9. Maddison

Maddison

A bout fifteen minutes later, River and I are pulling up to the lake. I immediately notice that cars are parked near the shore. My mind wanders back to what Lily told me about this place, how people come here to mess around. I don’t believe that River would convince me to come here with him under false pretenses, but my skepticism is kicking in. I hate that part about me—that I constantly question everyone’s motives.

“There’s a lot of people here,” I remark, noting that all the cars are as lavish as River’s.

“Yeah, people come here from the academy to …” He trails off, stiffening as he silences the engine. He’s parked in a space that overlooks the lulling water and the moonlight’s reflection like a massive ball of crystal light.

“To mess around,” I finish for him. When he glances at me with concern, I add, “Don’t worry. I don’t think that’s why you brought me here. Lily told me that that’s why a lot of people come here, though.”

He grimaces. “I’m guessing she probably implied that’s why I chose this place.”

“She did,” I tell him with a smile. “Don’t worry. I’m used to Lily’s unfiltered attitude at this point. And I don’t believe everything she says.”

He nods, relief cascading over his features. “That’s good. I don’t want you to think I took you here for that.”

I study him. “Why did you take me here, then? You said you need to tell me some stuff?”

He sucks in a breath through his nose then gradually lets it out while gazing out at the water. “I do. There’s two things, but you have to promise that this conversation stays between us.” He looks at me then. “Because knowing some of this stuff can be dangerous, so I want you to think about that first before you agree that you want me to tell you.”

I twist in the seat, bringing my leg up onto the leather. “Does it have to do with me?”

With his lips smashed together, he nods. “It does.”

I could live in the dark—I already have too many problems as it is—but not knowing will end up haunting me.

“I want to know.”

He rakes his fingers through his hair and meets my gaze. “You remember that note that was left on your door that night of the party?”

“Of course. It’s been bothering me because, even if it was for Lily, it’s unnerving not knowing who did it.”

“I might have an idea of who did it. There’s this society at the academy that’s very illuminati-like. It’s a don’t-speak-about-it, keep-it-hush-hush-or-else-you’ll-pay-some-severe-consequences type of thing. Finn is part of it, mostly because our father wants him to be. He wanted me to join, too, but I figure agreeing to marry someone is enough of a family obligation.”

“Agreed,” I mutter, scratching my neck. “So, is that why Finn disappeared in the library? Because he entered some secret door that leads to this society room?” I’m partially joking, but the look on his face is pure seriousness. “Oh, that really was what happened.”

He gives an unsteady nod. “You can’t let anyone know you know that, okay? It’s dangerous knowledge.”

“Trust me; I’ll keep quiet. I’m good at knowing when to keep my mouth shut.” I pause. “Well, unless I’m seeking answers, but I’m hoping you’ll give me those now.”

“I’ll tell you what I know.” He rests an arm on the console. “Finn told me that the society is targeting you for some reason and, more than likely, they’re behind the note on the door.”

“What? Why would they target me?” My shoulders slump. “Is it because I’m from northside?”

“I don’t think so. When the society targets people, it’s usually for a purpose. I doubt they’d fixate on you just because of that.”

“Then, why would they?”

“Well, that brings me to the second part of what I need to tell you … It’s about that necklace you told Finn that you have. The one that looked like Lily’s.”

I absentmindedly touch the hollow of my neck where the necklace used to hang before I got older and stopped wearing it. “Yeah, he acted weird about that when I told him I had one, but I don’t know why. More than likely, my aunt got it at a pawn shop. I did try to get a hold of her to check, but she’s discontinued her number and email, which is a little weird but not totally out of character for her.”

“Where is she? Do you know?”

“The last I heard from her, she was leaving the country, but she didn’t have a set address. She’s kind of a wanderer—I used to envy her when I was kid. She just seemed like she had an interesting life. Well, more interesting than my parents, who have lived in the same area their entire lives. I don’t know, though, the older I get, the more I think I want stability.” I roll my eyes at myself. “God, I sound like an eighty-year-old woman.”

He hastily shakes his head. “You don’t. I promise. Stability is good. I wish I had it in a different way. My stability is forced on me.” He clears his throat. “But, anyway … the issue with your aunt having that necklace is it’s one of the rarest necklaces. In fact, the family it belongs to no longer exists.”

My head angles to the side, and strands of my hair fall into my eyes. “What do you mean, they no longer exist ?”

“I mean, their bloodline died out in the seventies.”

I blink at him. “How in the hell does a bloodline die out?”

He shrugs. “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out, but there’s literally no information about them online. The only reason we were able to find out about the necklace belonging to this family is because of the online archive for the royal families. But the only info on there was what I just told you. That’s it. So, you having that necklace is particularly weird. Honestly, even if it didn’t belong to this deceased royal family bloodline, it’d still be weird because royals try to keep those necklaces off the market. And if one does make it there, it’d be sold for a ton of money.”

“Maybe one slipped through the cracks?” I offer. “Or maybe my aunt gave me a counterfeit? It could be possible.”

“I thought about that, too, but royals have people who try to keep those off the market, too.”

“Dude, you royals work awfully hard to keep things exclusive.”

“Trust me; I completely agree.” He traces the top of the steering wheel with his fingers. “Do you still have the necklace?”

“Yeah, but it’s at my house. I wanted to get it, but I’m worried Drew’s watching the place.” I dither. “I think I need to try to get it, though, especially after what you just told me. Because if it is counterfeit, then we can just let this weirdness drop. But if it’s not, then I’ll have to track down my aunt and figure out how the hell she got a hold of it.” I give a brief pause. “Or maybe I could sell it and pay off Drew.” I perk up. “Oh my God, what if I could? I mean, I know you said there’s people who try to protect that from happening, but what if I just gave it to Drew in exchange for my freedom?”

“That could be a possibility,” he says, but his tone conveys a strange dubiousness to it.

“What are you not telling me?” I accuse. “Because I’m getting this feeling there’s something else.”

He rotates to face me again. “It’s not that I’m not telling you. It’s just this idea that I have that could explain why your aunt got a hold of the necklace. I have no proof, though.”

“Okay … So, what is it?”

“That … that maybe she’s part of this bloodline.”

“What?” I squeak then clear my throat. “Seriously, what?”

He scratches the back of his neck. “It’s just a theory, but I’m telling you, the probability of her having that necklace by merely stumbling across it in some store is almost as rare as the bloodline it belongs to.”

“But my family is from northside,” I stress, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “Trust me; if anyone came from money, my parents wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret. And if my aunt is a royal, then that’d make my mother one, too. She would not keep that a secret. Or do I need to remind you of that little phone conversation you overheard while we were in jail?”

“I guess I see your point.” Doubt still weighs in his tone.

Me? I’m pretty convinced what I said is accurate. However, the longer we sit in silence, the more I want answers.

“You know what? If you’ll drive me to my place, I’ll sneak in and get it. We just need to be super careful, especially if my mother’s home. I’ll have to sneak in through the window but scope the place out first.” I shift in my seat. “We’ll have to park a ways away and walk because your car will stand out. There’s this carport a handful of blocks away from my place; you can park there and wait for me while I sneak in …” I trail off at the sight of the wariness on his face. “Never mind. I need to take care of this myself. I’ll ride the bus there tomorrow and figure something out?—”

He places a hand on mine, causing my next words to get caught on my lips.

“I can take you there. I want to go with you, though.”

I shake my head. “You don’t want to leave your car unattended anywhere in that area.”

He considers this. “Then we’ll leave it in Royal City and take an Uber there.”

“River, that’s too expens?—”

He traces his fingers along the back of my hand, silencing me again. He needs to stop touching me like that because it’s too distracting.

“Let’s do this tonight. That way, we can at least know if it’s fake. If not, then we can try to figure out how your aunt got a hold of it. If it is fake, then that’s one less thing to worry about.” He leaves his hand on mine as he dazes off with a crease between his brow. “If it’s not a fake, it could explain why the society is targeting you.”

My brows shoot upward. “Wait—what?”

His gaze collides with mine, and the intensity in his eyes sends a chill down my spine. “If you’re from this allegedly dead bloodline and the society found out, it could be behind the cause of why they’re going after you, depending on why this family bloodline no longer exists.”

“How would they even find that out?” I shake my head. “Never mind. Forget I asked, because there’s no way I could be a royal.” When he stares at me, I stress, “River, dude, think about it. Could you imagine me dressed up in designer dresses and going to fancy dinners?”

He chews on his bottom lip, not answering.

“What the hell?” I ask, appalled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He lazily lifts a shoulder. “You told me to imagine it.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Yeah, well, you were supposed to say you couldn’t imagine it.”

“But I can,” he replies truthfully. When I glare at him, he shrugs again. “You’re beautiful, and I could see you in a nice dress, looking … beautiful.”

“Stop calling me that,” I mutter, my cheeks warm.

Usually, I get irritated when guys call me hot or beautiful, but River is making me blush.

What the hell, Maddy? Where is your head at?

Thank God, River gets as embarrassed, too, as he realizes what he said.

“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I shouldn’t have said that …” A quick pause. “Even if it is true.”

I sigh loud enough for him to hear me. “Can we just stop with the compliments? I don’t do well with them.”

“Only if you agree that we take care of this tonight and get the necklace. Because I don’t want you trying to sneak off by yourself—it’s too dangerous.”

I think it might be the first time I’ve felt like someone has worried about me. Maybe that’s why I agree.

Or maybe I’ve been struck dumb by all the royal prettiness.

Whatever the reason, it looks like I’m going to northside tonight.