The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Gillian screamed, her voice edged with sheer terror, “Are you out of your mind? You’re in the car too, Mara!”

Panic clawed at her, urging her to leap from the speeding vehicle, but courage failed her.

As the car hurtled towards the end of the winding mountain road, Gillian curled up in the backseat, bracing for impact.

A jarring symphony of rubber grinding against asphalt pierced the air. Gillian’s head slammed against the seat, her forehead instantly blossoming with a bruise.

Mara exhaled a long sigh of relief, casting a scornful glance back at Gillian. “Scared now?”

“Just go off and die by yourself; don’t drag me into it!” In a fit of rage, Gillian hurled her purse squarely at Mara’s face.

Mara, now prizing her beauty more than ever, caught sight of the incoming assault and immediately yanked at Gillian’s hair, snarling, “Dare to mar my face? I’ll make sure yours isn’t worth keeping!”

Gillian let out a piercing shriek.

And so, the two women grappled inside the car, exchanging blows and pulling hair—an unseemly spectacle.

Exhausted and breathless, they eventually stopped, both bearing the marks of their skirmish, neither having gained the upper hand.

Touching up her makeup in the mirror, Gillian said, “If you’d actually swallowed vitamins, Vivienne would have caught on in a heartbeat. She’s the Specter Healer, and with her all-knowing mom, those two are sharper than anyone. You’d be the first to go if you slipped up.”

Mara scoffed. “You could’ve warned me. I would’ve taken less. You’re just looking to get rid of me!”

Gillian couldn’t be bothered to argue. “I’ll be transferring to Rivenwood soon. You’ll have to play along with a few more of my performances, so don’t forget.”

With a cold snort, Mara started the car and drove away. She would have never kept up this charade with Gillian if it were not for her thirst for vengeance. Once that was quenched, she would be the first to kill this bitch and drop her and Vivienne into the pigsty!

thoughts mirrored Mara’s—each plotting the

Vivienne dropped Karen off at the

in sports, romance, and lively chatter. Only Aaron

Don’t you have your own dorm? If

was at his wit’s end. His own dorm was seldom used, thanks to Kenneth’s incessant

season’s game on his tablet, paid no mind

With those reactions, how do you even qualify for the

explode in frustration when his phone rang—it

name, the

university that day because

answered the call, grabbed a cake from the fridge, and dashed out, leaving Kenneth

up, considering Aaron’s words, and quickly dialed Percival’s

at Elite

the steps, observing the couples

at Elite University, her classmates treated her like a kid, and

reflecting on those days, she realized how mundane college

had miraculously survived the run, save for one berry that had fallen off. “Got you a strawberry

berry. “Still lacking finesse, Aaron? Can’t even run a short distance

nerves. “I’m sorry, Vivienne. I’ll be

of the best. Any slip-up could be fatal. If

was a target of GTO. The Nine Mystics Society had already exerted significant

of the Miller family soon, he would be swallowed by its undertow—a puppet emperor

hung his head, guilt flashing in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I was

step up your training. And if I see you like this again, don’t bother coming

see you next, Vivienne, I’ll have surpassed Percival,” Aaron blurted out