No one can know what I can do—whatwecan do—least of all some powerless nobody who’d just use that knowledge to bring us down and lift herself up. It’s happened before, and it’s my job to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Roth, Thane, Killian—they’re theHeirs, the scions of their families. And one day they’ll be the patriarchs. Me? I’m just the spare. When they eventually rise to the Dark Council, it’ll be Cyrus standing next to them, not me. And the moment I renounce Cyrus’s authority when he takes over as Head of House Aeris, I’ll be nothing. Better that than dead, forgotten and left to rot in the same crypt where they tried to erase Quentin.
So I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they live long enough to keep Cyrus in check. Including wearing this fucking suit, being around these fucking people, and burying any desire I have for the one girl who’s slithering her way between us. It grates at me that I haven’t figured her out yet. Unlike the vultures mobbing us as we enter the Great Hall, she’s not playing the same games as everyone else. And if she’s not on the board, then I need to find a new way to take her out of the game completely.
Thane stays close to Roth as the Legacies descend. Calanthe keeps Lyra and Cynthia close by for reinforcements as she stands next to Roth. I can feel the lust seeping from her, wafting through the air to tease and taunt the adoring, simpering idiots that usually dog her footsteps.
Killian thrusts a drink into my hand when we finally claim our usual corner of the Great Hall. “Drink. Your RBF is scaring people.”
“Good.”
“Do me a favor and pull the stick out of your ass. Smile! Have fun! It’s a party!”
“It’s my worst nightmare.”
“Oh my God, you’re so boring,” he says, downing his drink. He quickly switches his empty glass out for a full one as a server passes by, and nudges me hard enough to nearly spill my own. “Well would you fucking look at that.” He nods, and I follow his line of sight across the room to where a group of women are chatting amongst each other. I vaguely recognize Evie Hektreia and her two older sisters as they’re greeted by a group of three other girls.
“So?”
“Look who’s next to Tori. Black dress.” I look again, and when I see Nyx I nearly choke on air. She looks…
Fuck.
“God damn.” Killian breathes out harshly. The dress hugs her body like a second skin, showing off the curves she’s gotten since she came here. The strips of black fabric hide everything I want so desperately to see. I don’t even notice Thane’s come up on Kilian’s other side until he chokes on his drink when he notices who we’re staring at.
“Oh my fucking Fate,” he whispers, breathless.
“I hate you so much right now.” Killian sighs, sipping his drink.
“Why? You saw her naked too.”
“Yeah, butyouhad a taste. Andyouget to touch her every week in class.” He glares at me. “So fuck you both.” When I look over, I see his lips twitch with the barest hint of a smile and I can’t help but shake my head… and adjust my swelling cock. Fuck. This is the exact kind of shit that needs to be stopped before it spirals out of control, and one of us—them, one ofthem—does something that can’t be undone. But for now, I can onlywatch as she smiles and laughs, even as she does so from the edge of their group.
I tear my eyes off her when the doors of the Great Hall thud open a few minutes later. To see?—
“What in the actualfuckis Smaug doing here?” The appearance of the partially-shifted dragon prince makes my own demon rise in challenge. I have to roll my shoulders to ease the burning ache as my wings threaten to break free of my skin. He may be the only one who could meet Roth’s fire and come out unscathed, but the skies aremine.
“Well, then.” Roth’s low voice comes from behind me, and I step aside to make room for him. His black eyes track every movement the dragon makes as the crowd parts for him, and my breath stills when he stops, scenting the air and heading directly for—Nyx. I start moving, but Roth grasps my elbow to stop me. Killian is practically vibrating, and Thane is frozen next to him. The rest of the room holds its breath waiting for the infamously volatile dragon to snap.
Which apparently is what she’s trying to do when whatever she says makes his chest rumble with?—
“Is he fuckinglaughing?” Killian hisses as gasps come from the crowd.
“All the better to eat you with, my dear,” his beasts voice echoes in the silence. I can’t hear what she whispers back from here, but his growl floats above the crowd.
“Areyouscared?”
She fucking should be?—
She bites her lip, and shakes her head.
“Absolutely…as you wish.”
She seems to remember where she is, and looks around the room. For a split second, she looks straight at us before looking up to Ramsey expectantly.
“Follow me.”
Without another word, he turns and lumbers through the crowd towards the back patio of the Great Hall, Nyx following dutifully behind him after waving off her friends who look as stunned as the rest of us that she?—
