Kacy stirred in her narrow bed, blinking up at the ceiling as the floorboards creaked under soft footsteps.
Alina froze in the doorway of their bedroom, fingertips grazing her lip. "Sorry…did I wake you?"
Kacy rubbed her red-rimmed eyes. "Don't feel bad. I'm used to not sleeping. Lolita's been buzzing me on the pager all week."
Alina smiled sympathetically. "Lolita is a selfish monster."
Kacy nodded. "What's the worst thing you've ever seen Lolita do?"
"She hurled a flaming cocktail at a servant. Third-degree burns covered his face!"
"What? You've gotta be kidding me!"
"I'm serious. That's actually why they needed someone new - he's still in the hospital. Probably won't ever work again. Axel said she did because she was drunk. But I think she did it just to be cruel."
"When did this happen?"
"It happened at Axel's birthday party. I try not to remember it, because I was in tears seeing the maid screaming from extreme pain."
Alina's voice dropped to a whisper. "Anyway, I have to get some sleep."
Kacy's stomach twisted. "Alina... what if she does something like that to me?"
"Just don't give her a reason to," Alina said quietly, then added more gently, "Keep your head down. Do what she says."
Alina changed into her pyjamas. Kacy turned back to facing the wall, but every shadow in the room seemed to move. Sleep felt impossible now.