Page 48 of Kings & Corruption

She flounced off — gorgeous sidekick in tow — toward the rest of the group.

I looked at Claire and tried not to panic. “The game starts now?”

I’d heard about them of course. Everyone in our world had. But I didn’t know exactly what they entailed, and I wasn’t eager to find out. I had a feeling playing games with the kids at Aventine was going to be less Spin the Bottle and more Russian Roulette with a Loaded Gun.

Claire smiled. “Not exactly. Come on.”

I followed her to the fire and waited while everyone found a place to stand where they could see Neo. I hated the bastard with a white-hot passion, but even I couldn’t deny that he looked like a god standing in front of the fire, his dark eyes like lava over his prominent cheekbones.

And I was afraid to get started on his body, which looked just as hot in jeans and a black long-sleeve T-shirt as it had looked poured into his tux for the ball.

“Thank you all for coming,” Neo said. I couldn’t get over how hushed the crowd was. It was reverent. And a little off-putting. They looked at Neo like he was an actual king, and I couldn’t think of anything more dangerous than a guy like Neo with a little power.

“As you know, tradition dictates that tonight we kick off this year’s games. You all know the rules, and if you don’t, you should: four games, each assigned to a two-month period.” He paced in front of the fire, looking like a general ordering his troops into battle. It was all a bit much, but I wasn’t immune. My breath was shallow, my heart racing. “It’s up to each house to assign players to each game. The houses that complete each game get the points for that round. Points are cumulative throughout the semester.”

“Here we go,” Claire said. The fear in her voice made my stomach do flips.

“But before we start, a reminder.” Neo paused, and I waited for whatever order or edict he’d issue next. Instead he shouted something I didn’t understand. “Sangue oltre la famiglia!”

The crowd roared the words back to him, some of them raising their fists, others throwing in a whoop of excitement.

“Sangue oltre la famiglia!”

Wtf kind of cult had I walked into?

I leaned over so Claire could hear me over the riled-up chatter around us. “What does that mean?”

“Family beyond blood,” she shouted back. “It’s like… a reminder.”

I raised my eyebrows. “A reminder?”

“That even though we compete in the games, even though we’re all from different families, we’re a family too,” Claire said.

I searched her face for some trace of humor, but she was serious as a heart attack.

Okay, then.

“And now, let’s get down to business,” Neo said. “Game number one, to be completed no later than the Bad Ball. Steal all six medals from the admin lounge…” A murmur rolled through the crowd, and I was glad Neo paused so I didn’t miss what was next. “… Without breaking the glass.”

“Oh my god,” Claire said next to me before the crowd erupted in a roar.

“What’s the Bad Ball?” I asked Claire. “And what medals?”

“The Bad Ball is the Halloween dance,” Claire said.

Quinn appeared next to her, breathless, her eyes bright. “Can it be done?” she asked Claire.

“Sure, if you can get the key,” Claire said. “If you can even find it.”

“Dean Giordana?” Quinn asked.

I was trying to follow their conversation, trying to figure out what it all meant,

“Maybe?” Claire bit her thumbnail. “Although…”

“Seems too easy?” Quinn asked.

“Kind of.”

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