panicky. “But she’s really fucking cold.”
“She’ll be fine,” Jax assures him. “We just need to get her to the house.”
They grow quiet after that, and I start to let sleepiness grab ahold of me.
“She jumped,” Zay suddenly mumbles, skimming his fingers up and down my spine. “I can’t believe she did it … I didn’t think she would … If I had …”
“I know,” Jax says. “I didn’t think she would either. No one ever has. Well, except for us.”
“But, even we didn’t do it during the brink of winter,” Hunter points out. “She made us look like pussies.”
“Yeah, I guess she did.” I can’t tell which one of them says this, their voices starting to blur together as exhaustion cocoons me.
“You know what this means, right?” one of them says.
Another skip of silence and then …
“Yeah, The Raven Three have just become The Raven Four.”
Ten
Raven
Warm blood covers my hands as I stare down at my parents. Blood is all over them, covering their clothes, their hair.
Why is there so much blood? And why is it all over my hands?
“Mom,” I whisper as I collapse to my knees.
I can’t remember how I got here. Can’t remember where the blood came from. All I can remember is the screaming. So much screaming.
“Raven! No!” my mom shouts a plea. “Please don’t do this, sweetie. You don’t want to do this. Just go. Run!”
But I can’t go. Not until I get to her.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m sorry I can’t forget.”
She screams—
My eyelids flutter open as I leave the hazy memory and return to … well, I’m not really sure where I am. From what I can tell, I’m in a large bed with lots of pillows and blankets around me.
Blinking, I peer around, my confusion deepening. The bedroom, if that's even what it is, looks almost as big as my house. It has a gothic ambiance with black walls, matching trimming, and a giant fireplace with a fire currently crackling in it. The ceiling is domed and painted a midnight blue with a thorny chandelier dangling from it. And the bed I’m in has four massive, ebony posts and is enclosed by black curtains.
“Is this Hell?” I mutter as I slowly sit up.
Everything is so dark, like I imagine Hell would be. But if I am in Hell, then that means I’m dead.
I press my hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat against my hand.
So I’m alive. I’m also wearing someone else’s shirt, and my body feels like it was run over by truck. Or like it slammed into a freezing cold river …
As memories of what happened gradually surface, I throw the blankets off me. Then I frown. My legs aren’t covered up by anything.
“Crap,” I breathe out, recalling how Hunter held me down while Zay tugged down my shorts. But then he had hugged me against his chest, which was confusing. After that, things become hazy and that sends a trickle of fear through me. The last time I blacked out …
Blood on my hands.
Murderer.
Scooting to the edge of the bed, I lower my feet to the floor, wanting to get up and get the hell out of here … wherever here is.
When I stand up, my legs wobble, but I put one leg in front of the other and gradually stumble over to the dresser. Then I open the drawers, hoping to find some pants. But all that’s inside are knives and a bunch of other weapons.
I need to get out of here.
Abandoning my plan to get some pants, I shuffle toward the door, where I pause for a second, listening for any sounds coming from the other side. When only silence graces my ears, I twist the knob, open the door, and step out …
Into the longest and widest hallway I’ve ever seen.
I glance left then right, both directions seeming endless. No windows are around either, so the only light is flowing from antique lanterns hanging up on the walls.
Great. How in the hell am I supposed to find my way out of here?
“Come on, Raven; think of a way to get out of this.” I pinch the brim of my nose as my head pounds.
I really need a painkiller.
What I need is a map of this house. Or my phone. But Jax threw that out the window, something my aunt is going to yell at me for. That is, if I ever get out of here.
No, I’m going to. I’ve made it through jumping off a