"Andtheycan focus onus," Aurum said, grinning.
The atmosphere in the hall buzzed. Everybody was enthusiastic about this—except me. True love couldn't blossom on reality TV. A thousand pitfalls of this concept ran through my head: omegas coming on the show for fame, omegas wanting a paid vacation, omegas who'd only pretend to fall in love with us for our money...
Why didn't my brothers understand?
It was useless voicing my concerns. They were all smitten with the idea.
I was too busy sulking to tune into the conversation until Aurum mentioned my name.
"...think Crimson should go first."
"Excuse me?" I asked.
Everybody turned to look at me.
I blinked, narrowing my eyes. "What?"
Cobalt spoke up. "Aurum said you should go first."
"What, on a slide? In a conga line?"
I saw Aurum gearing up to insult me before Cobalt stepped forward. I wasn't short by any means, but my older brother towered over me, his imposing presence commanding my attention.
"You should be the star of the first season," Cobalt said.
"The star," I echoed. As his meaning slowly sank in, my eyes widened in horror. "You mean... you wantmeto be the face of season one of this vulgar game show?"
"Yes."
They were fucking with me. They were all fucking with me. This had to be some kind of elaborate plot to cause me to have a mental breakdown, because I was on my way to one.
But Cobalt's expression was serious. As usual.
I felt like a worm on a fishhook, writhing violently for survival to no avail. It was too late. My brothers had already decided my fate for me.
Assholes.
"Are you sure I won't tank your ratings with my sour attitude?" I asked snidely.
Aurum grinned. "No way. Peoplelovesassy, handsome men like you. You'll probably go viral."
As I mulled over that backhanded compliment, Cobalt nodded.
"We'll work out the logistics," he promised. "All you need to do is show up."
I wrinkled my nose but didn't argue. If that was all, then it didn't sound too awful. It wasn't like I'dactuallyfall in love with any of the omega contestants. Fake reality TV romance happened all the time. As long as I created good TV, the show would go on. Then my brothers who truly wanted to be on this game show could have their turn.
I sighed loudly. "Fine."
The golden twins grinned in satisfaction. Thystle pretended to examine his nails, but was clearly enthused. Jade smiled calmly, and Cobalt seemed satisfied, despite his stoic face.
Viol suddenly stood from his seat, causing it to scrape against the hardwood floor.
"The Dragonfate Games," Viol growled. "That's what we'll call it."
Without another word, he stalked outside, shifted into dragon form behind the windows, and flew off.
Jade smiled mildly at the rest of us. "Well, I suppose there's no arguing with that."
