I half expect him to be likeso, but surprise flashes across his face. “What? How did you get it?”
“My aunt gave it to me when I was a kid,” I explain. “But mine has a black diamond.”
“Black… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black one.”
“Hmm… Maybe mine’s just counterfeit then.” Because how else would my aunt have gotten it?
He nods, but a trace of uneasiness resides in his expression.
“What’re you thinking?” I wonder suspiciously.
“Nothing.” He shakes his nervousness away, suddenly appearing indifferent. “We should go check the cameras and see if the north-siders have left yet. I’d like to get back to the academy sooner rather than later.”
With that he walks away, leaving it at that.
But I’m not about to. Not with everything strange going on. I want answers, and I will get them, even if it means playing Finn’s royal game of truths and lies.
CHAPTER 22
FINN
Something suspicious is definitely goingon—I knew that from the moment the society took an interest in Maddy. It didn’t make any sense at the time—still doesn’t. But the wheels in my head are turning now after Maddy told me about the necklace.
Perhaps her’s is counterfeit, like she said, but the probability is low. Royals are very good at making sure they’re royal jewelry is exclusive and they put in a lot of effort into shutting down any counterfeit underground companies.
But a few slip through the cracks, and if it were for the society taking an interest in Maddy, I’d have assumed her necklace was one. But I have a nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right. Just like I’ve had a nagging feeling ever since the day I saw Maddy in jail; one that feels like I’ve seen Maddy from somewhere before. I just can’t place from where. And it’s not like she has one of those faces with enough common features that her’s registers as familiar. No, this girl is anything but common, with her long, wild locks of hair, her big eyes that look a different color depending on how the light is hitting them, to her full lips, and the slight splash of freckles on her nose.
She’s beyond gorgeous to the point where I’d probably stare at her all damn day if it didn’t make me seem creepy. Besides, if I did that, she’d kick me ass for sure.
I quickly leave the room and make a beeline for my bedroom, leaving Maddy to find her own way back to the living room area. I might be being rude, but I need to see something.
Once I’m in my room, I shut the door, open the royal family archives app. that’s on my phone, then type in my login information. I begin searching through records until I find what I’m looking for—a list of diamonds that belong to each family.
I scroll through then until I find a photo of a black one. It’s linked to a family name I don’t recognize—the Everfords. As I read the first few lines, I realize why I haven’t heard of them before.
Because their family name and bloodline cease to exist and haven’t since the 1970s. That’s the only information I can find about them, and it leaves me so confused. Why would Maddy have a necklace belonging to a family that ceases to exist? Jewelry belonging to a dead royal name would likely be auctioned off for an extremely high price.
And again, I can’t stop thinking about how the society has shown so much interest in Maddy.
Maybe it’s none of my business. Perhaps I shouldn’t care. I mean, I hardly know Maddy, and yet somehow, I already have a soft spot for her. I need to get more answers and quickly.
What I need is a foul-proof plan on how to keep Maddy out of the society’s focus while I attempt to figure out what the hell is going on. I have an idea, one I never mentioned to River, partly because I know he likes her. He could be the person to go through with my plan, but he won’t—I know my brother well enough to understand that.
To be honest, it’ll take some convincing to get Maddy on board with it. But if she agrees, she’ll be safe for now.
Because there’s a loophole in the society’s rules, one that states that they can’t haze any person that a member is dating. Not that I want Maddy to be my girlfriend for real. I don’t date. At all. Mainly because I’d suck at being a boyfriend and also because I’m so messed up that the idea of getting that close to anyone scares the shit out of me.
I’m broken, just a pretty face and nothing more. I’ve known that since I was ten years old.
And I doubt Maddy would want to date me either. But if I proposed the idea of us fake dating in order to keep the society off her back, she might agree.
I just hope to hell I’m not getting in over my head with the society—and with Maddy.
