Oh. The last seat was for Sin.
I tried to ignore the flutter in my chest and instead focused on chatting with Cam. All around us, everyone could talk of nothing but the games. Nobody mentioned the deaths though, as if they could be willed from existence by simply not acknowledging them. Everybody was content to just bury their heads in the sand.
Well, everyone except Vankin.
I heard the Gold Court caster long before I saw him, and when the disheveled male lurched into view, I couldn’t help but wonder how many drinks he’d had.
“It is a party, is it not?” he bellowed loudly as he bumped into courtier after courtier. They all turned their noses up, pretending to ignore his outburst.
Ah, polite society. Stay away from taboo subjects and ignore the drunk who had his entire world destroyed in front of a thousand people all in the name of entertainment.
“We are here to have fun, are we not?” he continued, his speech slurring. “Well I want to have fun! I can be callous and apathetic too.” He climbed onto a table and began wildly shaking his limbs. “Let us all dance! Come on, everyone! We should dance and sing and celebrate the complete and utter disregard for Vitaean life. I mean, as long as we have our sparkly diamonds and shiny gold bracelets, who cares if the love of my life died?”
He stumbled, and for a second I thought he might fall off the table entirely.
“Isn’t someone going to help him?” I whispered to Cam. Nobody else was even acknowledging Vankin’s presence.
Sighing, Cam stood up from the table. Whether he did it for me, or because it was the right thing to do, didn’t matter. I was just glad Vankin got some help.
It took Cam almost five minutes to get the belligerent water caster down without hurting himself. It wasn’t until Vankin tripped and took a header off the table that Cam put away the kid gloves and sealed him in a dense cocoon of air.
Cam strode swiftly from the Grand Hall, a struggling Vankin bobbing along behind him.
Remembering that Sarla also lost someone during the games, I searched the room but couldn’t find her. I cared very little for the deaths of Tenyn and Tenebra given what they had done to Bartyn, but I did briefly wonder if Lanset had a family or spousewho might mourn him. How would they even process the news? He left to become a decorated champion and would return in a box.
All thoughts of the deceased competitors dissipated when Sin’s entrance was announced. I forced myself not to react at the sound of his name. It wouldn’t help the situation with Dey if I immediately jumped up and ran into Sin’s arms like I wanted to.
The intoxicating stormy scent surrounded me long before I heard the rumble of his deep voice.
“Is this seat taken, Princess?”
I turned to look at him, prepared to play it cool, but one glance at Sin made it feel like someone just sucked all the oxygen from the room.
If Dey looked like Prince Charming, then Sin was his dark counterpart. A black brocade jacket with twin rows of silver buttons encased his wide shoulders while tight black breeches stretched over a pair of muscular thighs like a second skin. A pattern of diamond leaves swirled across the vest he wore beneath the jacket, and my fingers itched to trace the exquisite design.
I finally made it up to his face, and my breath hitched. With his slick wet hair looking almost black and his pale green eyes reminding me of a harsh winter forest, he was the epitome of a shadowy prince.
I gulped. Sin made me think of every dark little fantasy that lived in the back of my mind. When he smirked at my reaction, that evil little smile promised he would indulge every single naughty request I could think of and some I hadn’t. He might be the death of me, but I would die happy.
Sin cleared his throat and spoke again, louder this time. “Is this seat taken, Princess?”
“Um, yes. I mean, no.”
His smirk grew, and I knew I would pay for this fluster later.
“Sorry. Yes, you can sit down. No, it’s not taken. That’s what I meant.”
Sin sank into the chair, but his toned ass had barely grazed the cushion before Dey was leaning across me to say, “Actually, that is Cam’s seat, Dreisin. Perhaps you could sit beside Harpyn?” The acid in his tone spoke volumes.
Completely unphased, Sin took a sip of Cevisa then said, “Actually I believe Cam is currently assisting Vankin with his efforts to vomit on every bush in the garden. I imagine it will be some time before he returns.”
Dey grumbled something, but a blare of trumpets echoing through the room halted all conversations.
While everyone stood to watch the three kings make their way into the hall, Sin leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You look absolutely stunning in that dress, Fea Remia, but not half as stunning as you’re going to look when it hits my bedroom floor.”
I blushed and squeezed my thighs together, fighting against the bloom of heat sparked by the promise in his eyes.
The kings made their way over to our table, and the dinner ended up being exactly as awful as I expected.
