The Ravens

by Danielle Paige

  “Mason, is everything okay?” She was quiet as she stared at him. Sometimes being quiet was more powerful than talking. Some people couldn’t bear silence, and Mason was one of them. He had to fill it like a candle had to fill the dark.

  Finally, he looked up and smiled at her. “Of course I’m okay. I’m with you.” He leaned over and gave her another light kiss, then shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry I’m being weird. I’m just jet-lagged and my head is still back in the waves.” He slipped his fingers through hers and pulled her close.

  She felt the rush of comfort that his touch always gave her. She closed her eyes for a second and tried to believe what he said about jet lag. She had felt pretty drained after some of the long days at her mom’s firm. She knew better than anyone about parental expectation. He just needed to get acclimated to Westerly again. And after they spent some time together, he would be back to himself. He had to be.

  “I did miss you, Scar,” he said. “Can you get out of here so we can make up for lost time?”

  For a moment, all Scarlett wanted was to follow him out the door to PiKa House. But then she remembered the timing and cursed under her breath. “Mason, I can’t. Rush is tonight,” she reminded him.

  “I know, but it looks like everything is under control.” He ran a finger down her arm. “So you leave for an hour, what’s the big deal?”

  She put a palm on his chest. “It is a big deal. I can’t just abandon my sisters right before rush. How would that look?”

  He frowned. “Who cares how it looks? We haven’t seen each other in months—”

  “And whose choice was that?” Scarlett said.

  “You could have come, you know,” Mason pointed out. “It would have been so fun. Two months together, no plans, no one to be accountable to except each other . . .”

  “Well, unlike you, I didn’t want to disappoint my family,” Scarlett said, suddenly feeling exasperated. “I’m just not the kind of person who can pack up and leave my life for two months at a moment’s notice.” And I thought you were the same way, she felt like adding.

  A line appeared between Mason’s eyebrows and once again Scarlett couldn’t help but worry that something was wrong. This wasn’t exactly the homecoming she’d pictured. A few seconds ago she had felt close to him again and then, just as suddenly, she felt space opening up between them. First Tiffany and now Mason. This was supposed to be her year. Why didn’t it feel like that? What was going on with him?

  From the moment she’d met Mason, Scarlett knew that he was going to be hers—that she would do whatever it took to make him hers. But she had been sparing in using her gifts with him. She had done what any Raven would do: she made her skin more luminous, her hair shinier, her teeth whiter, her laugh more musical. But she hadn’t reached out once. Not into his head or his heart. It was a rule, of course, not to change the heart under any circumstances, but there was no rule against looking.

  Tiffany always looked; it was somewhere between science and poetry for her. “How lucky are we to glimpse the human heart?” she once said. Scarlett had shaken her head then, but now, for the first time, she felt tempted. What harm would it do, just this once, to understand what Mason was thinking and feeling?

  Scarlett reached up and ran a hand through his hair. As she summoned her magic, she felt a familiar flutter—this time, though, it wasn’t of love or excitement but of fear. Fear of what she would see. What if she looked and found less love than there should be?

  No, Scarlett couldn’t risk it. And she couldn’t invade Mason’s privacy that way. That wasn’t who she was. But she could remind him just how good they were together. She moved her hand lower, ran it down his neck, then his back, then along his thigh. “I don’t have an hour, but I do have five minutes,” she murmured.

  Mason’s eyes widened. “Here?” They never hooked up at Kappa; partners weren’t allowed in the house at night.

  She flashed a single lingering backwards glance at him as she crossed her room and pulled the door shut.

  “Scar—” Mason started.

  But she was way ahead of him. She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled his face toward hers. Any hesitation she’d sensed in him earlier melted at her touch, and his kiss turned hot, hard. He pinned her against the wall, one arm around her waist and the other buried in her hair.

  She smiled against his mouth, her hands snaking down his muscular chest. Now this was the Mason she knew. This was the way things were between them. Soon he’d forget about leaving everything behind and traveling the world. He’d remember that they were exactly where they were meant to be. That they belonged here together.

  “Time’s up,” she said after a few minutes, breaking away. His breath was ragged as she led him to the door.

  “Scar, you’re killing me,” he said with a groan.

  “Meet me tomorrow morning after our selection ceremony. We can finish what we started.” She hid a smile as he gave her one last kiss and then reluctantly turned to go down the stairs.

  See? No magic required. He was already under her spell.

  Chapter Five

  Vivi

  It took Vivi only fifteen seconds to realize that coming to the party had been a terrible mistake.

  When she first stepped through the doors of Kappa, she’d been momentarily dazzled by the splendor of her surroundings. The rush party was speakeasy-themed, which was a natural fit for the house’s pale pink wallpaper and velvet-cushioned mahogany chairs. Everyone wore tuxes or flapper dresses; even the waitstaff, serving drinks in delicate porcelain teacups, were in 1920s outfits.

  Everyone fit the theme—except Vivi. She wore a navy dress with sunflowers on it, the only dress she’d brought with her. Her empty social calendar back in Reno hadn’t exactly called for formalwear. She tugged at the hem, which she realized now had a stain on it, and eyed the laughing, dancing partygoers with a combination of awe and envy. Orientation week had begun just twelve hours ago. How had so many people made friends already? And how had every girl known to pack a flapper outfit? Across the crowded foyer, she spotted two girls she recognized from her dorm, but they were smiling and whispering confidentially, and years of being the new kid had taught Vivi what happened when you tried to sidle up to people midconversation.

  Things at Westerly hadn’t exactly been going according to plan so far. Her roommate, Zoe, had finally arrived and promptly put a duct-tape line down the center of their room to delineate her space from Vivi’s. She’d also brought nearly a dozen candles, each of which had its own strong scent and none of which complemented the others, meaning that their room smelled like a mix of patchouli and sickly sweet vanilla. And when Vivi had finally mustered the courage to ask Zoe if she wanted to check out the dining hall with her, Zoe had barely looked up from her phone before mumbling, “Sorry, I have plans.”

  The longer Vivi stood in the foyer of the bustling Kappa House, the warmer her cheeks grew. She’d spent so much time fantasizing about college, convinced that it’d be her chance for a brand-new start, and it turned out she was just as much of an outsider as ever. Maybe her chronic loneliness had nothing to do with always being the new girl. Maybe she was just too awkward, too weird to make friends.

  She turned, about to retreat out the door, but someone barred her path. Vivi’s stomach flipped over like it used to during their stint living in LA when she’d spot a celebrity at the upscale mall in Calabasas. It was the girl with the mint-green dress she’d seen crossing the quad with two other Ravens.

  She’d changed into a stunning white beaded dress, and her dark brown eyes seemed to glow with amusement beneath her long lashes, like she knew something that no one else did and enjoyed keeping the secret. “Hello,” the girl said, raising her eyebrows slightly as she gave Vivi’s outfit the once-over.

  “Hi,” Vivi managed. It was the first word she’d said since her exchange with Zoe hours earlier.

  The girl held something out—a sparkler, Vivi realized. “Thank you so m
uch for coming tonight,” she said. “And I hope you don’t feel uncomfortable in your cute little outfit. Don’t worry about ignoring the theme. After all, not everyone can pull off a 1920s silhouette.”

  Vivi’s cheeks flushed. “I didn’t think to pack for a cocktail party,” she said, reaching out for the sparkler.

  The girl’s fake smile grew even stiffer. “A potential Kappa should be prepared for anything.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not a—I mean, I wasn’t planning to rush.” It was a lie, of course. She would have loved to rush. But after having been here for all of five minutes, Vivi realized how delusional this whole endeavor was. The best she could hope for was to make sure this girl knew that Vivi recognized she was out of her league here.

  “I see,” the Kappa said, pursing her lips.

  “No offense to you all, of course. Kappa seems great. I’m just not . . .” Good enough, Vivi thought, cringing as she trailed off awkwardly.

  “Usually when people say ‘no offense,’ they’ve just said something offensive.” The girl’s smile returned but her eyes hardened. “A word of advice? If you don’t plan to pledge Kappa, don’t waste anybody’s time. But if you are considering it, I wouldn’t leave this party just yet.” She spun on her heel, the white fringe of her dress swishing a wordless goodbye as she moved toward the back patio. Vivi stared after her, wondering how the girl knew Vivi had been about to bail and why she cared. Regardless, she decided to stay another few minutes, just to save face, and she trailed after the Kappa through the crowded front hall and out into the garden.

  It was like stepping into a fairy realm. The yard was enclosed by a tall wrought-iron fence covered in ivy, and strings of tea lights swayed in the moss of the live oaks, suspended on wires Vivi couldn’t quite see. Hurricane candles stood on the small round tables scattered across the grass, casting a flattering glow on the faces of the unusually attractive guests. A line had formed at the bar, where a bartender was serving some kind of punch from a crystal bowl.

  Her eyes fell on two impossibly beautiful girls dancing, laughing as they moved with the music.

  “Kind of intimidating, aren’t they?” Vivi turned to see another striking girl next to her. With her wavy black hair, flawless brown skin, and enormous doe-like eyes, she was just as pretty as the Kappa who’d snubbed Vivi earlier, but the genuine smile on her face made her infinitely more approachable.

  “Yeah, kind of,” Vivi said, surprised and relieved that even a girl who looked like Kappa material was nervous. “How did everyone know to pack for this?” she asked, looking around the garden.

  “Rush is a big deal here. Serious pledges come prepared for anything. Some people even hire consultants to help them get through rush. My mom went to Westerly, so I kind of knew what to expect,” she said, gesturing to her own fringed dress.

  “Do you want to pledge?” Vivi asked.

  “Yes, if I get a bid,” she said wistfully, sounding like someone who was longing for the last slice of cake but was too polite to take it. “I’m not going to get my hopes up, though. Kappa’s the most selective sorority on campus, and the smallest.”

  Even for a Greek novice like Vivi, it was clear that the sorority occupied a special place at Westerly. She hadn’t officially met any of the Kappas—the girl in the white dress hadn’t introduced herself—but they were easy to spot in the crowd. Unlike the would-be pledges, whose nervous shifting belied their wide smiles, the Kappas moved with grace and assurance. Vivi watched with unabashed awe as an Asian girl in a red beaded flapper dress stopped to take a dainty sip of her drink. Her shiny black hair was cut in a smooth chin-length bob, and her deep crimson lips looked like they belonged to a classic Hollywood starlet. She was easily the most glamorous person Vivi had ever seen in real life, but it was her composure that captivated Vivi. She observed the party with detached amusement, in no apparent hurry to find someone to talk to. As the perennial new girl, Vivi was accustomed to standing on her own, but it never got easier. She was always aware that people were watching her, wondering why she was all alone.

  “I’m Vivi,” Vivi said, returning her attention to her new acquaintance. She extended the hand that wasn’t holding her sparkler.

  “Ariana,” the girl said as she gave Vivi one of the two teacups she’d just accepted from a passing waiter. “Apparently Kappa is the only sorority that can get away with serving alcohol at recruitment events, so I’d take full advantage.”

  Vivi took a casual sip, praying that she wouldn’t do anything to reveal that this was her very first drink. It was difficult to be a rebellious, hard-partying high-schooler when you had no friends and were never invited to parties. She braced for a burning sensation, but the pink cocktail was delightfully sweet. “Why does Kappa get to break the rules?”

  Ariana shrugged. “I heard they get all sorts of special treatment.”

  “Hi.” Vivi turned to see a black girl in a sophisticated, slinky blue dress smiling at them. “I’m Jess. Are you girls having fun?”

  Vivi froze, unsure how to respond after her last encounter with a Kappa. Was she supposed to gush that this was the best party she’d ever been to? Or was it better to play it cool and act unimpressed?

  “Absolutely,” said Ariana, who thankfully was able to talk to strangers without having a complete meltdown. “Y’all really went all out for this. Are the waiters wearing vintage suits?”

  Jess nodded. “There’s a certain pleasure in forcing slovenly college boys to dress up,” she said, surveying the crowd. “Though I require only three things in a man: he must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid.”

  “Pardon me?” Ariana said while Vivi laughed.

  “Dorothy Parker, right?” Vivi asked.

  “Sorry, it’s impossible not to quote Parker when you’re drinking cocktails out of teacups.” She gave Vivi a wink and excused herself.

  “That was a little strange,” Ariana whispered after Jess walked away.

  “But kind of great,” Vivi said with a smile. In seventh grade, she’d stumbled across a collection of Dorothy Parker’s poems and essays in the library, and for Vivi, it’d been almost like making a friend. She’d never heard anyone her own age mention Parker, and she certainly hadn’t expected her to come up at a sorority party, but the exchange turned out to be the first of many surprising conversations with Kappas throughout the evening. A white biochemistry major named Juliet told Vivi all about her research on love hormones, and then Vivi found herself in a fascinating discussion about Chinese politics with a history major named Etta and some of her classmates. It was a subject she knew little about, so she mostly listened, but she never felt awkward or out of place. Despite the fact that none of the older students knew her, they seemed perfectly happy to let Vivi join their conversation. By the time she found Ariana again, Vivi felt nearly giddy. An unfamiliar combination of relief and happiness filled her with warmth. Her first college party was a success.

  Ariana was talking to the girl in the red beaded dress she’d spotted earlier. As Vivi approached, the girl smiled warmly, revealing teeth as white as the pearls strung around her neck. She took a long sip of her drink, and when she lowered her cup, her lipstick was still perfect. There wasn’t even a trace of crimson on the white cup.

  “I’m Mei,” she said, extending her hand. “It’s nice to—” Her voice was drowned out as jazz suddenly swept through the garden. Vivi turned to see five smartly dressed musicians in black suits playing a familiar-sounding song. “Ooh, the Charleston!” Mei shouted. Without letting go of her teacup, she began to swivel on the balls of her feet while moving her arms in perfect rhythm. “Come on!” She grinned and grabbed Vivi’s hand.

  “No, I can’t,” Vivi said, stepping back. She’d never danced in public before. She couldn’t actually remember dancing in private, either. She was so bad, she embarrassed herself even when she was alone.

  Mei mercifully dropped her hand, and less than a second later, she was swept up by a member of the band in a black suit. Vivi watched in a
we as they danced in such perfect unison that she wondered if they’d choreographed the whole thing. “I wish I could do that,” Vivi whispered to Ariana, who was also staring, mesmerized.

  “Your turn,” Mei called cheerfully. She pulled away from the boy and gestured toward Vivi.

  “No, I’m serious. I can’t.” Vivi stepped back as her heart pounded a frantic alarm. But the boy, still under Mei’s spell, would not be put off. Vivi just had time to give Ariana her teacup and sparkler before the boy took her hand and began to push and pull her in time to the music. For a moment, all she could do was stare in horror and sway awkwardly. She didn’t know what to do with her feet or her free hand. Her face started to burn. How many people were staring at her right now?

  But just when she thought the panic would overwhelm her, her feet began to move seemingly of their own accord. Her hips swayed from side to side as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The boy grinned at her, and without thinking, she grinned back. No matter which way he moved, she followed seamlessly, as if connected to him by a string.

  “I knew you could do it,” Mei said with a mixture of amusement and satisfaction. Vivi was having so much fun, she barely stopped to wonder how she could hear Mei’s low murmur over the music. Or why it sounded like the girl’s voice was inside her head. Because when Vivi glanced over her shoulder, Mei was gone.

  The song ended and a slower one began. The boy cocked his head to the side with a smile, wordlessly inviting Vivi to join him for another, but she didn’t want to push her luck. “I should find my friend,” she said. “But thank you. That was . . .” She blushed and cut herself off. “Thank you.”

  “That was amazing,” Ariana squealed as Vivi approached. “I wish they’d taught the Charleston at my ballroom-dancing school.” She looked around the garden, sighed, and handed back Vivi’s drink and sparkler. “It’s hard not to be a little hopeful about getting a bid, isn’t it?”

  Vivi nodded, feeling the same way. She’d never imagined herself as part of a sorority, but then again, she’d never known that there were sororities like Kappa. These girls were smart, curious, and passionate—just like the people Vivi had always dreamed of befriending in college. But wasn’t it arrogant to assume that they’d be interested in her? Just because she’d managed to go a few hours without mortifying herself didn’t mean she belonged in the most glamorous, exclusive sorority at Westerly.