Page 117 of House of Lilith

I pull away to shoot him a look that’s both angry and a little bit concerned.

“Kidding, just kidding,” he rushes to say as he takes a step back, raising his hands in defense. “I’ll be taking it to the grave,” he adds in a somber voice.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

He clears his throat. “Come on, stay a while,” he says as he motions at a point behind my back.

I throw a glance over my shoulder, hearing him say, “Look, your brother and your cousin are already here.”

And there they are, standing in a large group of people around a nearby fire, with drinks in their hands and glows of excitement on their faces.

Well… They do seem like they’re having fun.

I hear Dahrian clear his throat and I turn to look at him again. He’s holding a whiskey out for me, smiling again. “Here, a welcome drink before I get out of your hair.”

I squint at him. Then I accept the glass and I take a sip. “Just this one,” I say, letting out a content sigh as I feel the pleasant burning in my throat.

“Sure,” he drawls as if he doesn’t believe me, the smile dancing on his lips making me feel a little rush of excitement. “Have fun.”

And he gives me a little wink. Awink.

I roll my eyes at him, but I do smile.

I watch him turn and go back to his group, finding myself hesitating. What the fuck am I doing?

Then I see the girl with the highlights standing in the same circle as him and I feel this pang shoot through my core.

Half an hour won’t hurt, I decide as my mind starts buzzing. And I make myself turn on my heel and head straight to my brother and Hilde.

But I barely take a single step before I hear someone call out, “Miss Romanov.”

And I stop and I turn around to see Ricky walking up to me, throwing me a warm smile.

*

I set my glass on a nearby table and I throw the nerdy little shifter a smile back, saying, “Didn’t I already tell you to call me Nyx?”

For a second, he just blinks at me. Then he remembers and he runs his hand through his hair, letting out a little laugh. “Yeah, I guess it slipped my mind.”

“Being kept in a dungeon for a crime you didn’t commit will do that to you,” I say, not without hesitation.

I breathe a sigh of relief when he reacts with an awkward, but amused laugh.

“But you seem to be the only one not confused by the etiquette,” I tell him, referring to him knowing that, being a student here, I don’t need to be addressed as Lady by others at the Academy.

It takes him a second to connect the dots. “Ah yes,” he says once he does. He smiles and then says, matter-of-factly, “I’ve spent a lot of time studying my family’s history. And they’re royal as well.”

Now, that makes my eyebrows shoot up. “Really?”

“Yes, I’m an orphan,” he adds. Then he waves his hand as if in an apology. “If you don’t mind me being so blunt, of course.”

A pang of sympathy shooting through me, I vigorously shake my head. “No, not at all.”

He gives me a cute little smile. “Thank you. So yes, I’ve no family to speak of, but this is the sigil of my family line.”

And he shows me his cufflinks, engraved with something so complex, I can’t make out a single element.

“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head in apology. “Not familiar with it.”

---