Chapter 25 · Ghost in the Crowd

"Tell me this isn't some sick joke, Nora."

I didn't just say it. I spat it. I had Nora pinned against the velvet curtain of the balcony, my fingers digging into the expensive fabric of her gown. My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird, and I couldn't tell if it was from the shock or the sheer rage.

Nora didn't flinch. She never does. She just looked up at me with those wide, golden eyes—the ones the whole city of Solis worshipped—and gave me a tiny, infuriating smile. She reached up, her fingertips grazing my wrist, just enough to make the skin prickle.

"What part of this looks like a joke, Sera?" she whispered. Her breath smelled like expensive champagne and something metallic. "The fact that your cousin is standing in the ballroom, or the fact that you're currently assaulting the city's Golden Girl in public?"

I shoved her back, the force making her stumble. "He's dead. I saw the report. I saw the wreckage!"

"Reports can be rewritten," Nora said, smoothing out her dress with a casual flick of her wrist.