Page 17 of Entwined
This was a bad idea.
The path we’re walking winds narrowly between the trees, the university buildings quickly disappearing behind the dense covering of leaves. I carefully step over a branch, tugging fruitlessly at the sweetheart neckline of the corset I’ve been stuffed into. It’s cute enough—a black and red concoction of lace and ribbon—but it’s a size too small, the boning digging ruthlessly into my ribs with every breath.
“Feels like my nipples are falling out of this thing,” I mutter sourly, relieved that Florence hadapprovedthe skintight black jeans covering my legs.
She looks at me over her shoulder, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “You look hot.” Her tone is friendly, reassuring, but my cheeks still heat, the chilly breeze a whisper of relief against the hot skin.
She turns to look at Ada, cooing, “Come on, demon girl. Midnight’s approaching, and I want to find the lucky man I’m gonna take to heaven.”
Ada scrunches her face into a scowl, but it only lasts asecond before a tipsy giggle escapes. “Not in our room, you’re not, or I reallywillshow you how much of a devil I can be.”
“Spoilsport.” Florence sticks her tongue out, and I chuckle, feeling more at ease the longer I’m with them.
Still, tension stiffens my shoulders as the path comes to end at a large clearing already swarming with people. Music blasts from unseen speakers, vibrating the ground underneath our feet. It’s the middle of the clearing that catches my interest, though, where the flames of a massive bonfire stretch up to the sky.
I didn’t expect there to be quite so many people here, and the urge to run makes me twitch. We walk further in, and Florence calls out excitedly when she sees someone she knows, disappearing into the crush.
Ada is still at my side, and I glance over, seeing her wide-eyed expression. Frowning, I follow her line of sight, finding her locked in a stare-down with a shirtless guy, his face hidden behind a skeleton mask.
Florence reappears then, a blond guy wrapped around her, a second man a step behind them. His glazed eyes are focused on Ada, who finally drags her attention away from the skeleton guy just as the newcomer slides a hand around her waist and down to cup her ass.
My mouth twitches with amusement. I need a drink before I delve into…whateverthisis, so I turn and slip away, heading for the crudely set-up bar I spied on our way in.
There’s a line, but it doesn’t take long before the makeshift bartender, a guy from my political legacies class, is pressing a plastic cup into my hand. I grimace at the strong scent of beer, but throw the entire thing back and grab another.
I drink this one more slowly, stepping off to the sideand turning to watch the rest of the party. I can’t see Florence or Ada anymore, too many people between us, but I’m not itching to jump back into the crowd.
A deep, guttural roar cuts through the air, coming from the direction of the castle. It’s a feral sound, full of power and nothing I’ve ever heard before. It doesn’t last long, and when the sound fades away, the partygoers shake it off as someone turns the music up. But an eerie premonition slides through my veins as the night seems to get darker, the fire struggling to light up the clearing.
Feeling uncertain, I finish the rest of my drink. I’ve gotten used to the taste now, and it slides down easily, with me barely even making a face. The aftertaste is almost sweet, so I grab another one, enjoying the way the tension is dissipating from my spine, the world losing a little focus.
People have started dancing not far from me, keeping a safe distance from the fire, and I move into the throng, sweat dampening my skin as the crowd presses in from all sides. My half-full cup balanced in one hand, I close my eyes and tip my head back, losing myself to the rhythm of the music.
Everything narrows to a dark pinpoint, the faces around me all blurred together, the world hazy and filled with smoke. Each song slides together until my cup is gone, lost somewhere, and another body is pressing up against my back, two hands gripping my hips as they grind against my ass.
“Hey,” a deep voice purrs in my ear. “You look like you’re here for a good time.”
“And you think you’ll be the one to give it to me?” I laugh. My face is numb, and I can’t tell if I’m smiling or not. I poke at my cheek, which only makes me giggle, everything tipping to one side.
“Woah!” The man grips me tighter, holding me steady as he chuckles. “I definitely think you should give me a try.”
There’s a surge of noise to my left. Or my right. I furrow my brows, head swiveling as I try to work out what’s going on. Suddenly, there are several screams as the bonfire blazes upward, tongues of orange and gold stretching up to the night sky, billows of smoke leading the way.
People are running away from the raging fire, rushing through the dance floor. One crashes into me, propelling me backward, my arms flailing. The guy curses, but doesn’t let me fall.
Everything goes kind of gray, like the static on a television. I blink furiously to clear my vision, but nothing happens. Panic flashes through me as I cry out, “What’s going on?”
“Don’t worry,” he tells me. “Someone’s just fucking around with the fire.” His fingers dig into my sides, one brushing over my breast, but then he’s urging me backward through the press of bodies still dancing to the music.
“Let’s go find somewhere quieter,” he mutters.
I try to say no, but my tongue doesn’t feel like my own, a broken whimper escaping. My feet tangle beneath me, and I stumble, but he doesn’t stop. Instead, he hooks his hands under my arms and hauls me along. My chin sinks to my chest, my skull too heavy, my neck unable to hold it. Still, he doesn’t notice, even as he’s dragging me like dead weight.
Or maybe he does, and just doesn’t care.
“Stop,” I manage to whisper—or at least, I think I do. Darkness is crowding into the edges of my vision, and every time my lashes drop, it gets harder and harder to lift them again.
“Guess someone else did the work for me.” The guylaughs, his voice sounding like it’s underwater. “Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”