Page 20 of The Devil We Crave
The music gets steamier, and slowly, Velvet Villainess turns her back to the camera. Then she slips the straps of her black dress off her shoulders and lets the whole thing tumble down her bare back to her waist. She keeps one arm over her chest as she turns coquettishly and blows an air kiss to the camera.
After that, it cuts to the cover of a new hit dark romance book, and her text review of how much she loved it.
“Girl hasmoves, I’ll give her that,” Wren sighs. “And she’s up to, what, a million followers now? She’s gotta be makingbank.”
“Look past her!” Lucia says excitedly. “Where she’s filming.”
She restarts the video, and we all lean closer.
“Holy shit!” Arianna suddenly yelps. “That’s totally the Para Bellum house, and it had to be shot last night!”
My jaw drops.
She's right.
Velvet Villainess’s latest video is set in front of an ancient-looking bookshelf filled with leather-bound volumes. And yeah, it could be anywhere…until you see what’s sitting on the top shelf.
“Is that what I think it is?” I murmur.
“Oh yes,” Wren nods. “It most definitely is.”
Like I said, Morvaine Manor was the home of Silas Morvaine, one of the ten founding fathers of Knightsblood. Kingsward Hall, meanwhile, was the home of Charles Pembroke, who has that academic building named after him.
The Pembroke family continued to live there for close to a hundred years after his death. But eventually, in the early 1900s, one of Charles’ descendants decided they were done living on a college campus and bequeathed the property to the school—on condition that Para Bellum have exclusive use of it.
That’s what's sitting on the shelf above Velvet Villainess’ left shoulder: the ceremonial key to Kingsward Hall, given to the then-president of Para Bellum when the Pembroke family left. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a stamp of a crown on the back of Villainess’ hand, like the ones we all got at the party last night.
“She’s totally a Knightsblood student!” Arianna gasps.
“Busted!” Lucia crows.
I laugh, shaking my head. “Who the hell is she? That’s so crazy. Like, we might’ve walked past her on campus a billion times.”
“Okay, you guys got me,” Galina sighs, lifting her shoulders and flicking her gingery hair dramatically. “It’s me.I’mVelvet Villainess.”
The rest of us crack up before Wren suddenly sits forward, her eyes shining.
“Oh, by the way…” She glances around the room. “Did you see the tall guy in the mask last night?”
Arianna arches a brow. “It was amaskparty, girl. There wereseveral?—”
“Bitch, I don’t mean the regular masks!” Wren cackles. “I mean that freakyScreamone.”
It's like getting shoved off a dock into icy cold water. Instantly, my lungs seize up and my entire body tightens. But as soon as the shock passes, the icy sensation melts and becomes vicious and hot, curling and coiling around my center, squeezing and tightening until dark venom oozes through my core.
“W-what?” I croak, breathless.
Wren nods. “Okay, so I had a few drinks last night?—”
“Oh,did you?” Galina says sarcastically, grinning.
Wren flips her off and continues. “But I know what I saw. This tall dude in the freakingScreammask came down the stairs, grabbed a bottle from the bar, and walked straight into the back library.”
Arianna frowns. “Where Velvet Villainess filmed?”
Lucia shakes her head. “No, that’s on the second floor. I remember seeing it on the campus tour when I was still in high school.” She frowns and glances at Wren. “You saw him walk into thebacklibrary? On the first floor?”
Wren nods, and Lucia’s brows pinch.
