Page 182 of House of Lilith

I turn to look at him, frowning when I see he's not smiling.

But it’s not me he’s marching toward. It’s Professor Byrne, just getting up out of the Guardian’s chair behind my back.

I watch Max come to a stop in front of the temporary Guardian. “It was cheating,” he says through gritted teeth, making my eyebrows pull down. “She was cheating,” he repeats in a raised voice.

The music stops, abruptly, and I can feel everyone's eyes on us, my cheeks burning with sudden embarrassment.

I see Professor Byrne throw him a confused look, but Max doesn’t let it deter him. He comes to jab an angry finger in front of his face. “You know what you’re going to do?” he demands, obviously completely forgetting himself. “You’re going to fuckingfix it.”

“What are you talking about?” Professor Byrne mutters. “It’s the Box’s decision and the Box has decided.”

We all watch as Max takes a step back, seemingly barely controlling his anger. “I demand you tell me who chose you for this position,” he spits out, raising his voice so it echoes through the Ring, “because I’m not letting this slide.”

It’s at that moment that I see Aine get back into the Ring and start walking up to him, and I can tell by the look on her face that she’s planning on trying to appease him.

Me? I know better by now.

I just watch him as he spots her, turns to face her and spits out, “What doyouthink you’re doing, you filthy Fiain?”

She stops midstep, her face twisting in disgust.

I feel mine do the same and I turn on my heel and start marching out of the Ring, the ceremonies be damned.

I hear him yell out, “Anastasya, come back here.”

I don’t listen, I just keep marching until I’m walking through the door from which we came and into the comforting silence of the hallway.

It makes me stop midstep, all my muscles tensing up, when he comes to block my way. “As my future wife, you can’t be disrespecting me like that,” he says through gritted teeth.

For a second, I just look at him, my mind flooding with the memory of the two of us playing that game of Shadowscape on the night of the Opening Ceremony. It stayed with me, that much is true. I just never thought it’d be representative of the way my entire life with him would be.

But it would. So I lift my hand and I pull the ring off my finger. “I want you to take this,” I tell him, flatly, as I hold it out for him.

Still flushed with anger, he shakes his head, refusing to do as I say. “No,” he tells me in a commanding voice, “you’re not doing this.”

I get in his face, finding myself surprised at how calm I am. “Oh you’reneveragain telling me what I am or am not doing. Understood?”

And I drop the ring to the floor, finding myself changing my mind about the next steps. Instead of the exit, I start marching back to the Ring.

“Anastasya,” I hear him call out as he rushes after me.

But I just keep walking. I’m not letting him take my victory away from me. Not this time. Not ever.

Chapter 32 - Dahrian

Leanedagainstthewall,I wait with Aine and Lorcan by my side, my mind buzzing. I spot them as soon as they reenter the Ring, Romanov moving for the largest group, the one at the center, and fucking Aalders falling back, as if he’s changed his mind about something.

And his little temper tantrum has managed to derail stuff, leaving us players, the professors and some of the more important people from the audience chatting as we wait for the winner so we can be led out of the Arena and into the Dining Hall for some tedious closing ceremony.

I turn my eyes back onto Romanov, watching her say hi to people. I could just walk up to her right now, but I don’t want a two-second interaction in passing. It’ll probably be our last one, I think as my heart sinks low into my stomach. And I’m feeling different than I felt before the Game started, mostly thanks to that look she threw me while we were still playing. Like I was a disappointment.

And no look has ever hurt more, which is why I now have to thank it for thinking I actually might have a normal conversation with her.

So I wait for one of the staff to start leading her back to the exit, into the hallway from which she came.

Just before everyone else starts moving as well, I tear myself away from the wall and signal for Aine and Lorcan not to wait for me.

I catch up with Romanov just as she walks through the exit.

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