Page 74 of Broken by my Bully (Lessons in Cruelty Dark Academia #1)

Haven

Things are getting weird. And I doubt this is the last time I’ll be thinking that tonight. It began with a low thumping that sounded like lumberjacks going to work deep in the forest.

Music.

Pounding music.

The kind that moves your body whether or not you want it to.

We’re following a trail through the trees, our path illuminated by kerosene lamps hung in the branches every few yards. Up ahead, I catch glimpses of other partygoers who’ve slipped away from the gala to join this party.

The real party.

Foliage crashes behind me. I turn just in time to fall back against a tree, barely avoiding the couple tearing down the trail. Melissa isn’t so lucky. The guy slams into her shoulder, sending her tumbling.

They both look over their shoulders, grinning as they yell apologies, not slowing even a little.

“You okay?” I help Melissa to her feet.

“I’ll survive.” She shakes out her hands, staring down at the stains on her dress. “This, however, won’t. ”

“So fucking rude,” I mutter.

She chuckles. “Not like I was planning on keeping it.”

“What? Why? It’s beautiful.”

She glances at me. “Oh, right. This is your first Rain Dance.”

“Yeah, and?”

Melissa grabs my hand. “Then we’d better get there before they run out of party favors.”

She took her shoes off when we started down the trail, and I can barely keep up with her as she takes off at a run. It’s hard to keep my balance as we race over the uneven ground, jumping over roots and trying not to stand on loose stones.

A few minutes later, we’re at the back of a queue waiting to pass through a narrow entrance between two trees. The music is so loud I can barely hear what Melissa’s trying to tell me.

“…clothes…bag…paint…”

“What?” I yell back.

She waves at me, pursing her lips. When we get to the front of the short queue, there’s two people standing there wearing scruffy animal masks.

We’re pointed down the path toward a small enclosure made of canvas strung up between the trees.

More lamps light our way, and we push through a flap to a small makeshift room.

There are three other girls inside here with us.

Everyone’s naked.