Page 70 of Snake

I don’t like the way she says that. Like she’s made sure I can never leave Cinderhart. But the weird look falls off her face a second later and she gently grasps my elbow through my long gloves, leading me a few paces away from Romi.

“I’m so sorry about earlier,” she murmurs, as if she doesn’t want anyone overhearing. “I didn’t expect to get so choked up. It’s strange how vivid the past can be.”

“That’s okay.” I swallow. “I know you said I’d meet them on Sunday, but can’t you just tell me who they are in the meantime?”

Vicky studies me for a second. She’s holding a champagne glass in one hand, something pink fizzing gently inside. I don’t know if it’s because she’s had too much to drink, or maybe it’s just the atmosphere, but she seems much more uninhibited than when she was at home. Or she’s just one of those social butterflies who thrives in situations like this.

She lets the unasked question hang in the air for another second before saying, “I suppose there’s no harm in it.”

But there’s something about the way she says it. Like the very idea has enough gravitas to create a fucking black hole. She glances at Romi, then rests a gloved finger against her lips, not seeming to care that she might smudge the white satin with her lipstick.

As if she just remembered something, Vicky flicks her wrist to check the time on a dainty, diamond-encrusted watch. “But it’ll have to wait until after.” When she looks up at me, she’s beaming. “Good luck, sweetie. Not that you need it.” She winks, turns, and walks off into the crowd without a backward glance.

“What the hell was that?” Romi whispers, slipping her arm through mine as she crowds in beside me so we can both watch Vicky weave her way through the crowd.“Why is she being so clandestine about it? It’s like we’re in a spy movie or something.”

I sigh. “Why won’t anyone just tell me who the hell my—”

The music cuts off abruptly, leaving my last two words hanging in thin air. “—sponsors are?”

The people closest to me throw me a look, and I even get shushed by someone from behind. My cheeks warm up, but Romi just giggles when I throw a confused look her way. Then she puts her finger to her lips and cocks her eyebrows as she turns to the stage.

Dean Rigby appears on the stage in front of the brass band, tapping a hand-held microphone a few times before clearing his throat loudly over the speaker system. “Cinderhart, thank you so much for coming tonight. We’ll be announcing the King and Queen Ashes in just a few minutes, so if you could all please leave the dance floor.”

People flow past us, a faint buzz of whispered conversation spreading through the crowd as it disperses.

I glance up at the balcony, and see Silas and Knox on the balcony, staring into the crowd below with unreadable expressions. “Hey, uh, want to go up there with me?” I use my eyes to point, and Romi takes a second to find our balcony.

“Does a bear eat donuts in the woods?” Romi asks through a laugh.

“You’re such a weirdo,” I mutter, leading her over the dance floor. Mason’s wide shoulders appear up ahead, and we follow him and Mariella up the stairs to our private balcony.

No one greets Romi when we arrive, but all three of the Serpents give her a cursory scan, like they’re making sure she’s not carrying weapons. I wedge myself and Romi between Knox and Mariella so we can see the dance floor and stage below, where an eager anticipation is flowing through the crowd. Nervous energy prickles from person to person and even reaches me up here—goosebumps break out briefly over my skin.

“What do you think she meant when she said ‘good luck’?” I ask Romi.

She shrugs. “Maybe she thinks you’ll be chosen as the Queen.”

“The what?”

Romi frowns, and then her face clears. “You know, I keep forgetting you didn’t grow up here.” She grins. “Fitting right in, aren’t you?” Then she turns and waves down at the stage. “They’re announcing the King and Queen.” Romi waggles her eyebrows at me. “There’s a lot of politics around the selection. In the past, they’d use it to introduce arranged marriages. Sometimes, the couple didn’t even know they would be married until they were crowned King and Queen.”

“God, that’s awful.”

Romi shrugs, pursing her lips. “I think it’s romantic. I mean, back then, they’d only do it with the most influential families. So you could come here alone and go home engaged to a First Five.” Her eyes go wide and glossy, like she’s looking at something only she can see. “I hope it’s Magnus and me.”

“Hey, where is he?”

She snaps out of whatever daydream she lost herself in with a sniff. “Don’t know. Don’t care. Bastard stood me up, so he can go fuck himself.”

“But you still want to be engaged to him?”

Romi shuffles her shoulders as she throws me a dismissive glance. “It’s complicated.”

“Yeah,” I mutter to myself. “That’s what I keep hearing.”

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