“Unsportsmanlike conduct,” Azrael said mildly. “Throwing after the game has been called.”
“I…” Lilith touched her nose. Fingers came away bloody. “That wasn’t…”
“You threw a ball at an opponent after the whistle,” Malphas observed. “And then… well.”
Beleth was laughing, a tinkling sound like breaking glass. “Physics is so unforgiving.”
Bradley, freed from whatever influence he’d been under, looked around confused. “Did we win?”
“No,” Lilith said through gritted teeth, blood dripping onto her white tennis dress. “We didn’t.”
Victor appeared beside Ava, hand finding hers.
“Excellent reflexes,” he murmured.
“Thanks for the warning.”
To Lilith, he said: “You should have someone look at that. Broken noses can heal crooked if not set properly.”
Lilith stalked out without another word, Bradley trailing behind, asking if she needed ice.
Back in their suite,Ava couldn’t stop smiling.
Her body ached. Bruise forming on her hip, shoulder still sore from tennis, adrenaline slowly draining away. None of it mattered.
“Her face,” she said, flopping onto the couch. “Did you see her face?”
“Everyone saw her face.” Victor sat beside her, pulling her legs across his lap. “You know there will be consequences.”
“Worth it.”
His thumb traced circles on her ankle. “We were good together. At the end.”
“Yeah.” She shifted, turning the thought over. “I knew where you were without looking. During dodgeball, I could feel exactly where you were standing. What you were going to do before you did it.”
Victor’s hand stilled. “That’s not normal.”
“No. It’s not.” She sat up, facing him properly. “Victor, what’s happening with us? The emotions I’m feeling that aren’t mine, the way we moved together at the end… what is that?”
He was quiet. His gaze dropped to where his hand rested on her skin, and she felt his emotions through the bond—uncertainty, wonder, and beneath it all, fear he was trying to hide.
“The marks are changing,” he said. “Deepening. I can feel you, not just physically. Your emotions. Your intentions.” He looked up. “During the game, I knew the exact moment you decided to catch instead of dodge. I felt it like my own thought.”
“Is that bad?”
“I don’t know.” His honesty was jarring. Victor always knew things. “This isn’t how protection claims work. This is different.”
They sat in silence. Her legs across his lap. His hands warm on her skin. Outside, other couples headed to lunch, their laughter floating up from the courtyard.
“We should go to lunch,” he said eventually.
“Lilith will be there.”
“With a broken nose.”
Ava grinned. “Even better.”
But neither of them moved.
