Page 4

I spin, fist clenching as I snap, “Excuse me?”

They don’t even look back, ignoring me altogether. “What about me?” Lakshmi asks. “You have anything to call me out on?”

Heather sighs. “No. Your tits are fabulous, your skin glows like an angel, and your hips are perfect for childbearing. You’ve got a solid chance.” A bubble of laughter follows. “I should slit your throat right here, but then I wouldn’t get to wear that fantastic dress.”

Gina raves, “I hear we get to keep them, and everything else, even if we aren’t chosen!”

The reality of what I’m doing here slams home and I turn, walking past the room full of girls to the bathroom. It’s predictably huge, a brightly lit, gilded mirror towering over a large countertop that’s been piled with every kind of makeup imaginable. Hairspray, curling and flat irons, gels and nail polish. It reminds me of the cutslut lounge, and for a moment, I’m caught off guard by a wave of homesickness.

If that exchange had happened in the gym’s lounge, there would have been a panty-clad fist fight. It doesn’t matter that I’ve never been much for the fighting part of West End. My knuckles still go white with the impulse, blood thrumming with rage.

It’s just another reminder that I don’t belong here.

Unable to look at myself right now, I avoid the row of mirrors and duck into the shower. I keep thinking that if I get a moment alone, time to catch myself and remember why I’m here, I’ll calm down. It’s the same thing I’ve been doing since I arrived an hour ago. Deep steadying breaths, followed by a single word: Sisterhood.

That’s why I’m here. For the Monarchs.

I know Lavinia and Story asked me to do this, but the Dukes? The cutsluts–my other sisterhood? God, mymother. If they find out I agreed to this cattle call…

Betrayal.

That’s how they’d see it.

Deep breaths, Verity.

It helps a little, but it’s not what gives me the strength to walk back out there, head held high.

One interaction in this house has proven to me why Story and Lavinia need someone on the inside. East Enders don’t throw fists. They make little cuts from afar, smiling all the while, and if the three of us want to see any kind of change in Forsyth, this is where we start.

Walking out of the bathroom, I march past the other girls already in the process of getting dressed. I stop at my mirror, taking in my mother’s green eyes and her mother’s red hair. Unlike the bitches around me, my pedigree comes from real women.

Women who aren’t afraid to stand on their own.

Eyes on the mirror, I drop my robe and reach for corset and panties. It’s a challenge not to cover myself—to show my nerves—but I square my shoulders and shimmy my legs into the soft, satin panties that fit like a glove. The corset is a bitch, and it feels like it’s stabbing into my ribs, but whatever. I grew up in a gym with fighters. No pain, no gain.

Once I’m hooked in, my tits look spectacular, and it’s not just me that notices. I see it in the reflection, Heather’s narrow eyes sweeping over me.That’s right, bitch.I’m a solid C-cup.

It’s not just silk and lace I’m wearing. It’s armor.

This isn’t a party. It’s a battle.

And there can only be one winner: The Monarchs.

2

Wicker

I exhalea thick plume of vapor, lounging back. “Fuck, I missed this.”

Pace is a couple feet away, fingers tapping away at a keyboard. “You missed watching me hack into the Palace’s feed?” he asks, and even though I’m behind him, sprawled out on the bed, he still reaches back at the exact moment I pass the dab pen. “You would. Without me around, you and Lex practically live in the stone age.”

I’m lost for a moment in the fog of what just happened. Lex and I are on a wavelength that’s different from the one me and Pace share, andthat.

That’s what I really missed.

“I can navigate my way through Father’s servers,” I insist, kicking out a foot. “I meant the weed. Lex hasn’t so much as touched a cup of coffee since…” I bite back the words, already seeing the tension in Pace’s shoulders. We both know what I mean, though. Lex got hooked on Viper Scratch after Pace got sent away, which was bad.

But when Pace got out, Lex had to stop.