Page 41 of House of Lilith

“I’m already stoned. I’ll only embarrass us.”

Now, what I really want to reply is, “And that thought never crossed your mindbeforeyou got stoned?” But I don’t. I just say, “No, I’m not going and that’s that.”

Why am I this adamant, I think to myself. But I just shrug it off.

It’ll be fine. I’ll ask Max to go, I think to myself. Max is worth at least two Romanovs.

My brother doesn’t reply. Sulking, he’s fucking sulking. For one long moment, I just stare at our chat. Then I force myself to look up, letting out a frustrated breath.

The Elevator door opens and it snaps me out of it, when I see a couple of students walk out.

I step inside and I push the button for Max’s quarters, the one he got specially made.

My teeth are gritting even after the door opens and I see Max standing in his hallway, waiting for me in his training clothes, a smile on his lips.

At least this will be fun, I tell myself as I let out a pent-up breath.

*

“Ten minutes early this time,” he says as I step out of the hallway. “Good girl,” he adds as I give him a peck on the cheek.

It makes my eyebrows pull down.

Ever since I was late meeting him for that dinner — when I had to show Howe around — he’s been prickly about this.

“I’m always as punctual as I can be,” I reply with tension in my voice. And I push past him and through the door into his modern-looking gym.

I hear him let out an amused laugh as he follows me. “Who got you so worked up, cupcake?”

“Brother darling, who else,” I tell him as I stand at the very center of the mostly empty but expertly furnished room. Rubber flooring, perfect lighting, all the tools and equipment you could ever need.

Smiling, Max shakes his head, throws me my vest and walks up to the weapons rack leaned against the wall to my right. “What did he do now?” he asks as he picks up the usual, a light but deadly javelin.

“Oh,” I grumble as I absent-mindedly fiddle with the vest, “just shift all his duties onto me, including the buddy thing.” I pause for a second before I look up to ask, “Max, are you going to the Fiain’s party tonight?”

He squints at me. “No.”

“Could you? We really need someone from the old families there and Nikolay’s being the usual irresponsible ass.”

He shakes his head. “I can’t.” There’s that finality in his tone making it clear I shouldn’t ask again. “I thought the two of you would be there, and I have something more important to deal with.” He walks up to me with an even funnier little squint. “What, you don’t want to go?”

“I don’t,” I say with determination in my voice. “I also have something more important to deal with.”

He gives me a smile. “That makes me happy.”

And the words confuse me, but then he shakes his head again, thinking. “Still, someone needs to be there.” And he locks eyes with me again. “You should go. In and out, you know?”

I think for a second, frowning. He does have a point, so why does it stillfeellike I shouldn’t?

“But take Hilde with you,” Max adds with that frown on his face, making me snap out of it. “I don’t want you alone there.”

And what I want to say is, “I don’t need a fucking chaperone.”

But that frown, it means his mind is made up. If I protested, we’d probably just end up going in circles over it for gods know how long.

So I just say, “You’re right, Hilde and I will go.”

He nods, throwing me a smile, and I proceed to finally put my vest on. And once I get my head through, I see Max standing in his own spot on the other side of the gym.

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