Page 34 of Pretty Secrets

“Here,” the professor says.

“And the prince?”

I’m not even going to balk about the name. “Here.”

“See how easily things can be taken from you?”

My hands turn to fists. This guy must be a Knight with some power. He lets his words fall on our shoulders, and I don’t know if the others are feeling it as heavily as I do, but I’m raging inside. Eden’s tough. She’s not one to go anywhere willingly. I suppose she could be laughing with the other female pledges somewhere, talking about how their watchers failed them, but with the Knights, I seriously doubt that’s the case.

Since this was a test, they aren’t just putting her up in some posh restaurant while we search for her.

“We won’t let this happen again,” Barclay promises, and at least with him I feel his conviction. I wish I was getting the same vibes off Leo, but the only thing I get from him is pure hatred. Whatever phone call he’s made, it’s clear it’s taking a lot out of him to make it.

“You’re lucky the other teams were as careless as you. Now the race becomes who finds their Pledge first.”

With that, he hangs up the phone. I stare at the screen,Call Endedblazing like a warning. Leo whirls and throws his phone against the wall. It shatters upon impact, bits and pieces falling to the floor.

“Who the fuck was that?” I ask.

“My grandfather,” Leo grinds out, chest heaving. “He’s an Elder.”

Of course.

Jarvis fingers the note we received with the flowers, eyes darkening. “I might know where she is.”

“We have to get to her before the other teams recover theirs,” Barclay says, moving toward the front door.

I follow the two of them out of the hall, my pulse still fluttering at my wrists. “We have to find her to make sure she’s okay. There, I fixed the sentence for you.”

“Play this game like a Knight,” Barclay throws over his shoulder as he barges out into the evening air. “Keep showing your hand, and they’ll make you regret ever having feelings for her.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. I really wish I’d dragged Edie away from here when I had the chance. Even if I had to drug her to tear her away, it would’ve been worth it. Maybe after this, she’ll realize that losing herself isn’t worth all this nonsense.

“Mine’s closer,” Barclay calls out, pointing at an SUV parked in the lot outside the hall.

“Mine’s faster,” Jarvis says, pointing at a suped-up muscle car. Any other time, I would spend a moment to appreciate the fine machinery in front of me, but I have only one thing on my mind right now.

Before I know it, we’re squealing out of the parking lot, scaring the shit out of a group of students walking lazily in our path. They scramble out of the way, the guys yelling obscenities after us. Jarvis gives them the one-finger salute before flying down the road, taking sharp turns at high speeds.

“Why do you think you know where she is?” Barclay asks.

“I just know.”

“Not a good enough answer.”

Jarvis shrugs, pressing down on the pedal further, and the engine roars in response. “If I’m wrong, you can attempt to berate me then. How ‘bout that?”

The angry growl of the muscle car is a lot like its owner. He has the driving skills of someone who thinks they’re a professional racecar driver when they’re not. If I had time to feel even remotely scared for someone other than Eden, I may have said a prayer or two, but my mind is consumed with getting to her. Fortunately, the other blokes seem to be on the same page.

We pull into a community with large, semi-modern houses. Barclay gawks. “Are we—”

He’s cut off by the squeal of the tires as Jarvis slams on the brakes. The house in front of us mirrors the others on this same street, except it appears to be unoccupied. No light spills from the windows. Children’s laughter peals from the neighbor’s back garden, but this house boasts overgrown grass and several bounded newspapers littering the stoop.

“Knights one, you zero, huh?” Barclay questions as he reaches for his seatbelt. He peers over at Jarvis. “That’s fucked up.”

“That’s life.”

The car doors slam, and I follow Jarvis who seems to be running the show at the moment. After finding the front door locked, I peer around, wondering if we’ve got the right place. What appears to be leaves from last fall litter the corner of the veranda. It looks as if a family lived here one day and just vanished the next.

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