Alaric chuckled, putting his hands on his hips. “I suppose this is what happens whenyou’renot in charge, Jade.”
I shuddered at the way he said my name. I couldn’t tell if he was flirting with me, or just pointing out a fact. Either way, I liked it—especially with that cute little collar still wrapped around his neck.
“I appreciate that, Alaric,” I said, smiling at him.
He blushed.
Aurum snatched the book back from me while I wasn’t paying attention. Thankfully, his sour mood was over quickly. “Hey, do you think our book isso badthat it’s good? We could cultivate a cult following and make a fortune!”
“No,” Alaric said with finality.
“I wasn’t talking to you, hoity-toity,” Aurum grumbled, clutching the book to his chest.
Alaric sniffed. “I won’t apologize for having good taste.”
“And you shouldn’t have to,” I agreed.
Aurum rolled his eyes. “Whatever, you two nerds aren’t my target market anyway. I’m gonna go show this to Saffron!”
“Nerd?” Alaric gasped, putting an offended hand to his chest.
As my brother took off, I turned to Alaric. “Ignore him. No offense to the authors, but you made the right call.”
His chest puffed out. “I’m aware.”
Crimson sighed dramatically, but there was a sly look on his face as he looked back and forth between us. “Woe is us and our apparently awful book. But at least you’ve chosen a winner, Jade.”
Before I could pry into his devious tone, Gaius waltzed over to our chatty group. His shirt’s supernova brightness distracted me from Crimson’s comment.
“Hey, what’s going on over here?” Gaius asked, then turned to Alaric. “Shouldn’t you be at a bench reading like everyone else?”
“You couldn’t pay me to read another word of that drivel,” Alaric said.
Gaius chuckled. “That bad, huh? I’ve never been a big fan of books. Too many words and not enough pictures. I’m more of a comics guy, myself.” He scratched his head. “So, are you bowing out of the challenge, or...?”
“Not at all. I’ve completed the brief in that I read as much of the book as I could,” Alaric drawled. “If you want me to summarize the themes, the wordchaoscomes to mind. It’s a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen working under a time crunch, with a dash of free-for-all confusion.”
Gaius nodded intently. He clearly hadn’t read the book, so he took Alaric’s word for it. “Wow, you really soaked it in! And you managed to do it before anybody else.”
It was subtle, but Alaric beamed under the praise. I made a note that he liked being complimented.
“I think we’ve got our winner,” I said, smiling at Alaric.
Gaius clapped. “Excellent! I’ll go announce it so everybody can stop reading already.”
As he went to deliver the news, Crimson cleared his throat and slowly backed away. “What a beautiful conclusion to our authorial saga. Now, Cobalt and Thystle, I need your help with something back at home.”
Cobalt blinked. “Sure.”
Thystle raised an eyebrow. “Why are you walking backwards like that?Oh, I get it. Yeah, Crimson, I’d love to help you with... whatever you’re doing.”
The three scurried off, leaving me alone with Alaric. Sunlight glinted off the collar’s locket, mirroring the flecks of light in his eyes.
“I’m guessing you had nothing to do with that literary abomination,” Alaric said.
I smirked. “I assure you, I did not. But I’m glad you pushed through and won the challenge.”
Alaric raised his chin proudly. “Have I won a prize?”
