Page 132 of Wicked Games (Fallen Royals 2)

I sink further into my black coat, grateful for the hat Len gave me a few weeks ago. It’s an Emery-Rose winter one, black with gold tinsel-like threads woven through, and an eagle stitched on the side.

Riley and Eli are just below us, and Caleb’s lacrosse friends run interference for him a few rows down. They’re sprawled out, being generally loud and rowdy.

“How does it feel?” I ask Caleb.

He glances at me. The game hasn’t started yet, but he and Eli seem particularly keen on the Lion’s Head sidelines. They keep staring like a monster is going to pop out.

“What?”

“Being so popular,” I elaborate. “It must be weird, right?”

He shrugs. “I’ve always been popular. Even when we were kids. You just never noticed.”

True.

“My parents prepped me for this type of lifestyle.” He throws his shoulders back. “You think my dad was able to go anywhere without being recognized? His face was on billboards around town.”

I raise my eyebrow. “I don’t remember that.”

“Well, Uncle took them down after a while. They lost their effectiveness.”

Weird. But he has an odd expression, so I don’t question it.

The cheerleaders run out across the field, shaking their pompoms.

Two familiar faces climb the steps, and I shoot to my feet.

“Claire! Hanna!” I race toward them.

Hanna’s face lights up, and she crashes into me. I throw my arms around her, squeezing tight.

“I swear you grew five inches,” I tell her. “How are you?”

She grins at me. “Good! Claire said she saw you, but I couldn’t go.” Her lower lip pops out. “I miss you, Margo.”

“I miss you, too.” I rub her arm.

Her hair is pulled back in two neat French braids, and the sisters are decked out in Lion’s Head colors. I touch the purple hair bands and smile.

“You guys went all out.”

Hanna beams. “Claire helped me with my hair, and she got me this shirt from school, see?” She unzips her purple jacket and shows me the purple-and-black shirt. Lion’s Head Forever is scrawled across her chest.

“Very nice.”

Claire steps up and hugs me. “You guys really got prime seating, huh?”

I glance back at Caleb, but he’s talking to someone else. The boy dressed in purple and black is vaguely familiar.

I shrug. “I guess.”

“We’re on the other side.” Claire hooks her thumb behind her, to the other side of the field. It’s very clearly divided: Lion’s Head fans on one side and Emery-Rose on the other.

“Well, thanks for coming to say hi. I don’t think I would’ve spotted you otherwise.”

Claire shrugs.

“Hey, Margo.”

---