Page 183 of House of Lilith

I see her stiffen, but she stops and gives me a curt nod. I motion at the door to my right, the one leading into the room where players go to prepare.

She hesitates, but then dismisses the girl accompanying her out of the Arena and we walk inside. I close the door behind me and turn to her.

“Romanov.”

“Howe.”

For a second, I just look at her. “It seems congratulations are in order,” I finally say, giving her a smile. “And I mean, wow.” I shake my head. “Like, I’ll be able to proudly say I once fought with you in the Games.” I pause for a split second before I say, “You really are something.”

It makes her cheeks flush with the most tempting shade of pink. “Thank you,” she says curtly. “The feeling is mutual.” Another nod and now she’s already moving to walk away, adding in a rushed voice, “I wish you all the best. Have a safe trip home tomorrow.”

For a second, I hesitate. And I know I’ve absolutely no right to be pushingmyselfinto the picture, but stopping her from making a huge, huge mistake? That’s something a friend can do as well.

So I rush after her, stopping myself from trying to take her hand and instead coming to block her way, her eyebrows immediately pulling down. I lock eyes with her. “You’re really going to marry him?” I ask in a low voice, recalling the way fucking Aalders acted when she won. Not the way a proud, loving fiance does.

She takes a deep breath and says, “I appreciate you coming to congratulate me, Howe. What Idon’tappreciate is your tone right now.”

“Come on,” I urge her, “you know I’m only looking out for you.”

“Who’s asking you?” she snaps. “And no, Idon’tknow that. In fact, I don’t knowyou, as you’ve spent the last month showing me.”

This time, I block her before she even moves to walk away again. It’s in a low, rushed voice that I lean in to say, “I guess it’s not just princesses that throw temper tantrums.”

“What’sthatsupposed to mean?” she demands, her eyes narrowing.

It makes me want to pull my fucking hair out, being unable to speak freely. “Look,” I say as I take her hand, “if the situation were any different...”

What I’m hoping she’ll hear is, “Break up with him and choosemeinstead.”

But she doesn’t. She just snatches her hand away and looks at me as if I’m not well.

“But it’s not, of course,” I rush to say, “so please, let me just say this.” I hesitate for a second, but then I jump straight in. “He’s not the man for you,” I tell her.

And I can see her start to get mad, but I keep going, more fervently. “He doesn’t respect you, he doesn’t care about your wellbeing, he doesn’t even seem to see you for who you really are. He’s not giving you what you need.”

For a second, she just looks at me. “How dare you suggest you know what I need?”

“I can see you’re not getting what you deserve.”

“No such thing. There’s only what we choose.”

“Fine,” I almost snap, “then don’t choose anyone who’d do anything less thanworshipyou, every single day, like there’s no tomorrow.”

“Me, chooseme,” that’s what I want to say.

She rolls her eyes. “For your information,” she says with a sigh, “I’ve already made my choice. I’ve chosenmyself.”

And she lifts her hand to show she no longer has a ring on it.

It renders me speechless for a second. Then it sends a flood of relief and longing coursing through my body. And I move to take her in my arms, but before I can even lay a finger on her, she slinks back, raising a hand and shaking her head to stop me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demands.

“You’ve just said you’re no longer with him.”

It’s a defiant one, the look she throws me. “And why does that make you think I’ll come running toyou? Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

For a second, I just blink at her. Then I move to get closer again, saying, “Nyx, if you’d only give me—”

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