Lyra considered this and then nodded. “That’s true. I can never deny him anything. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you to go through with it.”
Did he want to thank her or strangle her? Probably the latter. But Kel loved his sister, and even if there weren’t literal cameras filming them, he’d never get away with murdering the Imperial Heir.
He’d considered it before, after all, and had come to the same conclusion. That was why he’d spent so many years living in the Little Palace, humoring her.
“I’m going to spend the next week or so at the dorms,” he announced. “I think we could both benefit from some space right now. You’re grieving the loss of Ansel and not thinking clearly, that’s all this is.”
She couldn’t give two shits about her dead lover and they both knew it, but he was counting on the fact they’d been playing this game long enough that leaning into it would be second nature.
“If you need peace of mind, how about I give you until the end of the semester to come to terms with it? Hmm? That seems generous.” She reached up and traced the curve of his jaw with a small smile.
Come to terms, not choose. She’d already decided for him and was trying to make that clear.
“You had years to realize you wanted to keep me,” he reminded, tone souring before he could help it. “You didn’t mind when I was with Kazimir.”
“Pavel isn’t Kazimir.”
“In what way?” Besides the obvious, of course.
“That’s simple.” She patted his bare chest once. “You’ve never looked at Kazimir the way you looked at Pavel in that video.”
Chapter 20:
“He can’t see you.” Ledger sliced a chunk off of the jyu fruit in his right hand and popped it into his mouth, chewing loudly. He was propped against the floor-to-ceiling window of Pavel’s east office at Concealed, the one that overlooked the restaurant. Though he’d come to drop off Nikita for work, he’d lingered around Pavel for the past half hour. “Are you really going to stand here and glower? For real? That’s your plan?”
No.
But…
“I still have an hour and thirty-six minutes,” Pavel grumbled. He didn’t even need to check the clock to know.
Ledger chuckled. “I can’t believe you’re actually going along with this. It’s all bullshit, you get that right? If Zane really wanted you gone, he would have insisted on playing for that, not a measly few weeks.”
“He changed the prize to match me,” he corrected. “Even though he was confident.” Zane hadn’t wanted to risk losing and tying himself to Pavel permanently.
It stung, but Pavel was confident too. He’d change Zane’s mind about him, about them.
“What if they leave before your timer is up?” Ledger was pushing him on purpose. Goading him into breaking the rulesjust like when they’d been kids. “Or worse, what if they book one of your rooms here? Level eight, judging by the looks of him.”
“He’s one of Madden’s racers.” Pavel had recognized Great the second he and Zane had entered the restaurant.
Laughing together.
Holding fucking hands.
Even now, Great kept rubbing the side of his shoe against Zane’s beneath the intimate two-seater they were having dinner at.
So far, Zane hadn’t responded, but he hadn’t stopped him either.
“That means you can’t kill him.” Ledger turned so he could glance down at them as well, letting out a low whistle. “Didn’t know Zane could smile like that.”
“It’s fake.”
“Or is that what you want to believe, brother?”
“He’s faking.” The same way he’d been faking last week when he’d met up with Kazimir and Nate at the Velvet Brew. Or the time he’d left the Little Palace just after midnight to walk to the convenience store three blocks away. He’d flirted with the cashier who had to be twice their age.
Zane had left with a six-pack of Doc & Bro.
