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TWELVE

Midnight already? Where had the time gone? She heard King say something to her, but she couldn't hear him over that bloody clock. She wouldn't hear the coach leaving, either, and she needed to be on it. Her shift started at nine tomorrow, and she'd need some sleep between now and then.

Thankful she'd kicked off her heels earlier in the evening, Lily flew across the lawn, her feet too cold to feel the gravel crunching beneath them as she leaped onto the coach steps, just before the door shut. She shoved her way in, though the door tried to close on her, before collapsing on the nearest seat.

Everyone else looked as exhausted as she felt. Well, they'd all been dancing all night, too, though they likely hadn't had her enthusiastic dance partner.

Rosalind's carefully coiffed ringlets now hung in sweaty tangles down her back and shoulders, picking up stray bits of gold glitter from her dress. Sienna looked particularly pale, now her signature red lipstick had worn off. Too many cocktails, or too much kissing? Given her gown didn't look any more mussed then the moment she'd zipped it up, Lily's bet was on her spending the night drinking, or trying all the food. Sienna wasn't into dancing.

Auren looked as fresh as a freaking daisy, but her attention was fixed on her phone, and all the beautiful photos she'd taken at the event. Candace fancied herself a social media influencer, but Auren was the queen of every platform she posted on. Every picture, every post was pretty and almost perfect, but in such an authentic way that you couldn't possibly doubt they were her work, her thoughts, her everything laid bare for the world to see. Then Auren's eyes widened, as she pressed her phone to the window. "Are you seeing this?" she asked, pointing.

Lily cupped her hands to her eyes and peered out. There was a hulking shape in the forest. Like a pony or something, but with a huge...

"Is that a lion?" Lily gasped out. She and Auren watched, wide eyed, as the enormous cat bounded out of the shadows and right up to the bus. Claws raked the window and they both screamed, but the coach driver just kept going, accelerating away. The lion gave chase, but soon fell behind.

Hunter. Prey. If Lily had known a real, live lion lurked in the woods, she never would have stayed outside. What if it had attacked her and King while they were dancing? She'd known it was there, watching her. She should have listened to her instincts and left then. If she hadn't made it to the coach in time...who knew what might have happened?

"Damn. I didn't get a clear picture of it. Just the claw." Auren held up her phone. A massive paw with claws as long as Lily's fingers filled the screen, stretched across the bus window. Something that big could have taken her head off with one swipe. Auren let out a shaky laugh. "Well, that's one photo from the ball I won't be posting. I should delete it altogether, so it doesn't give me nightmares. I wanted to be a travel blogger when I was little, until I realised how many dangerous wild animals live in the prettiest wild places. Lions. Wolves. And bears! All sorts of things that could eat me alive." She shuddered. "Well, I guess I won't be going for a walk in the grounds until the zoo catches that lion."

Lily nodded, making a mental note to tell the headmistress or at least the coach driver, before she went to bed, so everyone was safe. She might not like Candace, Elsa or Anna much, but no one deserved to be mauled by a lion.