Rachel's POV

The Prince has danced with half of the girls so far, including Annabeth. But not me. I guessed that he wouldn't be all to eager to speak with me again, but I still feel hurt that he hasn't come to seek me out yet.

I danced with a nice guard earlier, I forgot what his name was. Afterwards, he left to dance with Drew and they've been dancing ever since. It seems as if I'm not good enough for any of the boys here.

The music stops for a second between the transfer of songs. In that gap, I see a young man walk in. He looks younger than me. He has a mop of messy black hair on his head and dark brown eyes. He reminds me of someone, but I don't know who.

I watch him walk up to Percy, who is taking a break by the looks of it. Percy looks happy to see him and gives him a side hug. The boy's face turns red and he breaks away from the embrace. Percy laughs at him and ruffles his hair. I see the boy give a small smile.

Silena walks over to me. She smiles as she takes the seat next to me.

"Hello, Rachel. Why aren't you dancing?" She asks me brightly.

"I'm not much for dancing," I lie.

"That's a shame. The ball has been so much fun," she sighs. Silena looks stunning in her white dress with rhinestones. She really does look like a diamond, just like she's supposed to. Our group did a pretty good with the costumes.

"...and I met a really nice guard," Silena continues. I realize that I zoned out while she was talking. "His names is Charles Beckendorf, but for some reason, the other guards just call him Beckendorf. We danced for four songs in a row!"

I nod and smile, trying to act interested. I don't really know Silena and I don't know why she's talking to me. Maybe it's just because she's a genuinely nice person.

"Did you see that new boy? I noticed when he walked in, but no one else seemed to notice him."

"Yeah, do you know who he is?" I ask, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"No, but the Prince seemed really happy to see him. Anyways, did you hear the big news?"

Disappointed that she quickly veered away from what I wanted to know, I shake my head no.

"Well, the Prince told Clarisse, who told me, that he'll be eliminating at least five girls tonight. Maybe even more than that."

Five girls all at one time? And the fact that Percy was mad at me earlier won't help my chances of staying in the Selection.

"Wow, all tonight?" I ask Silena to make sure.

"Yeah, I'm honestly a little bit worried since the Prince and I haven't really interacted much. Why would I stay if he doesn't even know me?"

"He'll want to get rid of the girls he doesn't like first," I say, talking more about myself than Silena.

"I know, but what if he doesn't know if he likes me? You've gone on dates with him before, you don't know what it's like to be completely in the dark about the Selection," she says, her voice suddenly cold.

I almost burst out laughing with that comment. I'm always in the dark with Percy's feelings. Especially since he's mad at me now.

"It looks like Charlie is done talking, I'm going to go dance with him now. If you'll excuse me," she gives me a quick curtsy before leaving in a flurry of white.

I sigh before standing up to find something to eat. When I arrive at the food table, I see that all there is are small snacks, nothing big or heavy. I take a glass of punch and tiny sausages wrapped in a crescent roll. I turn around and bump right into the prince.

I curse as my punch runs down his gladiator costume. His face doesn't look mad, which is nice for a change.

"I am so sorry, I swear I didn't mean to. I have just been so out of it today, I'm sorry," I say while dabbing it with a napkin.

"It's fine, see? It's a breastplate, nothing will stick. It will all just roll off."

"Are you sure? Because if I ruined your costume-"

"You didn't, your fine, it's fine."

"Good," I say. Now that we know the crisis has been averted, we have nothing to say to each other. We stand in the midst of dancers, no one paying us any attention.

"So, uh, you look really pretty tonight. Spring, right?" He asks awkwardly.

"Yeah. Reyna is winter, Piper is autumn, and Annabeth is summer."

"I noticed. Can I ask you something? It's about the eliminations that will happen tonight."

My heart sinks all of a sudden. I knew this was going to happen. "I know that I shouldn't stay, and it makes sense for you to send me home."

"What? No, no. I'm not going to send you home."

"Really? I thought for sure after what happened between Clarisse and I that I would be leaving soon."

"You're not leaving anytime soon, Rachel Dare."

I feel as if I landed back on the ground again. Air flows through my lungs as if it's my first breath. I smile, relieved that my time here isn't over yet.

"Anyways, I have ten people in mind to send home."

"Ten?" I thought five was a lot, but ten was bringing it to a whole new level. Ten girls, gone all at once. That would mean thirteen of us would be left.

"Yeah, I just feel like this many girls are too overwhelming. If I can narrow it down to the right amount, I think I'll find the one. But this many girls all fighting for my attention? No thank you."

"Whatever you think is best," I answer. As long as it means I get to stay here.

"I think I'm going to do it now."

"Now? Like now, now?"

"Yeah, just rip off the Band-Aid. It's no use waiting, is it? All that will happen is that they leave late at night mad, and that's never a good thing."

"Sure, just do it nicely."

"How else would a prince do it?" He asks mockingly. I laugh as he walks away from me.

"Excuse me, everyone!" He calls out loudly. The music stops playing and the couples stop dancing all at once. "Thank you. I know this may sound harsh, but an elimination is about to occur."

Whispers fill the room. Girls talk to each other in hushed voices that slowly grow louder. The mood in the room plummets quickly.

"I'm very sorry about this, and I know that all of you are amazing young women. But this Selection has to end at some point and it's no use just staying here," he adds awkwardly.

This doesn't help the nerves of the other Selected.

"If I call your name, please stand up. If you are not already sitting, please do so now."

I walk quickly to the table assigned to my group. Reyna and Piper are already sitting down, and I see Annabeth coming towards it just as quickly as I am.

"Okay, lets get started. I'll go in the order of your groups. So first up is Silena Beaugard, Hylla Ramirez-Arellano, Thalia Grace, Bianca di Angelo, Zoe Nightshade, Willow Livingston, Drew Tanaka, Hazel Levesque, Calypso Atlas, Piper McLean, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, and Rachel Dare. If I called your name, please stand up."

I stand up, looking around at the girls who were still sitting down. Not many that I know, but there's an entire table still sitting down.

"If I didn't call your name, I'm sorry, but you're no longer in the Selection. I'm very sorry, but you're welcome to stay for the rest of the ball."

None of the girls sitting down seem to take this well. Most run out the doors, some tripping in their heels. I hear Annabeth muttering names under her breath.

"That means Lacy, Claire, Summer, Savannah, Juniper, Gwen, Lacy, Lou Ellen, Katie, Clarisse, and Ella are gone, all at once."

Once all the girls who were kicked out leave the ballroom, Percy flashes our table a nervous smile. I return it before realizing he was smiling at Annabeth. My mood suddenly sours, turning from elation to anger. Or envy.

"If you're still here, congratulations. You get to stay here at the palace and still be part of the Selection. Let's continue with the ball."

I notice several things at once. Willow isn't in her seat, even though she's still a part of the Selection. Silena also isn't in the room. Half of the guards are absent, including the one Silena was dancing with earlier.

That's when all the lights go out and someone screams in the darkness.