“I can’t wait to see those psychos get put in prison,” I say, looking up at a paper star lantern above my head. Now, I totally remember procuring these babies for the prom. They remind me of that night on the roof, and I just can’t seem to help myself. I’m a hopeless romantic.

“Or in the ground,” Ranger suggests, but even though Micah snorts, it’s very clearly not a joke.

Our food comes, and I have to say, it’s off the charts good. I ordered some sort of phyllo wrapped chicken thing with a salad and a twice baked potato, eating until I’m stuffed, and I feel like my magic fairy dress might very well burst open at the seams.

“Okay, enough food for Charlotte,” I say with a groan, pushing the plate back and slumping in my chair.

“Hopefully not so much that you can’t dance?” Micah asks, giving me a saucy little look that reminds me of that day in Santa Cruz, when we went racing in his Lamborghini.

“Um, hell no. Isn’t that what tonight is all about?” he stands up and takes my hand, pulling me away from Spencer and Church and into the gyrating throng in the center of the room. I have to say, he’s not much of a dancer either, but he knows how to move in a way that keeps me very, very interested.

“Hey,” Tobias asks, leaning over the back of his chair to stare at us. “Are you two dancing or fucking? Because it looks like the latter, for sure.”

“You’re just jealous, dickhead,” Micah retorts, sweeping me away again. He keeps me with him until we’re both sweaty and panting, collapsing into our chairs at the table. Every few songs, I switch up which dance partner I take out on the floor with me, grabbing small breaks in between to catch my breath.

“Are you sure you can handle five of us?” Ranger asks as he spins me around, and I try to decide if he’s really talking about dance, or he means something a bit more … lascivious. Dancing with five different guys, I can definitely do. But if he means five of them in bed at the same time … then he’s going to have to wait a while.

At least until college, right? That sounds like an experimental college thing to try.

“I’m sure,” I say, enjoying him as a strong lead on the dance floor. As he escorts me back to the table, I hear the screech of a chair and look over to see Selena leaning over Aster’s table. She whispers something to the other girl, and they exchange a venomous sort of look. It’s got to be something to do with Mark. Selena hits Aster’s drink over, spilling liquid all over her dress, and then storms out the door.

As soon as Mark sees, he’s up and out of his chair to go after her. When Aster tries to catch up, grabbing onto his sleeve, he yanks his arm away from her and disappears.

It’s pretty damn obvious in that moment which girl he’s picked.

“That was painful,” I snort, shaking my head and looking back at the guys. But frankly, I couldn’t care less about their disturbing love triangle. I’m just starting to get pumped for the night, like maybe I’ll dance until the freaking sun comes up. “Tobias, shall we?”

“We shall,” he says, rising to his feet and taking my arm before he stops to glare at his brother. “And I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Instead of just grinding our bodies together—which I liked a lot, by the way—Tobias takes it slow, putting his hands on my hips and sliding them up toward my ribcage. He leans in and kisses the side of my neck, our bodies moving at a much slower pace than all the other dancers around us. But oh my god, it’s hot.

We’re in the middle of a huge group of people, but he’s touching me like we’re in bed, alone. Fortunately, the crowd is thick enough right now that Dad can’t see us. If he could, he’d probably burst a vein in his forehead. I mean, I’m eighteen now, so there isn’t much he could do to stop me.

The song ends, and Tobias and I stand there breathless for a moment, separating only when an entire new song has passed.

“Shall we get a drink?” he asks, offering up his arm. I take it, always pleasantly surprised by the muscles in his arm, and move over to the refreshments table to grab some punch. It’s been spiked, that’s for sure, but none of the administrators have noticed yet. I’m okay with it though; it’s nice to have a little bit of a buzz going. The edges of reality blur a bit, making the golden lights seem like stars above our heads. Couples are still slow dancing as Tobias and I stand there and sip our drinks, glancing at one another, and then popping a pair of miniature pink cupcakes into each other’s mouths.

“Let’s dance again, before any of my asshole friends try to steal you away again,” he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me back into the glittering crowd. One of his hands finds my waist while the other grasps my hand, drawing me back into the magic of the evening.

We’ve only been dancing for a few minutes before I start to notice people sagging into their chairs, or even pausing to sit down on the floor in pools of silk and satin.

“What’s going on?” I ask as Tobias groans and releases my hands, stumbling back and landing on his knees in front of me. “Tobias?” I lean down next to him just before I start to feel it, too, a heavy drowsiness washing over me that makes me sway in place.

All around us, couples are collapsing to the ground. Here and there, a person or two seems completely unaffected by it, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Even most of the staff members are swaying or falling over.

“What …” I start, lifting my gaze and searching the room for the rest of the boys.

A sound behind me, like stone scraping against stone, draws my attention around to a girl in a yellow prom dress … and the awful, grinning visage of the Fellowship’s fox mask. She’s standing in the black void of a doorway that wasn’t there before.

Another hidden door, like the one in the antique shop, I think before she takes a step toward me.

“Catch for us the little foxes,” she whispers, grabbing my wrist and yanking me into the tunnel with her.

Cold water drips onto my forehead, waking me with a start. For a second there, I’m convinced that I drank too much at prom and ended up with a hangover. That’s it. Everything else, that was just a nightmare.

But then I blink myself fully awake, staring up at a ceiling that’s painted with bizarre imagery, people in robes, in masks. There’s a lot of blood. Oh yeah, a hell of a lot of blood in that art. What in the actual fuck? My pulse starts to race, and I struggle to sit up, but my arms and legs aren’t budging. Turning my head to the right, I can see that my wrist is tied in place. In fact, both of my wrists are bound. Both ankles, too.

Candles flicker from metal torch stands, evenly spaced around the circular room. We’re very clearly underground here; there are no windows, just murals painted to look like them. The ceiling is chiseled stone, as are the walls, and I’m pretty sure the thing I’m lying on is made of rock, too. It’s cold against my bare shoulders as I shift slightly, testing my bonds and blinking through a thick haze.

What happened to everyone at the dance? I wonder, suddenly more concerned for the boys than I am myself. Tobias was barely responsive, last I remember.

“Hello?” I call out, my voice echoing in the empty chamber. There’s nobody here that I can see, but clearly, I didn’t tie myself up on this stone altar.