I can barely process his words, my mind stuck on Maddy. Eli mentioned her getting blown away by the storm, so does that mean she’s outside? I glance at the window where lightning is blazing across, thunder booms, and rain showers down.
“How much do I owe you?” I ask as I reach for my wallet.
“It’ll be a hundred dollars,” he tells me. “But son, you should know that having this necklace isn’t a good thing. If I were you, I’d get rid of it.”
I pause. “Why?”
He glances at the pendant on the glass countertop. “Because every person who owned one got hunted down and slaughtered.”
My fingers tremble as I take out a hundred-dollar bill and set it on the counter. “Why?”
He shrugs while shaking his head. “I’m not sure. The truth got erased a long time ago, but rumor has it that the Everfords once owned Royal City, and because of greed, other families got together and put a bounty on them.”
Why does this sound like what’s going on with Maddy and this Drew guy right now?
I need to get to Maddy.
“Thanks.” I scoop up the necklace and bolt for the door, feeling the guy’s eyes on me the entire time.
I know I’ll have to deal with the necklace issue eventually, but at the moment, I need to find Maddy before it’s too late, especially since this necklace is genuine. Because what if somehow Maddy is an Everford and the society has found out?
If that’s the case, and what the appraiser told me is true, Maddy could be in so much danger.
My boots splash in the deep puddles as I stride toward the parking garage on the corner. As I’m swiping my card to enter the domed concrete and glass structure, it slams into me like a ton of bricks.
I gave Maddy that watch this morning, and I added her cell service to it. As long as she hasn’t taken it off, I should be able to track her location, send her a message, and maybe even call her.
I yank the door open and run inside while digging my phone out of my pocket. The carport echoes with the sound of an engine roaring to life as I make my way across the second floor and toward my car. By the time I reach the driver’s side door, I have the app. open.
I slow to a stop and hit thetrackbutton. While it searches, I get my car unlocked and slide inside. By the time I close my door, it’s pinged a location. And I’m pretty certain she’s wearing the watch because it shows her location as being out in the middle of the Royal Shadow Forest.
It doesn’t alleviate any of my worry. The Royal Forest is treacherous, even on a sunny day. But in the middle of a raging storm, it can be downright deadly.
I need to get to Maddy before something truly awful happens to her.
CHAPTER 18
MADDISON
“You needto run and hide, sweetie,” the woman whispers as she nudges me toward the hallway. “Now. They can’t find you, okay?”
Nodding, I start to run away, heading for my bedroom. My bare feet smack against the floor, and I have my favorite worn Teddy bear clutched in my hand. Tears are streaming down my eyes as I trip into my room. I end up falling and bang my legs on the floor. I cry out in pain but stifle the noise.
If they find me, they’ll take me. She tells me this all the time. I just don’t know why.
I push up and run into my closet, shutting the door behind me.
For a moment, everything is quiet. All I can hear is my heart thundering in my chest.
“Maddy,” my mother whispers from just outside. “Come out. I have something for you.”
She’s lying—she always lies.
So, I stay put, covering my mouth with my hand as I curl into the corner of the closet, behind boxes and clothes. I hope the darkness can conceal me because I know she’ll open the door—she always does.
“Maddison, come out now, before I?—”
The closet door flies open, and I’m blinded by bright light. I let out a scream as fingers wrap around my arm and yank me out?—
