Page 59 of American Royals II: Majesty

“Sorry that you did it, or sorry you got caught?”

“I’m sorry forallof it!”

Something in her tone must have given her away, because she saw the moment of Himari’s comprehension, as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place.

“Oh my god. The night of the twins’ graduation party. That wasyou.”

Daphne leaned forward, but Himari lurched unsteadily from the couch. She stumbled back, to where a row of plastic folding chairs leaned against one wall, and held one before her so that its four legs were stretched out like weapons.

“You stay away from me.” Himari’s voice bristled with outrage, and even more heartbreaking, with fear. “You slept with Ethan, and when I confronted you about it, you tried tokillme to shut me up!”

Daphne’s mind was brutally silenced by those words.

“Of course I didn’t try to kill you,” she managed. “I mean, I guess it might seem that way, but you don’t know the whole story.”

“You’re the one who drugged me that night! Aren’t you?”

Daphne glanced down, unable to bear the hurt and disgust on Himari’s face, and gave a miserable nod.

Himari set down the chair, but didn’t move. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I never thought—I just wanted you to do something dumb that night,” Daphne stammered. “Something I could hold over your head, the way you were holding Ethan over mine. I never, ever meant to hurt you. You’re my best friend.”

“Iwasyour best friend, until I got between you and Jeff.” Himari shook her head. “That’s the thing about you, Daphne. You always put yourself first. You’re completely and utterly selfish.”

Daphne winced. It was one thing to know the ugly truth about her choices, another thing entirely to hear it from someone else. “I’m so sorry. Himari—it destroyed me, what happened to you.”

“Are you kidding? You don’t get to askmeto feel sorry foryou,” the other girl hissed. “I could havedied!”

“If I could take back what happened, I would! It’s the biggest regret of my life!”

Himari looked at Daphne for an interminable moment. “I wish I could believe you,” she said at last. “But you’re too much of a liar. You lie to me and to Jeff, and most of all you lie to yourself.”

Sometimes, when Daphne was asleep, she got trapped in a lucid dream—she had the panicked realization that she was asleep but still couldn’t wake up. She felt like that now, trapped in some warped, nightmarish version of reality.

“Please,” she begged. “Is there anything I can do to fix this?”

Himari shook her head. “Get out.Now.”

When Daphne got home, her mother was sitting in the living room. There was only one light on, a brass standing lamp that threw strange shadows over her, emphasizing her cruel beauty.

“Where were you?” she asked, without preamble.

Rebecca Deighton was invariably polite to strangers, especially strangers who might prove useful to her at some point in the future. But she never wasted the effort on her own family.

Daphne’s eyes burned. She felt a sudden urge to tell her mother everything that had happened—to let it all spill out and ask for advice, the way other girls did withtheirparents.

Of course, she couldn’t do anything of the sort.

“I was at Himari’s,” she said weakly.

“Not with Jefferson?” Rebecca gave a little tsk of criticism. “Has he asked you to the wedding?”

Daphne shifted her weight. “Not yet.”

“Why not?” her mother asked, cold as ice.

“I don’t know.”