“Freaky ice cult?” Aurum echoed.
I sighed, overwhelmed at the idea of unraveling it all right now. “I’ll tell you later.”
Aurum shrugged. “Okay. Got it.”
Then he pulled a beanie hat out of his pocket and slapped it on his head to conceal his recognizable hair. I clocked the hat as the silly disguise he wore during Thystle’s season, when we snuck into the hotel to scope out the contestants. I didn’t know he still had it.
I snorted. “You’re an idiot.”
Aurum fit the beanie snugly over his ears. “You’re my twin. That makes you an idiot, too.”
I grinned despite myself. But my brief second of joy didn’t last. I was just too stressed and uncertain about everything.
I grasped Aurum’s arm, holding him back a moment. “Listen. When you help Rorik, can you tell him I wanna talk?”
“Can’t you tell him yourself?” Aurum asked. “Ditch the birdbrain. Come and get your man.”
We glanced at Gaius, who whistled and checked his watch, then we returned to our secret huddle.
“I’m not allowed,” I grumbled. “As the bachelor, I’m supposed to stay put so I can’t help anyone win.”
Aurum rolled his eyes. “Who cares? The challenge is pointless. We all know you like Rorik, so—”
“Gaius can hear you two, by the way,” Gaius called out without facing us, still checking his watch with a smile. “Saffron’s stuck here, I’m afraid. Jade’s orders.”
I swallowed a frustrated grunt. It was fine. Mylo won the challenge easily; I was sure Rorik didn’t need help. He knew what I smelled like.
But a teeny, tiny scrap of assistance from Aurum wouldn’t hurt...
Gaius went on, still facing the clearing below. “Actually, I should keep Aurum here, too, since he’s involved and all. It would be majorly irresponsible if I let him—”
As Gaius finally turned around, his face fell.
Aurum was gone.
I smiled innocently as Gaius gawked at the suddenly empty space next to me.
“Whoops,” I said.
Gaius let out a dramatic moan, hanging his head. “If I was any less charismatic and lovable, I’d certainly be fired for this...”
13
Rorik
As I trudgedthrough the underbrush in my polar bear form, I thanked the thick forest for protecting me from the oppressive tropical heat. The shade from the dense canopy kept me cool as I searched for the earrings.
Why did I bother? I shouldn’t have cared about winning the challenge… but I did. An annoying, nagging urge fueled me. It wasn’t that I necessarily cared about winning as a concept—I just didn’t want anybody else to get closer to Saffron. The idea made my blood boil with jealousy.
He was my target. He was my prey. He was my…
My what?
I shook my head. I would not assassinate Saffron. He may have obscured the truth, but I couldn’t kill him, because he wasn’treallya dragon. It was a ruse, a fantasy to make this TV show appeal to a broad audience.
He was… an owl, or an osprey, or something else with long curved talons.
Saffron was lying about his identity, and Poppy was tricked into thinking dragons were good. That was all. If I witnessed Saffron reveal hisrealanimal form, I could fix my relationship with both of them. Then I’d return home and tell Sheba there was some kind of mistake. The “dragons” on this show were not real.
