“Well, then we’re done here. Turpis isn’t a threat to me.” Aimilia waved her hand.
“We’re not done here. What did he say to you?”
She certainly wasn’t going to tell him now.
Aimilia walked right up to Nikias and said, “Nothing of importance. Please, I’m exhausted, and I need to rest. The last thing I need to do is deal with your massive ego and possessiveness simply because an old classmate of mine wanted to make sure I was well.”
Nikias stepped back, jaw clenching. “I don’t trust him, and you shouldn’t either.”
“Goodnight, Nikias.”
She shut the door after him and leaned against it with a sigh.
She needed an ally, and it couldn’t be Nikias.
Chapter 53
NIKIAS
Nikias didn’t know what he’d done wrong now. His jealousy had reared its head, but that hadn’t been the start of Aimilia avoiding him.
The next day, Nikias tried to visit Aimilia again, but she didn’t open the door for him even though he knew she was in there from the sound of her breathing. When Nikias left, he spotted Cyprian coming down the hall, but the second Cyprian saw Nikias, he instead turned on his heel and left without another word. Eventually Nikias gave up his vigil, standing there and hoping she would open the door.
Nikias had barely seen her before the first event either.
But she’d taken the necklace.
On the other hand, she hadn’t let him kiss her. Nikias was completely lost. All he knew was the sight of Turpis, kneeling in front of Aimilia, his hands on her had filled him with a hot boiling in his blood that he was entire all too familiar with.
But if Aimilia needed space so she could get through this tournament to prove what she needed to prove, Nikias had no choice but to give her that and hope at the end of it, she saw that she’d never had to prove anything to him. This could still endwith her choosing to put his name on her neck. He just needed to be careful and not let her slip entirely out of his grasp.
Nikias instead spent the day mostly dodging his mother and ensuring the setup of the next trial. Thankfully, nothing quite as savage as a bunch of starved three-headed dogs. Whose idea had that been in the first place? Nikias should have them fired.
He spent so long poring over the details, he ensured that his mother had left the dining hall by the time he arrived. Since he was abysmally late, Nikias slipped in through one of the servants’ doors. After the last few days, he wasn’t really in the mood to pretend to be polite.
The image of Aimilia dead in his arms still haunted his nightmares. Faustina’s ghost had crawled out of her grave at the sight of Eleni, far too similar to each other, and now Nikias couldn’t shake her either.
The dining hall was full of several long tables filling the room, with several open spots for those who weren’t in attendance or had already left for the evening. Nikias had suspected Aimilia wouldn’t appear and would instead take her meal in her room. She seemed to have no interest in seeing him.
Was it just so she could focus? Was Nikias a distraction?
He didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. Nikias spotted an empty seat near Cyprian and then farther down the table, Lieutenant Turpis. Nikias’ immediately narrowed his eyes.
Turpis was surrounded by younger mages, a mixture of those from Mitis as well as those who had come just to watch. Nikias could see Turpis’ mouth moving and eliciting laughs from those around him. Nikias quietly crossed the room and took the seat by Cyprian, ensuring that Turpis didn’t notice his presence as the older man’s form obscured Nikias.
Cyprian raised an eyebrow when Nikias sat down and he opened his mouth, but Nikias shook his head. He inclined hishead toward Turpis, and Cyprian seemed to get the message. He didn’t say a word and went back to eating.
Nikias ignored the food on the table that had been his original mission and instead focused entirely on straining his ears so he could hear what Turpis was saying. He wouldn’t let Aimilia be put at risk by anyone. Whatever Turpis wanted—and it seemed relatively obvious to Nikias—he wouldn’t let him have it.
“—feel about your odds now?” one of the other young men asked.
“Are you kidding? After that display in the first round, I’m quite certain my odds have more than doubled,” Turpis said.
Odds? Nikias knew it was common amongst the Runai to bet on these things, but had Turpis seriously bet money on this?
Of course, he had. It was a vulgar and tasteless hobby. It suited him well.
“Wait, did you bet on just one of them? I put money on two of them; I figured that would at least give me a better chance. Who did you pick?” one of the girls asked.
