“Just because you’re too brainwashed to question it doesn’t mean it’s right, either.” I snapped.
Izzy snorted and drew a mark on an imaginary scoreboard under my name.But I was too worked up to laugh, and scanned the other girls for signsanyonewas as annoyed as I was.
“Come on, no one else is bothered by this?”
Angela Bradford, who’d shared my feelings during the last challenge, spoke up. “I don’t like that they’re discussing us, and we don’t even get to listen.”
“Thank you!” I threw my hands up, gesturing at her for the rest of the Maidens to see. “That’s what I’m talking about. Does anyone even know what the meeting is about?”
Elaine tittered a laugh. “Someone heard my good news and got jealous.”
“What?” I whipped toward her. “This is about your bullshit?”
She shrugged, and I searched the faces of the other girls to figure out what they knew.
Morgan twisted a lock of her dark auburn hair around her finger and frowned. “Someone else came forward wanting to invoke the statute. I guess the results of the last challenge caused some concern about their chances, so…”
When she trailed off, dropping her hands to her lap and staring down at them, I turned to Izzy. Her bright emerald green eyes held sympathy, but not fear the way Morgan’s did.
“The parents are trying to figure out a way forward that works for everyone and adheres to the by-laws.”
“Andthatdoesn’t make you all outraged?”
Lynette slowly raised her hand. “It sucks they could be deciding our fate while we just sit here like good little girls.”
“Agreed, Lynette.” I slapped my hand on the table. “This is total bullshit.”
Vivian, who’d sat as far away from me as possible, had not taken her eyes off me and chimed in from her seat. “You seem awfully concerned, given you won’t be affected by the outcome.”
Realizing she meant my nowfakepesky virginity, I rolled my eyes. “Because that’s not the point,Vivian.”
“Actually, it is,” she snapped. “We all came here to win. Why are you bitching about it when the statute you threw in our faces is about to eliminate half the competition?”
I glared at her, noticing that her stare didn’t hold the same derision it normally did, and it made me instantly suspicious. I couldn’t figure out what she was up to, but Vivian’s conniving ways weren’t my priority at the moment.
Glancing at the other Maidens, I voiced what I only hoped they were thinking. “You all came here to win. You’ve spent your lives waiting for your turn to do this, right?”
Murmurs of assent rang out in the courtyard. Some were hesitant but still more vocal than when I’d first asked.
I stared Vivian straight in her ice-blue eyes. “I don’t want to win or lose The Quest because of some technicality. Especially notthatone. My virginity? It holds no bearing on my ability to beat your ass at this and win. AndIdon’t like being reduced to that. Maybe you should ask yourself why you’re okay with it?”
“I never said I was,” she snapped back.
Then, she shut her mouth like she hadn’t meant to say that.
I narrowed my eyes on her. Even as some of the other girls started talking about their parents and the expectations on their shoulders, I didn’t look away from Vivian. Something was up with her, and I couldn’t put my finger on what.
Pursing her lips, clearly annoyed by my stare, Vivian crossed her arms over her chest. “This isn’t just about us, Quinn. Our parents have been waiting for this, too. You’d understand that if you had any.”
“Vivian!” Izzy admonished. “Uncalled for.”
But I defended myself. “At least mine loved me enough to let me make my own choices.”
Vivian scoffed, glancing to the side as if she’d grown bored.
“Did they, though? Because you still ended up here, playing by rules you don’t agree with, instead of…” She scoffed. “Yeah, I don’t care what else you could be doing. Point is: If they’d really wanted to let you make your own choices, they would’ve given you the means to do that. Maybe then you wouldn’t be here causing more trouble than you’re worth.”
Words died on the tip of my tongue as hers cut me.
