Page 86 of Until the End of Ever
The house alerted us of our guests’ arrival, and given that Lucian was still adding herbs in the deliciously fragrant sauce simmering in the cast iron pan, I offered to open the door.
Cassius frowned, standing. “Not by yourself.”
I hesitated. If it was Silver and Gideon, rather than Ronan and Lucky, I wasn’t sure how they’d react to him without warning.
But then again, I’d been open to both about eating dinner with the patriarch several times. They’d behave.
Hopefully?
36
KLEOS
“Come on, Grandpa, is that all you got?” Silver taunted.
I rested my head in my hands. Why did I ever doubt this would end any other way?
“I will curse your children, your dog, and your internet connection,” Cassius roared, a pearl of sweat glistening on his forehead as he flexed his bare arm harder.
Silver barely looked winded. It was their fifth round of arm wrestling and she’d won every single time.
Tired of toying with him, my best friend flexed, with little to no effort, slamming the ancient’s hand against the black wooden table.
“Damn you!” Cassius screamed as everyone else laughed. “Again.”
The first round, Lucky and Ronan unwisely opted to bet on the patriarch. Lucian put his money on Silver—so did I. Given how fast she wiped the floor with him, we were all team Silver afterwards, a fact that only served to incense poor Cassius.
“Are your sure your pride can take a sixth beating?” Silver checked.
“Again,” Cassius hissed, elbow on the table, hand up. “And this time, I won’t be a gentleman.”
Silver chortled. “Is that what you were calling it?”
Undeterred, he narrowed his eyes. “Do not underestimate my power, little girl.”
“All right, Darth Grand-Vader. Let’s see what you got.”
“I need alcohol to watch this,” I whined.
Zazel whined on my lap, and I took it as an agreement.
Lucky recommended starting the ritual after dinner, when we were all a little tired to make the transition into a trance easier, but she and Lucian both agreed we shouldn’t imbibe any alcohol. We needed to be relaxed, not impaired.
Lucian brought his chin to my shoulder, kissing my neck. “Last round. We’d better get started after. My money’s still on Smol.”
“Wait, are you really going to use your power against her?” Lucky asked, eyes wide. “You could kill her.”
“Only fair, as she’s been destroying him for the last half hour,” Ronan snorted. “Ten golds on Smol, too.”
“Same,” Gideon echoed, rubbing his hands gleefully.
“Smol isnotgoing to be a thing,” Silver grunted, glaring at Lucian for coming up with it.
Given the fact that she was still calling him Daddy, I was pretty certain Smol was here to stay.
“Are you in or out, Valesco?” Ronan asked, one eyebrow raised.
“What’s the point? We’re all betting on Silver so no one’s winning.”
