"He looked at me like I was a locked door, and he'd spent years learning how to pick."
Wren POV
The dormitory loomed like a gothic cathedral, its three wings stretching toward the storm-heavy sky like the claws of some slumbering beast. Each wing bore a name etched in tarnished silver above its arched entrance:
Clotho
Lachesis
Atropos.
My room was in Atropos.
Of course it was.
The scariest looking one.
"Congrats!" Piper twirled, her juice-box purse sloshing. "Atropos' where they put the girls who bite back. Also, the ones who… y'know… bite in other ways. Talking from experience. Can't wait for you to meet Lilith." She wiggled her eyebrows.
I didn't know whether to be grateful that I knew Piper or whether I should start regretting my decisions. "Who is Lilith?"
"Our last roomie."
Her rainbow-streaked face paint glowing faintly in the dim light, hooked her arm through mine, steering me away from the elevator.
"Oh no, darling. We take the stairs," she purred, her measuring-tape scarf slithering like a living thing around her neck. "The elevator eats people. Last semester it ate a girl's homework. And her skirt."
Why the fuck would it do that? Forcing the questions down my throat.
I didn't ask if she was joking. I kept mute observing my surroundings.
The staircase was a spiral of wrought iron and shadow, each step groaning underfoot as if the wood remembered every foot that had ever touched it. As we climbed the steps murmuring beneath us, I caught glimpses of the dorm's inhabitants:
A girl in nothing but a corset and thigh-high stockings, practicing fencing forms in the hallway.
Cool.
Another lounging on a windowsill, smoking a pipe filled with something that sparkled, blowing smoke rings that twisted into tiny, shrieking faces. My brow rose.
A pair of male students... one shirtless, his torso a canvas of ink and bite marks, the other in a half-unbuttoned waistcoat, whispering something that made a nearby girl throw her head back in laughter.
Piper dragged me through the grand foyer, where many other girls in varying states of undress lounged on velvet chaises, their laughter ringing like chimes. Some wore corsets laced over silk chemises, others sported nothing but thigh-high stockings and smudged eyeliner as they painted each other's nails black. There was another boy in nothing but unbuttoned Oxford shirt and a very low-slung towel around his hips, he winked at me from where he was braiding a girl's hair. I looked away, my cheeks burning.
"Isn't it supposed to be illegal for boys to come to girl's dormitory? " I couldn't help but whisper.
"It is during certain time periods. Around 7pm. If they are still here by then and get caught. Consequences. Though there are always defaulters. Same for boy's dorm." Piper smirked. "Don't worry. You will get used to it soon enough."
"Doesn't Vermont have supervision in the dorms?"
It has been bothering me since I came in. I have always been used to supervision the blatant absence of it in Vermont made me feel weird. Piper stopped walking looking up at me because of her height.
"You have to understand something Wren. Vermont is different you can't use normal logic to understand it. Where that seems to lack the most supervision is where they watch the most, lurking in the shadows. They are watching us even now. Never let your guard down. Or when you look back you will see a dagger stabbed in your fucking chest." She giggled, like she didn't warn me too. That she could be the one stabbing me.
I grinned, "Not if I strike first."
"Strong words for someone who doesn't know the rules... Yet."
The hallway stretched endlessly, doors marked with numbers that changed if you stared too long. Piper released me and skipped ahead, her juice box bag sloshing as she gestured.
"Our room's at the end... lucky number 333. Three beds, three closets, three mirrors… but never look into all three at once." She grinned. "Also, our middle mirror lies. It'll tell you you're ugly. Don't listen."
We reached the door. From inside came the muffled sound of… giggling? A gasp? A low, filthy chuckle that made my stomach flip.
I swiped my ID at the lock, unlocking the door and Piper kicked open the door with her combat boot.
And there, sprawled across one of the four-poster bed, was their third roommate. Someone I learnt was Lilith.
A stunning, sinful vision in nothing but a black long-sleeved top that clung to her full, heaving chest, a black G-string, and black platform heels that could double as murder weapons.
And beneath her...
A boy.
No... not a boy. A creature.
Translucent skin, so pale it seemed to glow. Long silver lashes, framing forest-green eyes that sparkled like moss-covered jewels. Silver hair fanned out beneath him like a halo, his body sculpted like a Renaissance god, his lips... Christ, his lips... were smeared with her red lipstick as she dotted kisses down his throat and drew hearts on his collarbone with it. Trails of red lipstick stained kisses covered his sharp jawline, Adam's apple and large chest, her phone in hand, capturing every sinful second.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then..
"Oops," Lilith said, not sounding sorry at all. But the blush dusting her cheeks gave away.
The boy... because he had to be a student, right?... tilted his head, his smirk slow, deliberate, devastating.
"Well," he drawled, voice like smoke and silk. "Aren't you a vision?"
My stomach dropped.
The blonde scrambled up, her G-string doing nothing to preserve her dignity. "It's not... we were just..."
"Leaving," The boy purred, Lilith rolled off him with a laugh muttering a fuck under her breath, smearing the lipstick heart she'd drawn on his chest before snatching his clothes and tossing them at him. He didn't budge from the bed.
"Fuck..." She cursed louder "I thought you'd be coming later Piper. Why the fuck didn't you call? First impressions matter, kid!"
A devious smile split her cheeks, "Where is the fun in doing that? I was secretly hoping. Can't believe you actually fell into it."
Lilith ignored her, her delectable body stood proud. Her abs toned with a curvy ass. It reminded me about the recent weight I gained. Vermont was filled with beauties.
"I'm sorry this is how you met me. He is my blog model. It's a pretty long story but I want you to clear all doubts I am not in any relationship sexually related with him.. Ever. He owes me so he's repaying the debts..." She rambled, looking so cute.
"Ouch." The boy faked a gasp from the bed, a smirk playing on his lips. "Shut up, Cas"
"Nice to meet you too Lilith, I'm Wren." I put her out of her misery.
"Thank you." She blushed
He finally moved rising with panther-like grace. Cas, because of course that was his name, stood, unashamed, unhurried, pulling on his black trousers with a grace that shouldn't be legal. His white, nearly transparent shirt clung to his skin, the fabric stuck in places, leaving very little to the imagination.
Including the very obvious problem tenting his pants.
I looked away.
Piper whistled.
Cas chuckled, buttoning his shirt with agonizing slowness, his eyes never leaving mine. Lilith turned to glare at him. Annoyed he effortlessly took my attention.
"I'm Casimir as you already know my friends call me Cas."
Lilith rolled her eyes, Piper was licking another candy.
"Wren Whitaker."
His forest-green eyes narrowed sharply. "Perchance are you related to Mallory Whitaker?"
I smiled "She's my grandmother."
The air in the room suddenly froze.