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late sixties, she still beat most of the boys on campus in the annual arm-wrestling matches at the end of every school year. She also happened to be an alumna of the Sisterhood. Unfortunately now that Headmaster Sinclair, one of the Brotherhood’s more dickish alumni, was running the show at Pemberly Brown, she was demoted to night watchwoman. It was bullshit, obviously. But Ms. D. stuck around to keep an eye on the girls.
    In the past, things had been pretty even, with the Sisterhood controlling the tunnels and all of the priceless information in the headquarters while the Brotherhood controlled the school administration via Headmaster Sinclair. But now that the Brotherhood had taken over everything, the balance of power was heavily weighted in the Brotherhood’s favor, and if their most recent exploits were any indication, they were getting reckless.
    I pushed around the front desk and spilled into her office. “Ms. D., I’ve got to talk to you. It’s happening aga…” The words died on my lips the second I realized we weren’t alone.
    Ms. D. raked a hand through her closely cropped gray hair and shook her head briskly. “Kate, you know Taylor Wright.” The girl standing in front of the huge desk whirled around. The first thing I noticed was that she wasn’t perfect. I realize that doesn’t sound like groundbreaking information, but it kind of was for Taylor Wright. Taylor was queen bitch of Pemberly Brown, the reigning princess of perfection. Her nails were always manicured in an understated ballet-slipper pink, her lips always glossed, her clothing pristine.
    But today Taylor’s shirt was rumpled as though it’d been pulled from the bottom of the laundry bin or even slept in. Her white-blond hair appeared tangled, and tiny crescents of purple ringed her bloodshot eyes.
    “What the hell…” I said, my brows pulled together, eyes narrowed.
    “Before you begin streaming vulgarities, you need to understand that something awful has happened.” Taylor cut me off, her soft voice enunciating every syllable like a stage actor. I think that was the most consecutive words she’d ever said to me. The princess of perfection preferred to maintain an icy indifference to her subjects, and that didn’t involve a whole lot of small talk.
    “Now, now, Taylor. Slow down. There’s no reason to drag Kate into this. She’s not in the Sisterhood and we can’t risk—”
    “What risk exactly? The risk of expulsion to save my best friend’s life? She was there too that night, Dorothy. She heard Alistair’s threat. He said he was going to kill her.” Taylor’s voice was hysterical, and all at once I realized that I wasn’t the only one who’d gotten that picture last night.
    I grabbed my phone from my pocket and pulled up the picture. I held the phone out so Taylor and Ms. D. could see it.
    “Bethany,” I whispered.
    Ms. D. sighed and the chair squeaked beneath her as she sank deeper in. Taylor’s face lit up. “They sent it to you too. You are already involved. If we confront them together, they will have to listen. They will have to—”
    Apparently it was Ms. D.’s turn to interrupt. She lifted her hand to silence Taylor. Remarkably, it worked. In that moment, I had a whole new respect for Ms. D. I mean, I always knew she was a badass, but I had no idea she was capable of controlling the Taylor Wright. To be perfectly honest, up until that moment, I never realized Taylor could be controlled.
    “Now, if I’m understanding this properly, you two were both on campus after hours participating in the very secret ceremonies that the school board president discussed at Grace’s memorial.”
    Taylor and I nodded mutely.
    “And it appears that Bethany was abducted by the Brotherhood at one of these events.”
    We nodded again.
    “As I’m sure you can both imagine, nothing would make the administration of this school happier than making an example out of students who disobey their new rule. And no one would make