Rival: A Feuds Novella (The Feuds Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

window.
    “Nice, right? This is why I like this spot.”
    “It’s beautiful.” The stars spread out around them. Davis could practically see the entire sky stretching out beyond the city, glittering in all its starry splendor. She was a little tipsy; it was getting to her—the beauty and magic of the night. He placed a hand on her lower back, sending her head spinning, and she almost forgot herself. When he moved it to her hair, her back began to tingle, and she shivered. He took her in his arms, rubbing her shoulders as if to warm her, and she instinctively pressed into him. He leaned down, pushing her long hair away from her neck and kissing her neck lightly, his lips soft against her skin.
    “Seth, I—”
    He turned her in his arms, and she didn’t resist this time when his lips met hers. She melted into him, her stomach and body coming alive in ways she didn’t know she could feel. She pressed her body against his chest, feeling the gentle strength of his torso against her curves. He moved his mouth from her lips to her cheek, from her cheek to her throat, which felt like it was buzzing from his touch.
    Her DirecTalk vibrated from the necklace she always wore, near where Seth had just kissed.
    “Ignore it,” Seth said, his lips against her ear.
    But Davis pulled back, a wave of awareness overcoming her. It could be Vera. It could be Davis’s dad. But mostly, she wanted a reason to break away from Seth’s embrace, which was powerful in a way Davis didn’t quite understand. She clicked on the message, moving several steps farther from Seth.
    Good luck,
the message read.
Some say your mother’s shoes can never be filled. –Gabrielle.
    Davis’s entire body went cold.
Gabrielle Reydell—
Davis didn’t even know how Gaby had gotten her number. She read the message over and over, covering her mouth with her hand. That was low, even for Gaby. Davis had spent her entire life trying to live up to her mother’s image. Her entire life.
    “What is it?” Seth looked at her, his hazel eyes alight with concern.
    “I need to go,” Davis said. Nothing felt right, not even Seth’s light touch on her shoulder. “I’m tired. I need to go now.”
    “I’ll come with you.”
    “No,” Davis shook her head, walking quickly away from him, back up the stairs to the dreamscape where they’d eaten and down the long corridor that led to the elevator bank. From there she descended to the ground floor and headed straight out the door.

Chapter 7
    Davis leaned against the smooth marble façade of the building, trying to quell the panic rising in her chest. She searched up and down the street for a car, wondering if she should call her father’s chauffeur, when she heard shouts from a group of people not twenty feet away from her.
    Imps. An argument between Imps and Priors, right in front of the restaurant. The conversation was getting heated; Davis decided she’d head for the monorail rather than wait for a car. She pushed past the group.
    “The strike is serious,” one of them, an Imp, was saying. He was a broad guy with bottle blond hair. “It’s gunpowder waiting to be lit. It’s happening any day now. And after that … the city won’t be able to function. You wait. You see what you can do without your
‘Imp’
slaves. You perfect Priors are pathetic. You couldn’t tie your shoes without us.” Davis was startled. Imps usually referred to themselves as Gens. They refused to use the “Imp” or “Imperfect” label that Priors used for them.
    “Shut up,” the Prior opposite him demanded. “You have no damn clue what you’re talking about, man. You’re just detritus. You’re nothing. You’re treated way better than you deserve, because
you’re not important.
Columbus doesn’t need you at all. That’s why you are where you are—cast aside.”
    Davis’s heart accelerated, and she took another step toward the monorail, accidentally brushing one of the Priors as she went.
    “What the hell?” he