Page 77 of Gilded Wicked Mirrors
Quinn sighed. “I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.”
Giselle tittered, roses twirling on her cheeks. “Yes, but did you enjoy it?”
“I . . .” Quinn sucked in a breath, not knowing what to say. “I, um . . .” She swallowed. “No. No, I didn’t enjoy it. He’s a monster.”
“Hmmm, right.” Giselle’s words were pure amusement and filled entirely with disbelief. “Monsters can be great kissers.”
Twenty-Seven
The morning played out like a Looking Glass nightmare, except instead of being covered with blood and fighting vampires, it was covered in a pending dramatic altercation with one of her closest friends.
Quinn needed to confront Constance’s lies. Unfortunately, when Giselle pounded on the dancer’s door, there was no answer. Constance DeWinter avoided them.
“Come on,” Quinn said. “We have to get going.”
She only had six days to find the mirror or the murderer, or die. Her time clock was running out.
“Yes, and timeliness is next to godliness.” Giselle yawned. “The words I so lovingly woke up to this morning.”
“Seems like you are enjoying your new roommate.” Jevon leaned against the wall across from the door, biting into a croissant and silently examining the situation, his fingers tapping as usual. His hair was tousled like he’d just woken up from an eventful night filled with glitter and many mistakes. He was not as much of a rogue as the prince, but Jevon often found himself surrounded by female company. He was just so sweet and brooding, and girls fawned over it. On occasion, he gave in to the temptation.
Quinn scrunched her nose and crossed her arms, not amused. “Someone has to teach Giselle how to show up on time.”
Thirty minutes later, Quinn hovered over all the fingerprint samples that Giselle and Emrys had gathered. Giselle didn’t care to elaborate on how she’d gathered the gang's samples, but it was most likely using her charm or the skills she learned when she lived with her father. Giselle picked locks better than most professional thieves.
Using the list of who the fingerprints belonged to, Quinn cross-checked them as she lifted the samples and tried to find a match.
So far, nothing.
Her friends were doing their best to help. She taught them how to dust and pull prints, which proved to be helpful because they had 130 to check.
“What did I miss?” Constance sprang up behind them, scaring everyone.
Quinn clutched her chest. “Mirrors, Constance, you do know how to terrify.”
“I believe that is my middle name, ConstanceTerrifyDeWinter.” She crinkled her nose, and merriment lit up her cheeks.
“Oh, and here I thought your middle name wasLiar.” Giselle’s glower was so dark it rivaled the shadows.
Constance’s eyebrows crinkled into a plié, her chipper demeanor slightly slipping. “I am not sure what you mean by that.”
Giselle scoffed. “I am sure you do.”
“Would you like to enlighten me?”
Quinn cut in, slightly afraid of what Giselle might say next. “You told us not to go to the Blood Council meeting, but then you were there with Kordelia.”
Constance jolted, her spine becoming ramrod straight. “I was at the Council meeting?” The words seemed to slip from her mouth as if she didn’t mean to say them.
Quinn side-eyed Constance. Something about her was off.
“And now you pretend like you weren’t.” Giselle shook her head, and the vein in her forehead pulsed.
“I—” Constance’s mouth worked. “I . . . yes, I was at the Council meeting with Kordelia.” She chewed on the words as if the longer it took her to say them, the more clarity it would bring her. From her reaction and general demeanor, it truly seemed to be news to her.
“So, you are a liar,” Giselle said.
“I forgot. I am not sure how, but I didn’t remember going last night.” Constance’s eyes were drowning in confusion. She was typically forgetful, but this was a new level of absent-mindedness. “Maybe I drank too much, or the Viridian mirror is getting to me again.” She rubbed at her temples.
