Page 81 of House of Lilith

And it shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the amount of people here where there’s no party, but once we step through the archway and into the Main Hall, the crowd still makes me stop midstep.

“Wow,” I hear Ricky say.

It’s all so luxuriously decorated, like some winter wonderland, so it’s hard to keep focus on one thing at a time. Icicles hanging from the high vaulted ceilings, decorated pine trees at every corner, a large crystal podium to the front center.

What snaps me out of it is a plump fae girl coming to stand right in front of me, some unknown plea in her eyes as she scans my outfit. I frown, tucking the bandage wrapped around my wrist deeper into the sleeve of my suit jacket.

“Would it be possible to get an autograph?” the girl asks. “I think your fox was out of this world.”

I shake my head, slowly but with determination, as I grab a shot glass off some passing waiter’s tray. “Thanks, but no.” I have to force myself to give her a smile before I throw the shot back.

And she looks a little disappointed, but not like she really minds.

So when I move to keep walking and notice Ricky throwing me yet another funny look, it puzzles me. It even annoys me a little.

I take him straight to the bar to the left of the podium, all the while scanning the room for a certain dark-haired princess. I prop myself on my elbow and gesture for the bartender to give me a beer from the fridge behind his back.

And I turn to Ricky, who’s just standing there, as if he’s waiting for something, and I ask, “What?”

He winces a little as he approaches the bar, resting his forearms on it. “I just thought it was a little rude of you.”

It takes me a second to understand what he’s talking about. But as soon as I do, I let out a scoff. “Come on, mate, autographs?” I say as I take the beer out of the bartender's hand. I gulp it all down, I set the bottle down and I explain, “I’d feel like a fucking asshole. She should try her luck with the Prince of Assholes. I’m sure he’d be happy to give it to her.”

Ricky frowns and opens his mouth to say something, but then it occurs to me and a flame ignites inside me. “Didn’t you say you’re keeping track of the bets?”

“I am.”

“And didn’t you say you saw the Prince of Assholes bet on himself?”

“I did.”

Hebelievesin her, she tells me. Lying bastard, I curse to myself, feeling my breathing becoming heavier as I grab and down another three shots off some wandering tray.

“What’s the matter with you?” I hear Ricky say.

I fix my eyes back on him, frowning as he himself squints at me. “What’s the matter with me?” I echo. “Why’re you asking me that?”

And I can tell he’s not indifferent to the tone of my voice, but he just looks at me for a second and then says, frankly and to the point, “You’ve been off lately, especially today, and it’s making me worried.”

Now that gives me pause. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He’s right, I think to myself. Throughout today’s Game, how much time did I spend focusing on winning and how much time on watchingherwin?

So I let out a sigh, I lock eyes with my friend and I force myself to say, “I’m going to need a favor, Ricky.”

“Of course,” he says, shaking his head eagerly. “For you, anything.”

“You know the future princess?”

His lips curl into a smile. “Yeah, turns out she’s a Blood Magic user. What a nice twist, huh?”

“Right,” I reply absent-mindedly. “Anyway… I’ll need you to help me stay away from her.”

“Stay away from her?” he asks with a frown. “What for?”

I hesitate for a second, but then I order another beer, I take a step closer to him, practically getting in his face, and I drop my voice a little. “I’ll tell you, but you can’t breathe a word of it to anyone,ever, got it?”

---