Page 170 of Depraved Boys

I tilted my head to the side and furrowed my brow. “Did you hear what I just said?”

“I thought the day you’d spent with Kash had brought you together, but you don’t remember that. Maybe this weekend—”

“Hey.” I slapped his arm. “I’ve just told you I’m falling for you and your best friend, and your instinct is to make things even so I can fall for your other friend?”

“This thing won’t work unless your love for us is equal.”

Warmth spread across my chest and up to my cheeks. “You really don’t mind?”

“We wouldn’t have made you a queen regnant otherwise.” He ran his fingertips down the side of my face and pressed a kiss on my lips.

My eyes fluttered closed. Maybe I had died during one of Miss Claymore’s many attempts to murder me, and this was my version of heaven. Three ridiculously handsome boys who were best friends and wanted to share me.

In a moment, Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and my relatives from Dad’s side of the family would walk into the treehouse with a ‘Happy Harem’ cake.

“What are you smiling at?” Sebastian murmured.

“I can’t believe my luck.”

“It’s fate.”

My eyes snapped open. “Huh?”

“That evening, when I walked into Hessington Hall, I was at my lowest. Another year of the same old shit. Another year of paying penance to Claymore. But then you tumbled into my arms with your big, hazel eyes, unassuming beauty, and gorgeous body… I had to make you mine.”

“And your friends’?”

He shrugged. “Leo fell for you when you punched him in the balls, and Kash didn’t want to admit his interest, but he couldn’t stop talking about you. The only way to bring you in the fold was as our shared girlfriend.”

I wrapped my arms around Sebastian’s neck and kissed him with every ounce of love in my heart. For the first time since Geraldine and Bianca had confronted me with the pull-a-pig game, I finally believed the truth of Sebastian’s affection.

After a blissful night in Sebastian’s arms, we woke early and returned to the academy in time for breakfast and a quick change of clothes. At that moment, nothing could dampen the high I’d felt from the night before. Not the freezing wind, not the looming academy, and not thoughts of Miss Claymore or either of the Byrds.

As we walked through the courtyard, the scent of a bonfire hung in the air, making me think about Corrine’s death at the Summer Solstice. Valentine’s day was next week, meaning that Imbolc, the festival for the Celtic Goddess, Brigid, had passed without much fanfare.

At the entrance to the west wing, Sebastian gave me a peck on the lips. “See you later.”

I grinned back. “Thanks for showing me a good time.”

“There’s plenty more where that came from.” He winked. “As much as you can handle.”

Imagining Sebastian, Leopold, and Prakash standing in a row, naked, hard, and ready to do anything I wanted, I licked my lips and winked back. “See you later.”

Sebastian headed for the east wing, and I practically flew up the four flights of stairs. The first thing I would do once I got dressed was to hand Bianca back the envelope of money I’d stashed in my school bag. I wouldn’t tolerate any more shit from her, her best friend, or her freak of a father. But if she ever needed me to serve as a witness, I’d be there.

I unlocked the door to my room and stepped inside, only to find it completely stripped. Everything—my laptop, my books, my pictures, my school bag, even my comforter from home—everything was gone.

My stomach dropped to the parquet floor, and I rushed ahead and flung open the closet. It was bare. Each drawer I opened was bare. The storage area in the bedside cabinet was also bare.

Who had taken all my stuff?

“Calm down,” I whispered to myself. “There’s a logical explanation.”

My mind whirred through the possibilities. Maybe my room was being fumigated. Maybe Mrs. Benazir had decided to expel me and had ordered my things packed up. I shook my head. Both would require some kind of notice, and neither would happen overnight.

I walked to the window and stared out into the gardens. A bonfire blazed in the middle of the lawn.

I blinked. Bonfire?