There was so much more happening than I realized. I was in the deep end barely treading water, and so far, I hadn’t bothered to learn how to swim.
But swim I must.
I stood and joined Kaspar at the door. “Do you really think you can control him? A man like Redmond isn’t used to taking orders.”
“That’s the funny thing about control. Sometimes, you don’t even realize you’re being nudged back and forth like a boat on open water.” He put his hand on my lower back and I wanted to scream, but I forced a smile on my lips. “Don’t worry about Redmond, pet. Worry about yourself.” He shoved me forward.
I stumbled once and nearly fell.
The young guard from earlier appeared at my side. He caught me before I could topple over into the street. I sucked in a sharp breath and straightened up, giving him a grateful nod.
He smiled back—but his smiled died on his lips as Kaspar gave him a withering stare.
For one long moment, I thought my young guard was dead.
But Kaspar only shook his head and strode off. I hurried in his wake, with the guards coming after.
6
Alice
Eight Years Ago
Blackwoods College
Penny was a freaking pig.
She was used to maids, staff, servants. She grew up in her pretty little mansion and was given everything.
I learned early on to keep whatever was important as close as possible. I was fastidious about everything I owned, because I knew it could be taken away at any moment.
I appreciated what I was given.
Not my gross roommate.
Her side was a cyclone of clothes, trash, books, receipts, papers, typewritten notes, scanned lab pages, and junk I couldn’t identify.
She had a bucket under her bed of mismatched socks.
It was the most psychotic thing I’d ever seen.
“Why are you always straightening up?” Penny asked one morning, stifling a yawn.
“Because if I don’t then we’ll probably both end up crushed under your mess.”
She glared at me. “It’s not that bad.”
“It’s definitely that bad. Seriously, I’m shocked we don’t have rats, unless the rats already drowned in your dirty laundry.”
“Don’t be so gross,” she said, picking up a pile of shirts and throwing them at me.
I wanted to strangle her right then and there. It wouldn’t have been hard. She was soft and pampered like a little baby.
Her phone rang.
She glared at the screen and send it to voicemail. It rang again a minute later.
“You should just answer,” I said, annoyed, and threw her clothes back.
She dumped them on the floor instead of putting them in the hamper.
“It won’t help. He’ll tell me to meet him somewhere, and I won’t go, and then he’ll call a million more times.”
“He’s not going to give up.”
“He will eventually. I don’t know how many more times I need to tell him that I’m not interested.”
I snorted and looked away. I didn’t know what a man like Kaspar saw in Penny Servant, but he was smitten—obsessed, actually.
He didn’t leave her alone. Day and night, he lingered. Sometimes, he snuck into the dorm and appeared in our doorway. She made me chase him away, which I was loath to do, since I knew he made her uncomfortable.
And he was very nice to look at, despite being a total crazy person.
In a lot of ways, I could relate to him, being a crazy person myself.
I enjoyed watching her squirm. Kaspar was a big reason I hadn’t killed her yet. That, and I needed to come up with a way to make it big, bold, and splashy. Maeve wanted to send a message to the Servants and all the other Oligarchs, and a simple little murder wouldn’t be enough.
I had to go big. Really, really big.
“Why don’t you go out with him?” I asked, sprawling back onto my bed. “I mean, he’s good looking, he’s rich and popular, what more could you want?”
“I don’t know, but—” Her phone started ringing again. She growled in frustration and turned it off. “I have to get out of here.” She jumped to her feet and grabbed her stuff.
“Want me to come?” I asked lazily, knowing she’d say yes.
“God, yeah, I shouldn’t be alone, right?”
I shook my head, playing it up. “No way. Not with Kaspar lurking around. He might get you off so many times you’ll die in a puddle of your own juices.”
“You’re so disgusting.” Penny threw on a sweatshirt and pulled up the hood. “Come on, let’s go.”
I grabbed a hoodie and followed. We took the back pathway along Blackwood’s gorgeous little campus. This place was heaven, the sort of upper class college dream I never imagined for myself. From as far back as I could remember, I’d always assumed I’d die young in a gutter somewhere, poor and alone.
That I was still breathing was a small miracle, and all thanks to Maeve.
We approached the library and someone stepped into our path up ahead.