Page 11 of These Dangerous Fates

The genius mage currently lining up his shot laid down a bunch of wards around the room to block anyone from overhearing our conversations, and to alert us when someone approaches. Those wards are the reason this place has become our sanctuary. We can be ourselves, enjoy ourselves, and not worry about a single thing knowing we’ll be alerted to any hint of danger.

Knowing Cade will likely hustle the table for a while, I sit next to Sterling in the window seat as he scrolls through his phone. I watch Cade, his dark hair falling into his eyes is more distracting than I’d like to admit. My fingertips tingle with the urge to run my hands through the silky strands, which serves to remind me of the other night and what we did. It wasn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last time we fuck, but there was something different the other night. Like something in my chest moved places, replacing one feeling for another. It was as unsettling then as it is now. Rubbing my chest to ease the squeezing sensation, I force my thoughts to something else.

Sterling snorts next to me, providing me with something to focus on other than Cade. I glance at him from the corner of my eye. His long silver-blond hair is tied back in a bun, wayward strands escaping and framing his face. The scar that starts above his right eyebrow and slices down to his cheek is a chick magnet, and I kind of wish I had one.

“Nice picture, bro.” He grins at me as he looks up from his phone, his icy blue eyes shining with amusement.

I peer over his shoulder and laugh. The picture is of me from a few weeks ago, wearing a leather jacket and no shirt, pants unbuttoned, and a satisfied smirk on my lips. I’d probably just finished fucking some random chick at The Crow.

“You’re just jealous,” I tease. “I mean, look at those abs!”

“Right. Like I want those scrawny arms and tiny dick,” Sterling mumbles.”Why don’t you just walk around naked? Half the time you're almost there, anyway.”

I grin at him, flashing my fangs. “Well, that wouldn’t be fair to anyone else. I have to make sure you guys stand a chance, too.”

Cade laughs, causing his shot to go wide. “Dammit, Kai!”

Before I can stand and take my place at the pool table, Sterling looks up at us. “This is interesting,” he says, brows furrowed. “Apparently, Thomas Kennedy announced a contest earlier today.”

Cade perks up at the mention of his boss's name. I lean back in the window seat and wait for Sterling to read the article.

“A contest will begin in three days,” Sterling reads. “A series of challenges to overcome in order to win my daughter’s hand in marriage. Whoever applies for the contest will compete in three tasks set to weed out the strongest potential suitor for my heir. The tasks will be dangerous, and I cannot guarantee the safety of any involved. To apply please go to …”

As Sterling rattles off the web address, I quickly pull my phone from my pocket and type it into the browser.

“Do you know anything about this?” Sterling asks Cade.

“No.” Cade shakes his head with a frown. “I’m not privy to Thomas Kennedy’s inner workings. I’ve seen his daughter before at functions, though. She’s pretty.”

“Ellis, right? Isn’t she human?” I ask distractedly as I scan the webpage and read the details regarding the contest.

“Yeah. I’ve always wondered how that happened.” Cade shrugs. “Both her parents were mages, but she’s human. So was her sister.”

“Her mom and sister are dead, aren’t they?” Sterling asks, still perusing the article, although a muscle jumps in his jaw.

“Yep. About ten years ago, I think.” Cade leans his hip against the pool table. “They were murdered in their house. Somehow Ellis survived.”

I nod and type my name into the field for contestants. “I’m doing it.”

Both Sterling and Cade look at me with their mouths agape like I’ve lost my mind. Perhaps I have.

“Doing what?” Sterling asks incredulously.

Instead of answering, I keep filling out the form, excitement already starting to bubble inside of me.

“Is that a good idea?” Cade asks. “You’re engaged, remember?”

“How could I forget?” I grouse. “It sounds fun. I could use some fun right now. I don’t have to actually win, but competing against others in dangerous challenges? Sign me up. We could look at it as a training exercise.”

“We?” Sterling’s eyes are wide as he looks over my shoulder just as I hit submit on the form.

“Yeah, we. I’m not doing it alone. You don’t have to sign up, but you can be my unofficial teammates.” I grin at my friends and my fangs descend slightly at the anticipation of bloodshed.

Cade stares at me with a gaze that sees all too clearly my reasons for doing this. Eventually, he sighs and grins back. “Alright, let’s do it.”

Sterling whips his head in Cade’s direction, mouth falling open. “You can’t be serious?”

Cade shrugs his muscled shoulders. “Why not? Like Kai said, we might as well use it as a training exercise.”

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