“All right.” Cautious now. Could he hear the urgency in Grey’s voice?

“The ruby you told me about, the one that was cursed by the Rao matriarch.”

“Yes?” The first half of the word cut out, so it sounded like his father had hissed down the line.

“How would one know if they found it? The cursed ruby?”

More crackling. “Why do you want to know?”

“Could you just answer the question?” He pushed an impatient hand through his hair as he paced.

“Well, we know it was broken up and put into a rose-shaped pendant. The curse talks about the rose ‘dimming,’ so I suppose it would involve the undoing of the rose in some manner. I imagine that would mean the metal tarnishing beyond repair or a clasp or chain that keeps breaking or—”

“Or the rubies falling out,” Grey said quietly.

“Yes, or that. Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious. That’s all.” Grey didn’t share anything of himself with his father, and this was no different.

The sudden hiss of static made Grey wince. He held the phone away from his ear for a moment. When it fell silent again, he brought it back. “Father? Are you there?”

But there was no response. No signal. Grey pressed the “end” button and stood staring out the windows at the blackest night beyond.

Jaya

The mixer had progressed to a much louder state of debauchery by the time Jaya found a bathroom and a directory and made her way back. She’d been hoping to find Grey had returned, but looking around, she knew he’d never subject himself to this. People were dancing in more alarming gyrations than ever, and a few couples had drifted off to corners to, erm, be intimate. Jaya could tell from the swells and bursts of laughter and screeching that someone, somewhere, had sneaked in alcohol. The teachers were noticeably absent, as if they’d given up trying to rein all this in. Thankfully, Isha was still dancing with her friends and seemed to be fully in control of her senses (except for her sense of propriety, but Jaya didn’t think she could blame that on alcohol).

Jaya had barely stepped back onto the rooftop when she felt a thin, cold hand on her upper arm.

“Have you seen Alaric?”

She turned to see Caterina LaValle, her dark brown eyes glittering under false eyelashes. Caterina wore a red, one-shouldered cocktail dress with a sprinkling of diamonds along the hem and six-inch-tall gold-and-red ombre Jimmy Choos. As usual, she looked like she’d stepped off the pages of Vogue. Her breath had the telltale metallic scent of strong alcohol, though, and she held a cup full of pink liquid, her bright red nails resting against the glass.

A male voice cut in before Jaya could answer. “H-hey, Caterina.” They turned to see Rahul, his eyes fixed on Caterina, his flat, greasy hair falling onto his forehead. “And Jaya.”