Tiffany stepped in front of me, blocking Jessica from getting too closely. “Her name is clear, Jessica,” Tiffany said. “I don’t care if they didn’t fuck,” Jessica growled. “At the very least, she tricked him somehow. He’s a decent guy. He never would have behaved this way on his own.” “Back of

I met with Nicholas in the same weight room we had our self-defense training. He’d had it cleared out again, this time so he and I could practice fighting. “Now that you have Miracle’s strength to aid you, you don’t need to rely on the same self-defense tactics as before. Those will still aid you

“Yes,” a few girls said. The rest nodded. I just watched, a bit in shock. “Good,” Nathan said. “Do not be late.” Then he left us. The girls all looked at each other again. And then, at once, in a rush, they stood up and headed for the door. “What are you going to wear?” Tiffany asked Veronica

That night, the King and Queen finally made an appearance at the night’s formal dinner. They greeted Bridget like a doting set of parents would, hugging her and kissing her cheek. Nicholas and Julian were right there with them. The rest of us candidates were already inside the dining room waiting

The next morning, Nicholas and I had previously arranged to spend time training together. So at first light, I headed to the gym. I wasn’t sure he would remember. Maybe he made other plans and forgot to tell me about it. He had been so busy with Bridget lately, I had rarely even seen him, let alon