I stepped into the ladies’ bathroom and headed over to the first sink on the left.
“Hey, get the fuck out, Virgin!” someone shouted at me.
I whirled around to see a guy sitting in one of the toilet cubicles, pants around his ankles. A half-naked brunette girl was straddling him.
“He said get out, you perverted freak!” she screamed, hands rushing to cover herself.
I scoffed. “You’re fucking in a toilet, but sure, I’m the perverted one in this scenario,” I said, rolling my eyes.
Before the couple could respond with any other nasty insults, I turned and left.
I decided not to go back to the party right away. Adam and Trina were having fun with other people, and while I didn’t begrudge them that, I didn’t really want to hang out there alone when most of the other guests hated me.
Instead, I walked to the very end of the main dock and sat down, breathing in the cool, fresh air as I took in the beautiful nighttime view of the lake. Then I squinted toward Harker Island. Was it my imagination, or were there lights there again?
I grabbed my cell phone and opened the camera app. Then I used the zoom function to get a closer look at the island.
I was right. There were definitely lights flashing on the island, yellow and orange like the ones I saw on my first night here.
“What is that?” I murmured to myself, brows furrowing.
A wicked idea took root in my mind. I turned my head over my shoulder, eyes drifting toward the storage area back at the boathouse.
I shouldn’t… I couldn’t…
“Oh, fuck it. I’m doing it,” I muttered to myself.
I hurried back down the dock and let myself into the boathouse storage area with my student keycard. Then I grabbed a single scull and some oars.
I carried it all down to the water, and ten minutes later, I was powering my way across the lake. It was freezing-cold without my usual fleece jacket, but it was peaceful too. Nothing but the sound of the water splashing under the oars.
After another few minutes, my lungs started to burn, and I groaned and blew out a deep, regretful breath. This was a stupid idea. I was only halfway to the island, and I was already exhausted.
I should’ve known better.
I considered going back, but then I thought about the strange lights again. A burst of adrenaline flooded through me, and I sped up, setting my teeth in a determined grimace.
When I finally made it to the island shore, I dragged the boat up to a safe spot and left it there. Then I stepped onto a dim path leading through the densely-packed maple, birch and pine trees.
I could hear voices now. Music, too.
I kept going, clumsily stepping over mossy rocks and damp leaves. The path finally became easier to navigate as a faint orange glow illuminated it from somewhere up ahead. The farther I went, the brighter it got and the louder the voices and music became. Soon I knew I was right next to whatever was happening on this island.
I bit my lip, suddenly feeling more cautious, but my curiosity won out in the end. Swallowing hard, I stepped behind a tree and peeked out at a clearing in the middle of the grove.
My eyes immediately widened. “What the hell?”
10
Laney
I wasn’t exactly sure what I thought I’d see out here, but I did know this wasn’t it.
The circular clearing was surrounded by burning torches. They weren’t just flames on the ends of sticks, like basic tiki torches—they were in golden sconces set on top of tall, stout rods with carved golden serpents entwined around them.
I knew that symbol. The Rod of Asclepius. It was an ancient Greek one, usually associated with medicine and healing rituals. There wasn’t much medicine being practiced in this clearing, though… unless you counted pills and coke as necessary medication. Instead there was a party that screamed ‘hedonism in an enchanted forest’.
In the middle of the clearing stood a towering maypole covered in colorful flowers. Men in gold domino masks and black robes sat on stone seats along the perimeter, drinking, swallowing pills, and snorting white lines off trays, and women in flimsy see-through gowns over gold bras and thongs danced around to rhythmic music. They wore pink and white rose crowns on their heads, and the bare parts of their bodies were painted with silver and gold markings, making them look like woodland sprites.
They giggled and shrieked as they whirled around the clearing, and after a moment it became clear that they were celebrating one person in particular—another young woman in the center.
She was sitting on a huge golden throne in front of a stone altar near the maypole, and she was dressed the same way as the rest, minus the flower crown. She looked nervous, too, unlike the others.
One of the robed men on the edge finally stood, raising his palms upward to demand silence. Someone lowered the volume of the music, and the girls calmed down.
The man stepped forward and made his way to the center. He stopped by the maypole, pulled out an ancient-looking scroll and started reciting words from it. I couldn’t understand any of them. They were either too faint and distorted by the breeze for me to make out from my vantage point behind the trees, or he was speaking a different language.
A cheer suddenly went up from the main group, and the man raised a flower crown over the nervous girl and set it atop her head. Four of the other girls surged forward and playfully dragged her to her feet, cheering and laughing. At the same time, the music turned loud again, and all of the men stood up.
“It’s time to take what you deserve!” I distinctly heard one of the girls shout to the newly-crowned one. She offered her a drink from a golden chalice sitting on the altar, and the new girl gulped it down in one mouthful.
“Pick! Pick! Pick!” the other girls screeched at her.
They danced around her, spinning and flailing as the delicate fabric of their dresses billowed out around them. Despite the frigid night air, they all looked hot and sweaty, faces glowing with excitement under the orange torchlight.
Two of the young women spun closer to my hiding spot, and I stifled a gasp as I realized I knew them. They were par
t of the group at RFA that Trina referred to as the Supermodel Club—the beautiful, popular girls who considered themselves too good for any of the guys at school.
I’d actually noticed earlier that none of them were at the Friday the 13th party back on the RFA lakeshore. Now I knew why. They were all here instead, throwing their own weirdly-themed rager with these strange men.
I stood frozen in a mix of fascination and fear, wondering if they’d spotted me and recognized me the same way I recognized them. I hoped not. It seemed clear that I wasn’t supposed to be witnessing any of this, because the group had obviously come all the way out to the island for one main reason. Privacy. Like Trina said earlier, no one really came here anymore, so it was the perfect spot to throw a secret event.
The girls whirled onward without a glance in my direction, and I shrank back with a tiny sigh of relief. Then I got low to the ground, lying flat on my belly so there was no way anyone could see me unless they were actively searching for me.
I couldn’t see the activity in the clearing very well from this position, so I pulled my phone out and opened the camera app. When I activated the zoom option to its full extent, I could see exactly what was happening via my phone screen.
“Pick! Pick! Pick!” the girls kept shouting in the clearing.
The newly-crowned girl tentatively stepped over to one of the men and jabbed a finger in his direction. “Him,” I heard her call out.
I drew in a sharp breath, wondering what they were going to do to him. After all the horror movies I’d seen in my life, I half-expected this to turn out to be some sort of witch coven engaging in a ritualistic sacrifice of the chosen man.
Instead, they pulled the man over to the huge throne near the maypole and made him sit down. Two of the girls tied his wrists to the arms with crimson and gold ropes, and then they moved their hands to his clothes, frantically pulling his robe aside before unbuttoning his shirt and unbuckling his belt and pants.
“Do it, do it, do it!” they shouted at the new girl, laughing uproariously. “Take whatever you want!”
I trained my camera on her as she stepped over to the man. She slipped her gold thong off and tossed it back into the crowd. Then she smiled and took another step toward him.
He smiled back at her as she drew closer, and then he bit his lip and let out a groan as she lifted her gown and lowered herself onto his lap, straddling him. She started moving up and down, swiveling her hips at the same time.
A memory suddenly flashed in my mind—the party I worked at a few months ago in the Connery mansion, where I found a secret room upstairs. When I crept in there, I came across a wild affair just like this one, with all the debauchery, flower crowns, and golden serpent symbols. There was no way that could be a coincidence. They had to be part of the same group.
I put my phone away, pulse pounding in my veins.
I needed to get out of here. This party wasn’t mine to see, and if I ended up getting caught, there was no telling what they might do to me. Probably nothing—it was just an event where everyone seemed to be over the age of eighteen, consenting, and having fun, after all—but I couldn’t risk it. Not when I didn’t know for sure.
The erotic sounds of the couple on the throne faded away along with the music and raucous cheering as I slipped away and stumbled back down the path.
I headed to the shore as fast as I could, using only the moonlight to guide me. Then I grabbed my boat and oars from their spot, dragged them down to the gently-lapping water, and pushed myself out onto the lake.
My phone vibrated in my pocket halfway across the shimmering expanse. I stopped rowing and pulled it out, happy for the chance to take a quick break.
The message was from Trina. Where are you? You’ve been gone for ages.
I bit my bottom lip, trying to figure out a good response. I had no idea why, but something was telling me to keep what I saw on the island to myself. Unfortunately, that would be difficult if I went back to the party drenched in sweat from rowing, along with all the lake water that had splashed up onto me. Trina and Adam would want to know why I was in such a state, and I knew I’d end up blurting everything out.
Sorry, not feeling great, I ended up saying. Stuck in bathroom. Might just go back to my dorm when I’m done.
She replied right away. That sucks :( Think it’s food poisoning? What did you eat for dinner?
Just stuff from the cafeteria. Guess it didn’t agree with me, I said. Sorry to ditch. I feel bad.
Trina: It’s fine! You still came and had fun for a while! Also no one really bothered you, so that’s cool! Except Jess F, but she can suck it, haha. Anyway, do you want me or Adam to meet up with you and walk you back to your room?
Me: Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine. You guys stay and have fun! Keep talking to your guys… ;)
Trina: Ok. Let me know when you get home safe plz. Love ya xoxo
I felt bad for lying to her, but the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t want to involve her or Adam in what I’d seen tonight.
I still couldn’t figure out why, though. There was just a strange, dark feeling in the back of my mind; one that whispered insidiously, telling me I’d be in trouble if I ever breathed a word of what I saw to anyone, and that my friends would be in trouble too if they ever found out.
By the time I made it back to the RFA boathouse, my legs and arms felt like they were about to fall off. I had to sit and rest on a bench for ten minutes before I could even begin to make the trek to Blair Hall.
When I finally got back, I took a steaming-hot shower, crouching on the tiled floor because I was too tired to stand, and then I quickly texted Trina, put my pajamas on, and fell into bed. My body felt weak and boneless from overexertion, and my eyes were already scrunched shut before my head hit the pillow. I figured I was probably going to sleep for at least twelve straight hours.
Instead, I woke with a scream in my throat sometime in the middle of the night.
I’d been having a dream where I was back at that strange party on the island, only this time someone saw me behind the tree and pointed me out to the rest of them. The whole group suddenly sprouted stone wings, faces twisting into hideous, monstrous expressions, and I realized they were all giant gargoyles. They flew at me, shrieking and clawing at the air, and I ran blindly into the woods, only to encounter Hunter and the rest of the Princes in a dark clearing.
You shouldn’t have come here, Hunter said, eyes gleaming wickedly in the darkness.
You don’t belong here. You don’t belong here. You don’t belong here! the Princes chanted behind him. Even Chris was there.
I turned to run away from them and came face-to-face with the gargoyle monsters. I was trapped. The ground suddenly gave way, a cavernous sinkhole opening directly beneath my feet, and then I was falling, flailing, screaming…
That was the moment I woke up.
“Shit,” I muttered to myself, breathing heavily as consciousness slowly filtered back in. “What a crazy dream.”
My voice had barely faded when I heard something else in the room. Not another voice. Movement. Just the faintest of footsteps and the slightest rustle of fabric.
My eyes bulged wide open, and I clutched my blanket in white-knuckled terror and slowly sat up, heart pounding.
There was a man standing at the end of my bed.
11
Laney
Please be another dream, I silently begged the universe. But I already knew it wasn’t.
My eyes had adjusted to the darkness now, and I could see exactly what the man was wearing. Black hoodie, black pants, and a hockey mask. He was around six-feet-two, maybe even a little taller, and I could tell he was powerfully-built beneath the baggy clothes.
An inky chill trickled through me, sinking cold and deep in my guts. Even though the man must’ve seen me stir and sit up, he hadn’t moved at all. He was just standing there, staring down at me.
“Who are you?” I managed to choke out.
No respons
e.
“Please,” I whispered, holding my trembling arms in front of my chest in a defensive stance. “Just… just get out. I won’t tell anyone.”
He let out a low, humorless chuckle and tipped his head to one side. “We both know that’s not true,” he muttered. His deep voice was muffled by the mask, so I couldn’t tell who it was, or if I even knew him.
“What do you want?” I asked. My whole body was shaking now, and I could taste bitter adrenaline in my mouth.
For a moment, the man was silent again. Watching. Waiting. Then he lunged forward and jumped onto the end of the bed.
I screamed and dodged sideways as he moved up to me, but I wasn’t fast enough to get away. He put one hand over my mouth to silence my cries, using the other to roughly pin me to the mattress.
I kicked and clawed, trying to get him off me, but he was too strong. He let out a throaty, sadistic chuckle at my efforts and moved the hand on my face farther up until it covered both my mouth and nose.
I started thrashing even harder, desperate for air.
My attacker laughed again and moved his hand away from my nose. Then he lowered his masked head to my right ear. “Look how easily I could kill you,” he whispered.
I tried to beg and plead for mercy, but my voice was still muffled by his hand.
“You know you deserve it, right?” he went on. I moaned into his hand, furiously shaking my head. I didn’t deserve any of this.
Another rush of adrenaline flooded through me, lending me extra strength, and I managed to knee my attacker in the stomach before rolling out from under him. I fell onto the floor with a painful thump, but I refused to let myself take even one second to recover from the blow. I couldn’t risk it.
I got right up, grabbed my keycard from my nightstand and ran into my bathroom.
I slammed the door shut behind me and locked it. Then I turned the light on and whipped my head around in search for something I could use as a weapon in case my attacker managed to break the door down.
Savage Prince: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Royal Falls Elite Book 1) Page 14
