Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
“Most of them. A few are just random extras the company must have added by accident. Like this.” I pluck out a small white packet that I noticed when I first opened the box. It’s actually a sample of oxytocin-based fertilizer. Papa and I have been experimenting with using oxytocin to stimulate plant growth. “Don’t know how that got in here. But everything else is fair game. Help yourself.”
They pick through the box. It’s early in the night, but I figure it’s as good a time as any to share my life update.
“So, I have news. I’m getting married.”
“What?” Honey and Raine say in unison.
“Yeah. It’s a long story.” I hold up the box mix I brought. “Can I tell it to you while we make brownies?”
“Yes!” Honey jumps up and leads us to the kitchen. It’s a long, low-ceilinged room with a stone floor and pistachio colored appliances.
“Do you want normal brownies or fun brownies?” I ask.
Raine narrows her eyes. “What does that mean?”
“My father owns lots and lots of farms. And greenhouses. We grow all sorts of plants.”
“Oh,” Honey says.
“So… weed.” Raine shrugs. “I’m down.”
I pull out my container of special butter. “YOLO.”
20
Sleepover 5:49 pm
* * *
The brownies are in the oven, and Honey is making popcorn on the stove.
“So you’re seriously getting married,” she says, shaking her head like she can’t believe it.
“My father says I have to do it. He’s in trouble. Everyone thinks he poisoned some mafia don. It’s a whole thing.” I wave my hand.
“Who do they think he poisoned?” Raine asks.
“His name is something cheesy… Alfredo.” I snap my fingers.
“Alfredo Vesuvio?” Honey glances at Raine. “Son of Dominus Vesuvio?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
Honey keeps looking at Raine, biting her lip.
“I need chocolate,” Raine mutters.
Honey takes the popcorn off the stove, marches to the pantry, and returns with a basket full of candy bars.
“What?” I’m missing something. “What is it?”
“Raine’s from the Vesuvio family,” Honey tells me.
“Wait, really?” I lean in so fast I almost knock the candy basket off the island. Cool, Bella, be cool. But I can’t keep the interest out of my voice when I ask, “You’re a Vesuvio?”
Raine groans. “I’m not. I mean, I am, but not really. Veronica—that’s my mom—was a rebel and pretty much an outcast. Dominus is her uncle.”
“Dominus?” Tingles run down my arms when I hear his name.
“He’s the head of the Vesuvio family. Big, bad mafia don,” Honey explains as if I don’t know who he already is. I don’t say anything. As far as everyone’s concerned, I need to be a clueless schoolgirl and a pawn in the game between my father, Fraternitas, and the Vesuvios.
“He’s the worst,” Raine confirms. “My mom tried to escape the family when she was younger. Ran off, had me. She got lucky; Dominus never recognized her as part of the family. Then her luck ran out.”
I make sympathetic noises, my mind whirling. “What happened?”
“Dominus sent some men to get Veronica and bring her back into the fold so he could marry her off to secure an alliance.”
“Your mom had an arranged marriage?”
“Yeah. Dominus made an alliance with the Saint family and made her marry my stepfather, Calix Saint. And then shit went sideways… It’s actually kind of a cluster right now. But long story short, I’m not really a Vesuvio anymore. I’m considered a Saint now.” She sighs and lifts the silver chain she’s wearing around her neck. It has a small charm in the shape of a cup or chalice, decorated with blue stones. Silver and blue, the colors of the Saint family.
We’re learning about this in our orientation classes. The Saints were one of the four families that helped found the university. I’m wracking my brain, trying to remember more about them, when Honey says to Raine, “So you could live on Blood Quad.”
“No, thank you. My stepbrother won’t allow it. Even if he did, I wouldn’t want to.” Raine shudders. “I don’t want anything to do with the Houses.” She’s still fiddling with the cup charm on the end of her necklace. Both Honey and I stay quiet. We all know that, as the daughter of two different Houses, Raine is already involved as much as anyone can be.
“Remind me who the families are again?” I say. “And which House is which? I just remember the bull and snakes or whatever.”
“The Bulls, the Swords, the Saints, and the Serpents,” Honey rattles off. “Those are the Houses. The Bulls are led by Dominus Vesuvio and the Vesuvio family. The head of the Swords is Royal Regis. Then there are the Saints led by…” She hesitates and looks at Raine.
“It’s in transition,” Raine says. “TBD.”
“And the Serpents are led by the Serpente family,” Honey says.
“Right, right, that one’s easy,” I say. The four families have their crests and insignias all over campus. Stained glass, tapestries, statues, and artwork depicting bulls, swords, chalices, and snakes—anywhere they can stick a symbol. “What about you, Raine? Are you in danger of being married off?