Page 23 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

“Are you here to see Amelie?”

We do sometimes catch dinner when our parents will be working late, so it isn’t out of the question. Our parents tend toward workaholism, not that I ever fully absorbed the impact of that. As I said, I’ve been living with my grandparents for a while. They’re both retired. Grandpa is ex-military.

Dad probably thought it would give me structure, but… retirement is retirement. They were done raising kids when Dad’s youngest sibling moved out of the house. There are rules for me, but only a handful. If I stop causing waves, I get more freedom.

That’s since diminished because of the paint incident, but I digress.

I have no good excuse to be here, watching the Emery-Rose Elite lacrosse team’s practice. Hiding. Spying.

So I find myself nodding, and I don’t dare look over my shoulder at the boys on the field.

“She’s over here,” Skylar says. “We changed fields for practice because of the recent rain. Our regular one seems to catch it all, and the whole thing turns into a swamp. Although we haven’t started yet, so she’s in the locker room.”

“Sure,” I say faintly. “Why were you in the parking lot?”

“I’d left my sneakers.” She grins. “How’s Lion’s Head?”

I grab my bike and wheel it along, catching up to her. I contemplate pretending it isn’t mine, but someone might steal it. And then I’d be stuck walking home.

Although, I don’t know where I’ll put it if Amelie does drive me home. It would be an interesting fit, stuffing it into her trunk. A wheel might hang out.

A slightly manic glee overtakes me for a moment. She’d be horrified at that. Anything to put a dent in her reputation…

“Lucy.” Skylar laughs. “Do you know how to have a conversation?”

I wince, and I almost say no. I talk to a handful of people outside of family, and only when I have to. My practice in social communication is dreadfully low. But I can’t say that. I definitely can’t say it’s because I’ve got a screw loose. That tends to scare people off faster than random silences.

So I say, “Um, Lion’s Head is fine. I’m writing for the school paper. Covering the games…”

She shakes a pom-pom. “Make sure to get a good one of me, then, huh? We play you guys in a few weeks.”

I smile. “Sure.”

We stop at a side door into the building. “Do you want to wait here? I’ll grab her.”

I swallow. Amelie might be confused to find me here, but maybe she’ll play along. I can count on one hand the times I’ve met her at school… and most of the time it’s because one of my grandparents had a late appointment and dropped me off.

Riding here on my bike took longer than I’d admit. I skipped part of my last period to make it before the sports started.

She disappears inside, and I lean against the brick wall. It isn’t long before Amelie shoves the door open and stops dead.

“What are you doing here?”

I wince. “I, um…”

She eyes me. “Did Grandma drop you off?” Her gaze goes to the bike. “Oh. You’re not running away, are you?”

Okay, so we don’t have the best relationship at the moment—I blame our parents. Spitefully.

“I can’t hang out,” she says in a lower voice. “I have practice.”

I nod quickly. “We can get dinner or something later? When you’re done?”

Fuck.

She smiles tightly, glancing over her shoulder. “Sure. You just wait here, okay?”

I smile. “Absolutely.”

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