“So what?”
Saffron and I both let out a derisive scoff—which shocked me. Saffronneveragreed with me over his twin. This Twilight Zone shit was starting to freak me out.
“I care that our brother’s in love, and so should you. One of these days, it’s gonna beourturn to find our fated mates,” Saffron explained.
Aurum stared at his twin with a blank face. Eventually, he sighed and ate another handful of popcorn. “Great,” he snarked. “Can’t wait for that.”
Saffron and I exchanged a what-the-fuck-is-happening glance. This was beyond my pay grade. Whatever Aurum’s attitude problem was, Saffron would figure it out. I hoped.
But I forgot all about my brothers’ issues as the screen showed Matteo’s face.
I rushed forward and slammed my finger onto the pause button, forcing the screen to linger on him. Heart racing, my eyes glued to the laptop, I forgot how to breathe. Fuck, he was drop-dead gorgeous.
His eyes were the same warm shade of amber brown, but this time, they weren’t obscured. I witnessed them in their full glory.
A creeping recognition came to me. Iknewthose eyes. They were deeply familiar to me in a way I couldn’t place.
I scrutinized them, leaning in as close as I could. They belonged to Matteo, sans the obvious purple swelling. But there was something else I couldn’t put my finger on...
“There it is again,” Saffron said knowingly.
“What?” Aurum grumbled.
“See that face Thystle’s making? Same one he made forthatguy. He’s in love.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Saffron gesturing at my old Aquila poster. Instinctively, I turned to look at him, my masked crush of ten long years. My jaw dropped as I stared at the poster, dumbfounded.
Matteo had Aquila’s eyes. The exact same ones.
Without a word, I slowly rose from the bed and ran off into the hall towards Jade’s library. The whole time I kept remembering Matteo’s scream in bed. Iknewit sounded familiar. It was Aquila’s raw, primal scream, the one that chilled me to my core every time I listened to his music.
When I appeared in Jade’s doorway again in a huff, he looked up from his strewn papers in surprise.
“Thystle,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
I was convinced I already knew the answer, but I needed outside confirmation.
“What’s the Latin name for golden eagles?” I demanded.
Jade blinked. “Aquila chrysaetos.Why do you ask?”
Thirteen
Matteo
I fell asleep waitingfor Thystle’s return. It was late by the time he left, and I was exhausted from our tryst, so I was content to cozy up in the bed that still smelled like him.
The next morning, I showered thoroughly—my friends were canine and feline shifters with keener senses of smell than mine, and I didn’t want to tip them off—then ambled down to the lobby. The crowd had noticeably thinned. I suspected many of them stayed up too late partying and missed their morning alarms.
But for better or for worse, the ones who were serious about the Dragonfate Games were present. My friends were all bright-eyed and ready to face the next challenge. Poppy floated by Muzo’s side as the jackal shifter stretched his gangly limbs. Alaric took a tiny sip of complimentary coffee, though the milky concoction in his cup was more cream than coffee at this point.
Talon mingled on the other side of the lobby. I prayed he didn’t notice me. I didn’t care for our shared kinship as eagles, or his gloating. If he bragged to my face, I might passive-aggressively let it slip that I blew my load down Thystle’s throat last night.
“If you’re going to dislike somebody, you should be subtle about it,” Alaric remarked under his breath.
I smirked. “Coming from you, Alaric? Your disdain for Taylor in season one was as subtle as a bomb.”
He sniffed. “Exactly. I learned my lesson. If you want everyone to know you hate Talon, you should stop glaring at him from across the room.”
