Page 131 of House of Lilith

For a second, our eyes meet and she seems hesitant, but she throws me a smile and then turns her attention back onto her friend.

Makes me feel like a fucking idiot, causing all that drama down there. Especially when I see how carefree she was whileIwas still in the Game.

But then I sense Ricky walk up to me and I turn to look at him, clapping him on the back. “Congratulations, mate,” I tell him with a smile.

And he throws me such a wide grin and we turn to keep watching the Game in silence, but my dissatisfaction doesn’t dissipate. And I can sense my fox feeling the same.

I take a deep breath and decide to confront him. “Come on, let’s hear it,” I tell him, “that ‘told you so’ that’s on the tip of your tongue.”

For a second, he stays silent.Told you so?he echoes with a fake little frown. And his voice is all feigned surprise and earnestness when he keeps going.No, I mean… I just assessed the situation, predicted how it would end, informed you about my findings, all of them and in time, and am now enjoying seeing it unravel just the way I thought it would.

It makes me have to fight not to roll my eyes. “In other words, told you so.”

How clever you can be,he snaps.Pity you never are when it actually matters.

He pauses for a second before he turns serious, for real, and asks,So,nowwill you stop seeing the girl?

I almost let out a scoff. “Stop seeing her?” I ask with a frown. “Like altogether? Why would I dothat?”

I can sense he’s not happy with the direction I’m taking. And I understand I failed to deliver on my promise from last night.

So it’s in an apologetic voice that I say, “Look, I admit it, okay? She’s become a bit of a distraction. But it’s nothing that can’t be easily fixed.”

Yeah?

“Yeah,” I reply with determination in my voice. “I guess it would’ve been better,” I concede, carefully, “if I’d listened to her from the start and made sure I followed all her little rules. So from now on, I’ll be doing exactly that, keeping the conversation to a minimum and refraining from seeing her outside our little sessions.”

Sure,he drawls.And that way, you’ll be more focused than ever, right?

I ignore the snarky way he says it. “Exactly,” I reply, with even greater determination than a minute ago.

Fine, let’s do it your way,he says,that’s always worked out well for us.

But the very next moment, I hear the sand run out and the rest of the players get zapped out, marking the end of the Game and making the crowd go wild.

To my surprise, we finish at nine to eight in Grimms' favor.

Which puts us in a much better position for the Fourth Game, which I know will be held on May 1st.

And that’s many weeks from now, weeks and weeks of enjoying my time here, especially now that there’s no shit going down, we’re doing good, and I’m getting my focus back.

Chapter 23 - Nyx

ThelateAprilsunis making the treetops above me glisten like they were taken from some other, more romantic time. I’m lying on my back with my knees bent, listening to Hilde flipping pages of her latest thriller obsession, while my brother and Ricky are playing with an authentic sixteenth-century crossbow that General Alaric gave Nikolay for his name day. And I’m finding it hard to keep myself from daydreaming.

The grass I’m brushing with my fingers is so delicate…

The noises in the gardens so relaxing…

The breeze caressing my bare legs so warm…

And there are other groups of students wasting time in the gardens on this lovely day, but it’s only when I spot a group of Fiains coming to join a group of ours that my focus gets drawn away from the splendor of nature around me.

I don’t lift my head off the ground, but I do hold my breath as I observe them.

Then I see them give each other pats on their shoulders, I hear laughter booming and I feel my muscles relax.

The Fourth Game is scheduled for May 21st, which is the day after tomorrow. But the past two weeks, there's been more tension between the Academies. And it’s just little fights breaking out here and there, but it’s still making me anxious.

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