Page 53 of Switching Graves

Relief sweeps across her face, her shoulders falling as she lets out a sigh of relief.

“Absolutely. Make yourselves at home. I’ve got ball gowns on this rack.” She wraps her hand around a silver wardrobe rack that’s bursting with tulle in all different colors. “Mermaid styles on that wall, sheaths over there . . . ” Her finger stabs in every direction as she rattles off the different styles. Ava and Beatrix nod their heads in understanding, while Jonah sits uselessly in the corner on his phone, just like he said he would.

“I think she’d look amazing in an empire waist, don’t you?” Ava asks the woman, tapping two fingers to her lips in thought.

Everyone turns their gaze toward me, their eyes rolling over my chest, hips, and thighs before they nod their agreement.

“I think you’re right. Maybe something in a rich, dark tone to compliment that beautiful hair.” Short legs scurry over to a track that is far less filled than the first one, with more fabric variation. “This is your best bet. Go ahead and pick a few and we’ll see how they look.”

When we follow her over, she walks back over to the dress she was working on before. “I’m spending every moment I have on these alterations if I’m going to get them done in time, but I’ll be right here if you have any questions.”

We nod our thanks and begin rifling through the rack while Jonah leans against the wall and watches, periodically checking his phone.

“Who are you texting that has you so obsessed with looking at your phone?” Beatrix chides.

“No one,” he answers a little too quickly.

“Yeah, because that sounds convincing . . . ”

“It’s none of your business,” Jonah bites out.

“I’m just not sure why you came along to sit there with your face buried in a screen, smiling like a little schoolgirl. It’s it a guy?” she bickers back. Ava and I finger through the dresses, ignoring the sibling tiff altogether.

Jonah shushes her, throwing his hand out to give her a huge shove when she pretends to grab for his phone.

“Did you tell Beatrix or Jonah how unhinged Whitlock acted in the library the other day?” Ava interrupts with a conspiratorial gleam in her eye as we flip through dresses.

Jonah cocks his head at me and wiggles his brows at the same time Beatrix answers, “No, she didn’t. Do tell.”

Their little spat is long forgotten.

“It was nothing. He overheard me talking bad about him and got mad.”

“He looked like he wanted to murder her,” Ava adds, giving me a long, chastising glare before swiping past another dress. “It scared the hell out of me and Leni when he just appeared over her shoulder out of nowhere. Then, he took her to one of the aisles and I thought he was really going to hurt her.”

“Whitlock seems crazy enough to do it, too.”

“That’s what I said,” Ava agrees.

“I’m sure it’s all a guise to make himself feel important,” I huff, rolling my eyes. He’s actually pretty terrifying when he’s that angry, but I refuse to admit that to them.

“Are you talking aboutRazeWhitlock?” Miss Kay calls out. She’s stopped her work on the dress again and is peering over at us over her glasses with a serious expression.

“Yeah, we just have a little joke going about him to tease Poppy. I’m sure he’s harmless,” Ava tells her, offering a sheepish smile.

My stomach drops as I remember he’s from Nocturne Valley. She probably knows him and is pissed that we’re talking badly about him.

Instead of laying into us, she surprises me.

“You need to steer clear of that man,” she warns in a serious tone, slowly making her way back over to where we stand. The warm, welcoming nature she greeted us with has disappeared, and her face has gone completely pale.

“The Whitlocks have evil woven deep into their blood. They’re capable of atrocities beyond your comprehension. Why they let that man anywhere near young kids is a mystery none of us can understand.”

We all exchange glances in pure shock at the sudden change in her demeanor, unsure how to proceed. Jonah’s eyes bulge and Ava chews on her bottom lip. I want to question what she means. Why would she say that about a well-respected professor? And not just about him, but his entire family line?

Ava finds words before I do. “We were just joking around.” Her tone is lower—submissive, even—and less enthused than I’ve ever heard it.

“I promise, this is no laughing matter. No one else will tell you this. We’re not allowed. But I don’t give a damn what those popsicles threaten us with. It’s in your best interest to stay away. Nothing good comes from being around one of them.”

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