I jogged forward with Tolliver and my cousins hot on my heels.
"Magnolia," Lottie said with a smile. "I can't believe you remember me."
"How could I forget a name like that?" Her eyes moved over our group. "And Scarlett! Nice to see you again."
"You too," Scarlett said.
"Are you guys waiting to get backstage?"
"Yeah, Hayden got us tickets. We wanted to see Aurora."
"Well, come on in."
Darryl went to protest, but she held up a hand.
"Darryl, these are my personal guests," she said. "I'll grab some passes from Taylor to make it official."
"But Maggie, they're not on the list," he said.
"My name is," she said, giving us a wink, "and they're with me."
Darryl stepped aside, holding his arm out in welcome, as we filed past. After the door shut, I turned to Magnolia and said, "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means."
She waved off my praise. "It was nothing."
"Also, we kind of don't want Aurora to know we're here."
Magnolia arched her brows.
"We saw some things online," I explained, "and were worried."
"About Ferora?"
I nodded. "If she's okay, we don't want her to get the wrong idea. We are checking up on her but not because we doubt her or her ability to handle this. We love her. You know?"
Magnolia's lips tipped up into a smile. "That's so sweet. I won't say a word."
"You're a life saver," I said.
"Not really, just Magnolia."
"Freya."
"Good to meet you, Freya. I'll get you those passes, so no one questions you."
"Thanks again," I said.
Magnolia gave our group a once-over and smiled. "Aurora's lucky to have so many people who love her."
If we were caught, I only hoped Ror would agree.
* * *
"Can you see her?" Viola asked.
"No," I said back.
"Why are you whispering?"
