“I’ll help you.”
“How?” he asked through gritted teeth. His cheeks were flushed, and his brows were angled downward. His mounting frustration and worry evident.
“Ryder.” I waited to proceed until he looked at me. “Relax, focus, and trust me.”
He nodded, and when I picked up my menu, Ryder followed suit. The server was taking Finn’s order beside me, and when it was my turn, I kept the menu in front of me. I moved my finger down from top to bottom so Ryder could see the manner in which I was placing my order. Ryder placed his order almost identically to mine except he asked for no onions in his salad. Throughout the meal, before I took a bite of any new course, I let my fingers hover over the appropriate utensil. Ryder kept up just fine.
Seated among other professors and some Omnia Council members was Will. He had the perfect view of Ryder, and I knew he was looking. Tonight was the first time he’d seen him, and each time I looked across the room at him, he was looking at Ryder.
“Perhaps we can go around the table, and the four young men can tell us a little about themselves,” Viktor suggested.
“Mmm, yes. Brilliant suggestion,” Professor Baile said.
I locked eyes with Viktor and didn’t smile when he did.Fuck him.He was encouraging this on purpose to make Ryder feel inferior.
This was a typical conversation starter to do during the dinner to help break the ice. After all, these four young men would become closer than their own families over the next four years. Normally, I was fine with this suggestion, but knowing that Ryder could end up feeling less than, and that Viktor instigated it, had me beyond irritated.
“Jack, how about you get us started,” Professor Baile said.
“Sure. I’m Jack Anderson and am from Australia. I’m the youngest of four. I have two older brothers and one older sister. I like riding horses,” Jack said.
“Tell us about your parents,” Viktor urged. I didn’t bother looking at Viktor.
“My parents have a medical clinic that offers care for Aboriginal Australians.”
“What about your siblings?” Reuben politely asked.
“We all help at the clinic as translators.”
“Impressive. So you speak another language fluently,” Viktor stated.
“Yes, I speak the four aboriginal languages of South Australia. One of my brothers speaks the languages of Queensland, and my other brother speaks most of the languagesin Western Australia. My sister has the majority of the languages for the Northern Territory down.”
“Your parents must be very proud,” Baile said.
“Yes, thank you, sir.”
“Levi, would you like to go next?” Baile asked.
“I’m Levi Oliver from Minnesota. I’m an only child, and my father is a retired Navy SEAL. My family—mostly my uncles, cousins, and Dad teach survival training.”
“Unless I’m mixing you up with another student, don’t you have a higher-than-average I.Q.?” Viktor asked. He damn well knew the answer, and none of these boys probably gave a fuck.
“One forty-seven,” Levi replied.
Baile laughed and reached for his water goblet.
“That’s near genius level,” Baile said. “I know several Kings who will love talking to you.”
“Any sports or hobbies?” Viktor asked.
“I cycle a lot. I won the past two junior Tour de Frances.”
“That’s an amazing accomplishment.” Viktor looked at Finn. “Finn, tell us a little about yourself.”
“I’m from Trysil, Norway and have five older brothers. We all ski,” Finn said.
“What does your family do?” Baile asked.
