Page 30 of Dance of the Phoenix
“Are you serious?” Zoey said, arching a brow. “The Hecatomb isn’t some theatrical play.”
She was right. According to the briefing we’d gone through on the first day of training, the Hecatomb was basically a battlefield. Depending on the assigned monitor, there could be some additional entertainment, but that was definitely not the point.
The point was to see who filled the arena with more gore and death.
Isora glared at her for a moment before taking a sip of her coffee. “Obviously, it’s not. But my two friends are going to participate, so I have to be there.”
Part of me was touched, but another, bigger part felt uneasy. “Renaldi is going to be there,” I told her, eyeing her closely.
She gave me a serious nod. “I know. That’s another reason why I want to go.”
“To seeRenaldi?” Zoey asked, her disgust palpable. “Why the fuck would you do that?”
Isora smiled cryptically. “I have some unfinished business to discuss with the asshole.”
“I don’t like it,” I murmured.
“Lucky for me, it’s not up to you to decide what I do or not,” Isora retorted sweetly before rising up. “Don’t you have training to get to?”
Before either Zoey or I could respond, she stormed off, evidently upset. Zoey and I looked at each other, and she said, “What did she expect? That we’ll support her coming to see a bloodbath, along with her traumatic former Lord?”
Sharing the exact same sentiment, I could only sigh and massage my temples. After days of training my powers, the pain was constant even when I wasn’t actively using my magic. It sometimes turned even more painful when something lay heavy on my mind, like the fact Ragnor actually approved of Isora coming to watch the Hecatomb.
Since I’d had it up to here with Ragnor, this was just another thing pinned to my mental board of what the hell do you think you’re doing?
After quickly finishing our breakfast, Zoey and I left for training. It was to take place in a larger gym, and I wondered who our mentor was going to be. George had told us it was going to be someone different.
I just hoped it wasn’t Ragnor, because I didn’t think I could handle having him give me the cold shoulder during the morning session as well. It was hard enough as it was when it was just Magnus and us.
Unfortunately, when Zoey and I arrived at the gym, we found out who was going to be our mentor, and that vampire was the only vampire other than Ragnor I’d wished I wouldn’t have to see in close quarters again.
Lieutenant Margarita Wallen.
The woman who first introduced me to the Rayne League when I became a vampire and then tried to sabotage me right before the Auction out of pure jealousy over Ragnor and Logan.
The same one who threatened me more than once to keep my distance from her two favorite men.
And she was supposed to train me so I would survive the Hecatomb. Sounded legit.
Margarita’s auburn hair was pulled into a tight bun, her catlike green eyes on the man standing next to her as she listened to him speak.
Logan.
Right. He was also here, as a participant in the Hecatomb. Great.
“Wow,” Zoey murmured to me, her brown eyes on Logan. “I forgot how good he looks up close.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, pointedly looking at the gym’s entrance so as not to look at my ex-boyfriend. “He does. Though I would not make a move if I were you.”
Zoey sighed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to get onherbad side.”
I whipped my head toward her and saw her glaring at Margarita, who seemed oblivious, as she was transfixed by whatever Logan was saying to her. “I can tell you from experience she’s a hound dog, all right,” I whispered. “It’s a wonder she hasn’t sought me out to torture me since I came back.”
“You mean she’s like that with our Lord too?” Zoey asked, eyes wide. “That’s preposterous. He’s ourLord. She has no say in whether he dates you or not.”
My lips parted as I was about to saywe’re not dating, but then I clamped my mouth shut. What were we, then, if not dating? The whole one-month-trial thing was postponed until after the Hecatomb, sure, but what were we now, then?
Ragnor and I weren’t friends, so we couldn’t be friends with benefits. Hell, it’d been a while since we’dbenefitedeach other as it was. Were we lovers, then? That would entail dating, too, and considering everything going on, it wasn’t on the table at the moment.
