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“Members of the Eldritch Club. It’s one of those super-secret elite societies that control the world,” I explain. “Pretty much everyone in this room belongs to one of those, but the Eldritch Club is the worst. If I didn’t know better I’d assume they really did make human sacrifices to some cruel ancient god.”
We move deeper into the room, scanning the crowd for our intended target. A group of girls from cheerleading and their mothers stand around beside the Harvard display. I spy Daphne’s signature pink hair.
Target acquired.
We saunter on over, inserting ourselves into the group.
“Hi, Noah.” Brandy bats her eyelashes at me. Beside her, Daphne makes a disgusted face, probably out of loyalty to Cleo. “So good to see you. Isn’t it wonderful that your dad is helping those poor, innocent women start their new lives in America?”
“Oh, sure, Dad’s a saint,” I hiss through gritted teeth. Claudia digs her heel into my foot, reminding me in the most painful way possible that I need to pretend to like these people. “Are you ladies enjoying the party?”
“Yes, we—”
“Daphne, darling.” Her mother elbows her way into our conversation, the glint of a cougar in her eye as she sweeps her gaze over me. “You must introduce me to your friends.”
“Why don’t you just do it yourself, since you’re going to drool all over them anyway?”
“Daphne, please.” Her mother digs her talons into Daphne’s arm. “That’s no way to talk to your peers. No wonder Stanford turned you down. At this rate, I’ll have to beg Brandeis to take you, and I don’t know if we’ll ever live down the shame.”
“Fine, Mom.” Daphne glares at us, like it’s our fault she didn’t get into Stanford. “This is Noah Marlowe and Mackenzie Malloy.”
“Oh, Mackenzie, it’s so good to see you.” Mrs. Ballantyne forgets all about drooling over me as she latches on to the juiciest bit of gossip to have walked into the party. She leans in to kiss Claudia’s cheeks. “I used to be close to your parents, such a shame to hear they disappeared. Tell us, because we’re all just dying to know, what have you been doing with yourself all these years?”
“I’ve been relaxing on a deserted island of the coast of Belize.” Claudia hugs my arm and flashes her Ice Queen glare. “Waiting for Noah Marlowe to come of age so I could snap him up.”
“And who is this delightful creature?” a very familiar British voice drawls. “Daphne, darling, where have you been hiding this ravishing woman?”
We’re saved from further interrogations by Gabe and George, who join our group. Gabe wastes no time turning up the British charm to eleven for Daphne and her mother. We leave them to it and make another circuit of the room. I notice familiar faces from school – Chad and Brenda and Finneas, all being dragged around various groups by their parents, desperately trying to get their kid into the right school or the right internship.
“Oh, there’s Grace.” I spy my stepmother over by the food table. Regret stabs at my chest as I watch her lean heavily on a cane – I should have gone to see her more since she’s been bed-ridden, but with everything happening with Claws I just… I ran out of time. I didn’t want to step foot in that house again. I was afraid. Name a shitty excuse, and I made it to myself. Nothing changes the fact that I left her alone in that house with Dad when she didn’t have the strength to defend against his temper.
Yet here she is, standing – albeit shakily – on two feet. Grace was always a fighter.
I drag Claws toward her. Grace is speaking to a group of over-Botoxed ladies-who-lunch. She sees us pushing through the crowd, and she waves us over. The women look like they’re ready to pounce on Claudia and pepper her with more questions about deserted islands and the status of the Malloy fortune, but one hard look from me and they scurry away like the rats they are.
“You came.” I lean in to kiss her cheek. “I was so worried you’d be stuck in that bed for a while longer.”
“I wouldn’t miss the chance to see you shine,” she beams. I notice she sways a little on her feet, and grips the edge of the table with her free hand, like it’s holding her upright. “Every school representative in this room is eager to talk to you. Your mother would be so proud. Thank you for saving me from that horrendous conversation.”
I choke up a little at the mention of Mom. In all the chaos of senior year, I’ve thought of her less. There are even whole days that go by now when I don’t remember her bright smile and kind voice, or her blue skin and how cold she felt when we pulled her out of the pool. Yet another thing to feel guilty about. “Always a pleasure.”
“Your father abandoned me the moment we walked through the door. I’m so happy to see you. You scrub up so nicely.” She leans in to kiss my cheek, but before I can pull away she catches my arm, her grip shaky but firm. She whispers, “There’s a small anteroom off the coatroom. Meet me there in fifteen minutes.”
I’m too stunned to reply. Did she really just say that?
Grace pulls away and starts chattering to Claudia about school and the cheerleading team. I notice how heavily she leans against her cane. Is she still struggling after the scare? I know Grace has neurological problems; it was one of the reasons she quit her job as a journalist. But did Claudia’s revenge prank scare her that much?
Should I be worried?
Maybe that’s what we’re going to discuss in the cloakroom.
My father pulls Grace away to talk to some of his Senate buddies. He gives Claudia a nod of acknowledgment, his hard eyes reminding us of our agreement to remain silent in exchange for new lives for Yara and her girls. I don’t even get a nod, not a wrinkle of his nose or a disgusted curl of his lip. I’m still nothing to him. The son he didn’t want.
A year ago that rejection would have sent me straight to Antony’s club to burn away my rage by beating some poor guy nearly to death. But now, I feel nothing. John Marlowe is no one to me. He doesn’t deserve my hatred.
I lean in close to tell Claudia about Grace’s whispered invitation.
“Oh, intrigue.” She glances over her shoulder at Gabe and Daphne. He leads her through the crowded club toward the bar. Her face glows with joy to be on Gabriel Fallen’s arm. “It looks like Gabe has everything under control out here. We can spare a few minutes to find out what Grace wants.”
