Read House of Ravens for Free Online Page B

he says.
“We’ll leave right now.”
    “ Thanks, see you in a
minute.”
    With a few minutes to kill, I loop around
town, my eyes searching the shadows. Looking for yellow eyes.
Looking for faces that look like mine.
    I need to find so many different
individuals, and don’t know how to look for any of them.
    Finally, I head toward the Institute.
    As the road changes to gravel, the ground
outside becomes saturated. The trees that rise out of the ground
are full, lush.
    But I swear, it’s just a little
different.
    The smell isn’t what it once was.
    There’s more greenery.
    Maybe I’m just being hopeful. Seeing things
that aren’t really there.
    I look into my rearview mirror when a motion
catches my eye and see Lillian’s car behind me. She and Nial sit
inside, sunglasses on. We turn right onto the driveway that leads
to the Institute.
    I still can’t believe how much better it
looks as we pull into the line of cars that sit before the enormous
House. When Jasmine lived here, it was dilapidated. Destroyed.
Broken. And while it certainly isn’t as grand and perfectly
beautiful like the Conrath Estate, it is lovely.
    “ I trust you slept well,”
Nial says as we all walk up the stairs together.
    “ I did, thank you,” I say
appreciatively. He’s always taking such good care of me.
    “ Does that mean you
actually got sleep last night?” Lillian teases, giving me a
look.
    I blush at her insinuation. “Remember that
status I told you about? It still stands.”
    She gives me a knowing look, smiling at our
little shared secret. Back before I was taken away and she doubted
me, I shared the fact that Ian is a virgin with her and Anna.
    Nial clears his throat, clearly embarrassed
to be listening in on such a private conversation.
    “ Sorry,” I say with a
chuckle.
    He shares a little look with Lillian that
makes me glance at the two of them a second time. And makes me
wonder…
    Lillian opens the door, and the three of us
step inside. And where once this house was dirty and broken, now it
is cozy and comfortable. The windows are fully blocked off, so it’s
dark, but perfect for a Born vampire’s eyes. Draperies line the
windows; paintings now hang on the wall. A beautiful rug dominates
the entryway, where an ornate table sits with a gorgeous vase of
fresh cut flowers.
    “ Was this your work?” I ask
Lillian.
    “ It was a team effort,” she
says with a smile. “Francesca has beautiful taste.”
    The name echoes in the back of my head, and
I’m scrambling to place a face to it. So many new members joined my
house shortly before I was taken away, I never really got the
chance to get to know any of them.
    But just then, a young woman rounds the
corner, walking into the foyer, and instantly, I am reminded.
    Cyrus involuntarily made the House of
Allaway trade five members to my House. Francesca was forced to
volunteer to come to my House. In the end, it probably saved her
life, for when their House left mine, just minutes later, most of
them were slaughtered by the Bitten army.
    “ Hello, Alivia,” she says,
giving me a little bow. “Welcome home.”
    “ Thank you,” I say,
offering her a polite smile. “You’ve done some beautiful work with
the place.” It’s a little disorienting, knowing she helped do all
of this. She looks so young, probably only eighteen or so, but when
you’re dealing with immortal Born, they could be any age. Hundreds
of years old, or only barely Resurrected.
    She blushes, bowing her head in humility.
She doesn’t quite seem to know what to do in my presence.
    “ I look forward to getting
the chance to know you better,” I offer, trying to break the ice.
I’m generally not the most extroverted person when it comes to new
people, but this girl’s unease is tangible. “How long were you with
the House of Allaway?”
    “ Nine years,” she says. “As
a Born, anyway. My family has lived around the Allaways for a long
time, but I was the first Born.”
    I nod, getting some