Page 101 of Death Game: Supernatural Battle

I loved my best friend. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do for the last few weeks.”

“I see.” She tapped her mouth.

She did?

“Then I revert to my original statement,” she said, bounding up again. “Snap out of it.”

I was trying. I just felt so damn lonely. And angry. And full of regret.

Blood bond aside, Kyros had occupied a space inside of me. When he was butting his nose into my life each day, I hadn’t realised just how large that chunk was.

The void now was big.

Really big.

Tommy yanked on my hair.

“Ow!” I shot her a glare.

“Listen good, Basil,” she said, hunkering down. “You made that choice to save me, and I’ll never be able to repay that, so as a poor substitute, you’re about to receive the pep talk to end all pep talks.”

Oh, brother.

“How long until Sundulus loses?” she pressed.

Thirteen days if the forecast for the end cascade proved correct. Focusing on the pay schedule for my Churchill team—who I hadn’t contacted all week—I muttered, “Nearly two weeks.”

She brought both hands down on my knees, and I jumped.

“Then you still have time. There’s time to win him back even if you can’t win the game.”

I frowned. Win him back? “Do you even like Kyros?”

“No. But I hated him before, so total dislike is a leap in the right direction. I think I could barely tolerate him given ample time.”

Okay.

“The point is,” she said, sighing, “that you’re legit miserable without him, and he cares for you enough to get your best friend back. From what I’ve read in that mating rituals book, this is a permanent kind of deal.”

We could still be apart though—as torturous as that was. The pain in my chest from our separation surged each day. I’d considered standing outside the tower to see if the pain would dissipate, but Kyros would feel me there.

If the sensation continued to heighten, I might not have a choice.

“Heisthe game,” I managed to force out. “He’ll never speak to me again unless I correct what I did.”

Tommy sat back on her heels. “Well, how do you do that?”

“That’s just it. I can’t.”

Fyrlia caught me digging around Sandra somehow. Sundulus had kicked me out. I was fresh out of ideas, and the oldies hadn’t been in touch since I upended theI’m Kyros’s mate and have vampire powersbin over their heads.

“Tom,” I said in a low voice, “I let Grandmother down so badly. I can’t win for her. I can’t even restore balance. And without that, Kyros won’t look twice at me.”

The list of people I’d failed played over and over in my mind like a horror movie without end. In the couple of hours of sleep my body demanded, their faces haunted me. I’d avoided everyone—Laurel, the Indebted, Tommy, and even Fred.

Tommy gripped my chin, smooshing my cheeks. “Where’s the Basilia I know?” she snapped.

I stared at her.

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