Chapter 17: Ashok
In the interest of lulling Amber into a false sense of triumph, Miranda withdrew from the competition, citing a wardrobe malfunction. Amber paraded up and down the runway in her evening gown—the same mini dress that was apparently the one piece of drag in her closet with a jaggedly-sewn square of black satin fastened around her waist with pins to create a long skirt effect Little Edie Beale would have killed for—as though the crown waited for her at one end and the sash at the other, hers for the taking. She smiled and even waved at an imaginary throng of admirers, overplaying her hand, Raima mused as she watched through a crack in the door at the back of the room and waited her turn.
As planned, Midnight and Ammaji had already opened the doors to the ballroom when Cont
