That earned a chuckle from the audience. They thought Gaius was being playful, which he was, but I knew him well enough to recognize the irritation in his voice.
“Well, you’re in luck because thatwasgoing to be my question. Wait ‘til I get the next one out, all right?” Talon nodded. “Yes, I will.”
Gaius whipped out the next cue card. “Here’s your second, another one that was previously answered wrong. How old is Thystle?”
I’d never spoken to Talon about my age, but it wasn’t exactly a secret. He could’ve asked around for it. Shit.
My dread came to fruition when Talon smiled and said, “He’s 27.”
Gaius returned a thin smile. “Correct! That’s two for two so far.”
I withheld a groan as I sank in the throne. I wished a meteor would drop on the stage. Anything to escape this miserable situation.
I glanced over at Matteo, no longer caring if anybody noticed. He sat stiffly in his chair, and his hands balled up into fists on his knees. He was suffering through this just as much as I was. If only I could sit next to him and hold his hand, reassuring him everything would be okay.
Unfortunately, Talon had gotten every question right so far. I prayed Gaius would trip him up and throw an impossible question his way.
Gaius squinted at the next cue card, then pocketed the whole stack. I raised a brow, sitting upright. What was he doing?
“Okay, Talon. Question number three,” Gaius said. “What is Thystle’s all-time favorite band?”
My heart fluttered as Matteo’s back went ramrod straight.Heknew this.
Holy fucking Drake, I wished it was him on stage instead of Talon.
Instead of crumpling under pressure like I hoped would happen, Talon flashed a slow, confident grin.
“That would be TalonStorm, of course,” he stated.
My heart turned to lead and sank. How did he know that? And why did he look so fucking smug about it? I glanced sidelong at Matteo. He froze like he stopped breathing. His eyes were wide, staring at Talon. Then he caught my eye and hope flickered in my chest. There was something conspiratorial swirling in them, a whispered secret we shared that took the edge off my despair.
I knew Matteo’s true identity.
Didheknow I knew?
The crowd murmured again, wowed by Talon’s knowledge.
Gaius cleared his throat, ready to move on. “You’re three for three so far.”
Talon smirked. “Is there a limit to the number of points I can win?”
I resisted the urge to gag. His cheeky remarks came across as arrogant rather than confident. He lacked a certain warmth and star quality that Gaius had.
“Sky’s the limit,” Gaius remarked, shooting me a glance.
Help,I wanted to mouth. But since this was all on tape, I refrained.
“Go on,” Talon urged. “I’m ready for the next question.”
Before Gaius could respond, I stood up from the throne. “I’ll ask it,” I announced.
That got everyone’s attention. But among the sea of shocked faces, my focus was on Matteo. His brown eyes glinted, as enraptured with me as I was with him. I could tell by the barely hidden desire in his gaze that he desperately wanted to be on stage beside me.
As a dragon, I was impatient as fuck. Enough was enough. It was time to shut this down.
I took the microphone from Gaius, who was relieved yet curious at my sudden interruption. Standing on the opposite end of the stage from Talon, I raised the mic to my lips.
“What’s the name of TalonStorm’s debut album?” I asked.
