~Waverly~
I sat on the edge of the oversized bed, my fingers digging into the silk duvet until my knuckles ached. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her; the woman in charcoal linen, the one with the pearls and the eyes that saw right through my borrowed skin.
She knew. She knew I was a shack girl from the Outer District, and she knew Kaeren was lying to the world.
"She's a predator, little mouse," Pia whispered in the back of my mind, her voice a jagged contrast to the silence of the room. "And predators don't keep secrets out of the goodness of their hearts. She's waiting to see which way the wind blows before she bites."
"Shut up, Pia," I hissed under my breath, though my heart was pumping so badly, it might burst out of my chest.
