MEREDITH It doesn’t usually faze me that I’m the daughter of the head maid and the gardener of the Carrington Manor, but today I feel extra self-conscious about it. Maybe even embarrassed, which is something I never felt about my situation before. “The stairs and the banisters still need a lot of cleaning,” my mom, or Madame Kya as everyone calls her, tells me sternly as we both stop at the bottom of the grand staircase. She pushes a bucket full of a strong, smelly cleaning solution in my hands then throws rags at my feet. “And please, do not try to show off or anything. Keep a low profile. I don’t want any guests seeing you.” “Of course,” I mutter, but her last words stung a bit. With that, she leaves me alone. I just take the cleaning stuff in my hands and start working my way up the stairs. A couple of early guests pass by, so I keep my head down as I run the wet cloth along the banister. The Mansion is in full glam, its fifteen bedrooms accommodating guests from around the wo

MEREDITHAs soon as I burst out of the kitchen, I don’t stop running. I bump into a couple of people who are milling around the courtyard, but I just keep pushing through. I don’t dare look behind me just in case Mom is on my tail either.The only way is forward, and I’ll be damned if I get caught.It doesn’t matter what happens after this. The only thing important to me right now is getting away.Everyone is in masquerade, and I begin to panic when I notice that I’m the only one with a bare face. I get to a corner and luckily, I find a mask lying around on one of the decorative tables. I quickly put it on and follow the path to the ballroom.From here, I can still hear the music and the laughter coming from the ballroom. It seems that there's a party going on before the actual Ceremony. My heart yearns to be inside, so I wedge myself into the crowd and slip right in.As soon as I come in, the deep voice of an announcer is making the walls hum. "Let's welcome, the competing Lycan Prin