17. River

River

M addy has been acting strange since we spotted the paparazzi taking photos of us. I don’t blame her—it is a lot to take in. I feel terrible and know I need to talk to her about it, especially with us being in this faked dating agreement.

It’s consuming all of my thoughts until I get a call from an appraiser who has an unexpected opening, apparently after a cancellation. Maddy left the necklace in my room, so I grab it then try to call her so we can hit the road. But her phone goes straight to voicemail. I remember she has class, and since I’m running low on time to make it to the appointment, I send her a message that I’ll take care of it and let her know the results. Then I head out to the car, noting the sky is still bleak with clouds.

By the time I arrive at the appraiser’s, rain is again pouring from the sky and drenching the roads. I sprint inside the building to meet up with the guy doing the appraisal. He’s on the older side, with black hair and glasses. When I hand him the necklace, his eyes widen in awe.

“I haven’t seen one of these in a long time,” he informs me as he carefully studies the pendant from the other side of the glass counter. “If this is a genuine necklace, son, then you have something extremely rare here.”

“Really?” I play dumb, like I have no clue what the necklace could be.

He glances up at me. “Where did you find it?”

“My mother bought it from an auction house,” I lie. “She’s hoping it’s real, but I don’t know much about these necklaces.” Another lie.

He assesses me in a way that almost makes me squirm. “Give me fifteen minutes, and I should have an answer for you—or well, your mother, I guess.” His gaze lingers on me for a beat, and then he wanders into the back area of the store.

I roam around while I wait, looking at all the knickknacks covering the shelves that line the wall. Eventually, my phone rings. Figuring it’s Maddy, I answer without looking at who’s calling.

“Hey,” I say to her.

“Hello, River,” a male voice floats through the line.

I pause then glance to see who the caller is. It’s Eli. “What do you want?” I ask, assuming he’s calling about my initiation.

“Just calling to inform you that you’ve almost been accepted to the Royal Society,” he explains, and the elation in his voice is creeping me out. “You just have to pass initiation.”

“I figured as much,” I reply as the appraiser returns to the room. “Can we talk about this later? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“Actually, initiation has already begun,” he explains. “Your task is to find your little northside trash whore before the storm blows her away. You get one hint—she’s located where the first Royal Society Initiation took place.” With that, he hangs up the phone.

My heart nearly stops in my chest. What the hell did they do to Maddy?

I try to call her, but again, her phone goes straight to voicemail.

Shock is rolling through me as I hurry back to the counter to grab the necklace and get back to the academy so I can figure out what the hell is going on.

“This is a genuine pendant,” he informs me as he sets the pendant down on the glass. “It’s old, too, but that’s not surprising—the Everfords’ bloodline has been extinct for quite some time.”

I can barely process his words, my mind stuck on Maddy. Eli mentioned her getting blown away by the storm, so does that mean she’s outside? I glance at the window where lightning is blazing across, thunder booms, and rain showers down.

“How much do I owe you?” I ask as I reach for my wallet.

“It’ll be a hundred dollars,” he tells me. “But son, you should know that having this necklace isn’t a good thing. If I were you, I’d get rid of it.”

I pause. “Why?”

He glances at the pendant on the glass countertop. “Because every person who owed one got hunted down and slaughtered.”

My fingers tremble as I take out a hundred-dollar bill and set it on the counter. “Why?”

He shrugs while shaking his head. “I’m not sure. The truth got erased a long time ago, but rumor has it that the Everfords once owned Royal City, and because of greed, other families got together and put a bounty on them.”

Why does this sound like what’s going on with Maddy and this Drew guy right now?

I need to get to Maddy.

“Thanks.” I scoop up the necklace and bolt for the door, feeling the guy’s eyes on me the entire time.

I know I’ll have to deal with the necklace issue eventually, but at the moment, I need to find Maddy before it’s too late, especially since this necklace is genuine. Because what if somehow Maddy is an Everford and the society has found out?

If that’s the case, and what the appraiser told me is true, Maddy could be in so much danger.

My boots splash in the deep puddles as I stride toward the parking garage on the corner. As I’m swiping my card to enter the domed concrete and glass structure, it slams into me like a ton of bricks.

I gave Maddy that watch this morning, and I added her cell service to it. As long as she hasn’t taken it off, I should be able to track her location, send her a message, and maybe even call her.

I yank the door open and run inside while digging my phone out of my pocket. The carport echoes with the sound of an engine roaring to life as I make my way across the second floor and toward my car. By the time I reach the driver’s side door, I have the app. open.

I slow to a stop and hit the track button. While it searches, I get my car unlocked and slide inside. By the time I close my door, it’s pinged a location. And I’m pretty certain she’s wearing the watch because it shows her location as being out in the middle of the Royal Shadow Forest.

It doesn’t alleviate any of my worry. The Royal Forest is treacherous, even on a sunny day. But in the middle of a raging storm, it can be downright deadly.

I need to get to Maddy before something truly awful happens to her.