Page 146 of Double Bucked

The two of them guide me inside. As soon as I pass the entrance, I’m greeted with a round of applause.

Lining the hallways are men I recognize. Daddy’s old friends. The men of the Benefactors’ Society, all dressed to the nines, wearing expensive suits and bright, white smiles. Their wives aren’t here—instead, I recognize former Belleflower Queens mixed among them.

My heart does a flip in my chest.

You’re here, the little twelve-year-old version of me whispers in my ear. You made it. You’re a Queen now.

I go down the line, shaking hands. Mustaches tickle my skin when they kiss my cheek.

“Follow me,” Jade says, circling her hand on my middle. “Let’s get you upstairs.”

I’m so light on my feet I feel like a balloon being tugged by a string when Jade guides me up the winding staircase, across the balcony, and into the same room I got ready in earlier. It’s been cleared out, mostly, but there’s an evening dress hanging on the dresser. It’s a soft, off-white color with sequins that flow down and sparkle like diamonds.

Jade lingers in the doorway. “Do you think I could have some privacy?” I ask.

She hesitates but then widens her smile. “Of course.”

With that, she exits, leaving me alone.

Alone.

It’s the first time I’ve been on my own all day, and the silence is almost deafening.

I pluck the pins out of my hair and gently remove the crown, setting it on the dresser. I shake my braids free, and my scalp tingles with gratitude. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My makeup has, somehow, held up. But my cheeks are flushed. My irises are pinholes.

There’s an adjoining half-bath. I turn on the sink and drink from it, greedy, slurping swallows, like a horse. The cool, fresh water tastes as good as running silver. Already, I feel myself coming back to life.

I wipe the back of my arm over my mouth. I don’t have much time. I click the button on Everett’s watch and hold it to my face.

“Claire Preacher,” I say. “I’m back at the Dagney Estate for the after-party. The entire Benefactors’ Society is here, along with former Belleflower Queens. They’ve been giving me something to drink—I’m not sure what. I think it’s laced. There’s security all around the building. I’m not sure if they’re here to keep people out or keep people in.”

I take off my dress. I let it fall in a heap on the floor as I step into the evening gown. There’s a zipper on the side, and I pull it up.

“No sign of Loren yet,” I continue to report. “Arris and Jade are here, though, so he must be here. When I find him?—”

In the window to my right, I see a light suddenly flicker on in the stables.

The sun is cooling on the horizon, leaving a low, blue-purple bruise in its shadow.

A golden light spills out of the mouth of the stable flanking the back of the house. I watch from my place as two figures exit the stable.

It’s hard to make it out. It looks like one man pulling another along. The taller man moves jerkily, as though his movement is limited, somehow.

I squint. Is that…?

Everett?

The knock on the door sends my nerves scattering like pins through my blood. I pull away from the window just in time to see Jade in the doorway, an impatient look on her face.

“They’re waiting for you downstairs,” she informs me.

I take one final glance out the window.

The figures are gone. The light still burns in the stables.

The unease in my body feels like raven claws digging into my chest.

I hear Daddy’s voice. Chin up. Back straight.

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