Vendetta {The Serpents of Veilwood #1}

TEN - SERAPHINA

On Sunday evening, House Dahlia packed up our tents and made our way to the crypt, a graveyard at the edge of the woodlands. It was situated below a hill, and there was a large building in the middle, made of stone and marble, surrounded by trees and tall grass.

"The crypt," I muttered.

"This place used to be a hospital," Isa said as we made our way through the iron gates, the sky was turning grey, and the sun beginning to set. "I heard a lot of people died in here and now their ghosts haunt the place."

The building was old, the stones cracked and broken, the grass dry. Gravestones and mausoleums were everywhere, their names were faded and covered in moss.

A loud engine roar filled the air and I glanced to the edge of the woods, my brows furrowing. A fleet of cars was making their way through the woods, their tires crushing the grass, their lights flashing. They drove fast, carrying with them a cloud of dust as they bust through the open gate.

As they stopped, their doors swung open, and a few boys came out.

"The boys headed to the academy to get the cars we'll use for the race this morning," Isa explained.

Damian was one of them, stepping out of a black Audi. He was dressed in a plain black t-shirt and jeans. His brothers came out of another car, Xavier and Xander, their presence making me a little uneasy.

"House Dahlia," a voice called.

Everyone looked up. Bethany was standing in front of the hospital. She waved at us, her blonde hair swaying in the breeze. "Please begin to set up camp on the east side of the graveyard," she instructed.

"Are we sure we want to be camping so close to an allegedly haunted hospital?" I asked Isa, tightening my hold on the straps of my backpack. "Did people really die in there?"

"I don't know but they say it shut down because the owners were doing unethical experiments in the basement," she answered, walking past me. "People say that the ghosts of those people are still here, haunting the halls."

My mouth went dry.

"It's probably just a story," Isa said.

"Probably," I whispered.

House Dahlia, Ivy and Orchid set up camp on the east side of the graveyard while House Sage, Willow and Aster set theirs up on the west side. The building had an old parking lot built under it, a ramp leading into the basement. A few cars were parked there.

After setting up our tent, Isa decided to take a nap while I walked over to where the cars were being worked on. A crowd of people had gathered to watch. Isa and I made our way to the front of the crowd, to find out see what was going on.

Most of the boys were shirtless including Damian who stood in front of an open car hood, his arms crossed. His hair was messy, the strands falling into his eyes. His shirt was off, his abs glistening with sweat. I could see the muscles in his arm flexing as he leaned over the car.

I took a deep breath, remembering last night.

"I don't know if that isn't already obvious but I like you, little ghost."

His words had echoed in my head for hours after we got back to camp. He had said it so nonchalantly, like he had just told me the weather or what time it was. He had held my hand as we walked back to camp and even though I knew I should have pulled away, that I should have gotten as far away from him as possible, I hadn't.

My father's killer, the boy who ruined my life had feelings for me.

Damian signaled to one of the boys to take over and then he grabbed a shirt from inside the car, putting it on. He glanced around the crowd for a moment, and then he found me, his lips curling into a smirk.