Page 19 of Venom (St. Sebastian’s at Cravenmoor Academy #1)

Rafferty

B efore Venetia or Viper can answer Blake’s question, I know I have to come clean about what I know about the hazing tonight.

“Speaking of battles,” I cut in, my voice dropping the lazy amusement. I lean forward, planting my forearms on the table and pinning all three of them with my gaze. “Your first one is scheduled for tonight.”

Venetia’s eyes narrow on me. Beside her, Viper goes completely still, a statue carved from violence. The muscles in his neck and shoulders bunch, and I know if I said the wrong thing right now, he’d launch himself across the table. Blake just raises a single, questioning eyebrow.

“Ana isn’t wasting any time,” I continue, directing my words to Venetia. “She’s using a scumbag called Maddox Headley and his crew of wannabes to set up a little hazing. A welcoming party for you at the old boathouse tonight.”

A low growl rumbles in Viper’s chest, a sound like an engine turning over in hell.

“Maddox Headley?” Venetia asks. “Who is he?” Her gaze scans the crowded dining hall.

“Let me guess,” Viper says. “The one who can’t keep his eyes off you.”

“Well, there are a few of them,” she replies with a sassy smile. “Which one?”

“The weasel in the corner trying to pretend he’s not staring,” I say, nodding my head in Headley’s direction. “Brown hair, looks like his face would break if you punched it.”

Venetia follows my gaze, and her lip curls in disdain. “Him? She sent him to come after me? That’s insulting.”

“That’s Ana,” Blake murmurs. “She uses disposable tools for her dirty work. If it goes wrong, Headley takes the fall, and her hands stay clean.”

Viper pushes his chair back with a scraping sound that grates through the bustling hall. “He won’t get that far.” His voice is a low promise of violence, his eyes fixed on Headley with an intensity that could set stone on fire.

“No,” Venetia says, her voice sharp and clear, stopping him cold. She puts a hand on his arm, a gesture of restraint that looks more like a claim. “You’re not doing anything yet. We’re going to let this play out.”

Viper turns his head slowly to look at her, his expression thunderous. “The fuck we are.”

“Yes, we are,” Venetia counters, her voice dropping to a low, dangerous purr that has my cock twitching in interest. Her manicured nails dig into the hard muscle of his arm, and I imagine them scraping down my back.

“This isn’t about stopping him. It’s about making an example of him.

If you crush him now, it’s just a rumour.

If he makes his move and you annihilate him, publicly, then everyone, especially Ana, gets the message. ”

Her logic is fucking flawless. She’s not just a firecracker; she’s a goddamn strategist.

“My job isn’t to help you send messages,” Viper grinds out, his jaw so tight I’m surprised his teeth don’t crack. “It’s to keep you alive.”

“She’s right, Stone,” Blake says smoothly, steepling his fingers.

He looks like a king holding court. “A pre-emptive strike is a show of force. Allowing your enemy to reveal their hand before you utterly destroy them… that’s a show of power.

It creates fear, and fear is a much more effective currency here than simple violence. ”

I can’t help the grin that stretches across my face. “He’s got a point. Besides, I want to see what pathetic shit Headley has planned. It’ll be a laugh watching you take him apart.”

Venetia withdraws her hand from Viper’s arm, her point made, her control re-established. She picks up her coffee cup, her gaze sweeping over me and Blake. “This alliance you’re talking about. What’s in it for you?” she asks before taking a sip.

It’s a trick question. Answer incorrectly, and she won’t give us the time of day.

She’s testing us, wanting to know if we’re just other men who want to use her, or if we’re honest about it, at least.

I give her the only answer that matters before Blake can formulate his pretty response. “I want to watch you burn this whole fucking place to the ground,” I murmur darkly. I let my eyes drift to her mouth. “And when you’re standing in the ashes, I want to be the one fucking you on the rubble.”

Viper’s growl is a low rumble of thunder, a promise of pain he’s dying to inflict. Blake just sips his coffee, unfazed, a ghost of a smile on his lips. He expected it.

But Venetia’s eyes glitter with something wild and appreciative. She doesn’t flinch. She doesn’t blush. She fucking thrives on it. That’s my kind of woman.

“Honesty,” she purrs, the sound sliding down my spine and coiling in my gut. She turns her gaze on Blake, one eyebrow arched. “And you, Locke? Same reason?”

“Rafferty is a connoisseur of chaos,” Blake says smoothly, setting his cup down. “I’m a collector of power. An alliance with a living, breathing, and thriving Venetia Corbyn-Hale consolidates power for generations. It’s simply good business.”

One a promise of savage pleasure, the other a contract for an empire. She looks between the two of us, a queen weighing her offers. It’s fucking perfect.

“Business, Blake?” she asks with a slow smile. “Do you mix business with pleasure?”

Viper slams his fist on the table, drawing the attention of most of the dining hall.

The sound cracks through the dining hall like a gunshot, and for a split second, everything goes silent. A hundred pairs of eyes fix on our table. Then, as if a switch is flipped, the buzz of conversation returns, louder this time, fuelled by fresh gossip.

Venetia doesn’t even flinch. She simply lifts her cup, takes a delicate sip, and places it back in its saucer with a soft click. She turns her head to Viper, her expression one of cool, dangerous curiosity. “Problem?”

His eyes are black holes of fury, but he doesn’t reply.

She turns her gaze back to Blake, dismissing Viper completely. “To answer your question, Blake. The best business is always mixed with a little pleasure. It makes the victory that much sweeter.”

Blake’s answering smile is slow and deeply satisfied. “I quite agree.”

“This isn’t a fucking game,” Viper growls, his voice a low vibration of pure menace.

“Everything’s a game, Stone,” I say, leaning back and lacing my fingers behind my head. “You just have to learn the rules.”

Venetia rises from her chair with a fluid grace that commands attention. “Gentlemen,” she says, her voice carrying a note of finality. “This has been… illuminating. Blake, I’ll find you after my first class.”

She turns and walks away, not once looking back. Viper has no choice but to follow, a thundercloud of fury trailing in her wake. I watch them go, a new, unfamiliar respect for the woman settling in my gut. She’s not just chaos. She’s the fucking queen of it.

Blake lets out a soft, appreciative chuckle beside me. “She is a queen. She made that look effortless.”

“She’s fucking magnificent,” I grunt, my eyes still fixed on the doorway they disappeared through. My blood is thrumming, a primal drumbeat of lust and violence. I’ve never wanted a woman so badly in my life. The need to conquer her is a physical ache. “Can I ask you something?”

“Always.” He narrows his eyes at me.

I lean forward. “I want to know the answer to her question. Will you mix business with pleasure?”

He smiles. It’s slow, sinister, and one I know all too well.

“I intend to make sure the whole of St. Seb’s and the rest of Cravenmoor Academy know exactly what I want to do to her when I take her luscious body and claim it in public for all to see.

There will be no follow-up questions about my intentions. ”

I let out a low chuckle. “Can’t wait to see it myself. Like live porn.”

He rolls his eyes. “There is nothing quite like the thrill of a public fucking.”

“Maybe I’ll find out with her. She seems the type to have no inhibitions.”

“About tonight?—”

“Maddox Headley is a fucking cockroach. I want to see Viper stomp on him until he pops.”

“Violence is also your porn, apparently. But we need to be seen witnessing. When the story is told tomorrow, it won’t just be about Viper Stone’s brutality. It will be about how we stood by and allowed it to happen. An endorsement.”

“An endorsement,” I repeat, the word tasting like power. “I like it.”

We walk out of the dining hall, the whispers and stares following us. Tonight is going to be fucking epic. The queen gets her first public blood sacrifice, and we get to watch.