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“You’re imagining things.” I stole another glance at Custodis, only to find his steely gaze locked on me. For a second, it seemed his eyes flashed gold before turning gray again. The same had happened in the caverns when he’d watched me. There’d also been a surge of energy I couldn’t explain. Was it a side effect of the trials?

“I don’t like it.” Kronk pounded his beefy fist on the table, reclaiming my attention. “He’s grown possessive of you.”

At his statement, my insides quivered. I brushed the sensation aside. “Has not,” I scoffed. “If he watches me, it’s because he doesn’t want to lose his one shot at returning home. I’m nothing to him but a means to get what he truly wants.”

“And what is he to you?” Drazen asked, ever the one to ask the most unsettling questions.

I stared at my brother, my mouth opening and closing while I searched for an answer.

“Hello, beautiful,” a deep voice said from my right. “I must be in a museum because you truly are a work of art.”

My eyes rolled before I even turned to face the loser who’d dared to sit next to me. I’d seen him before, during the performance demonstration. He was the one who could belch fire. The guy was pretty, I’d give him that, but I knew his type. Dark hair, sparkling blue eyes, chiseled body. Overly confident that his good looks would be enough to make up for his shallow personality.

Drazen leaned around me, giving the male a pointed glare. “And you are?”

“Thorne Blackwing, at your service.”

I shifted back in my seat, gathering my legs beneath me. “Goodbye, Thorne Blackwing.

“No, wait.” The charmer’s smile fled.

I eyed the hand he’d dared to lay on my arm, and he winced, withdrawing.

“What do you want?” I asked.

He cast a glance around the room, an air of desperation in his mannerisms. “I want in.”

“In what?” Drazen said. “And if you say my sister, know they will be the last words to ever leave your lips.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Gross, Drazen.”

“I want into your alliance,” the attractive interloper answered. “I think we could work well together.”

There was no point denying the existence of our partnership. The entire kingdom had seen us competing as a team. Many of the other contestants had paired up as well.

This time, I managed to gain my feet, standing beside him. “Not a chance.”

“No, wait.” Once more, his desperate grip held me in place. “Please.”

Icy evergreen swept through my senses, the air stirring. “Touch her again, and you will lose a limb.” The vampire’s warning ended on a spine-shivering growl that did lovely things to my insides.

And now it was a party. Kill me now.

Clueless of the danger he was in, Thorne thrust his hand out to the vampire. “Victor Custodis, I’m—”

“Thorne Blackwing. Yes, I know.”

The blue-eyed charmer beamed. “You’ve heard of me.”

Custodis peered down his nose at the man. “I’ve made it my business to know everyone here.”

Thorne’s sparkle returned. “Then you understand I can be an asset to your alliance.”

Kronk paused between mouthfuls, food slipping down his chin. “We do not need your flames, Thorne Blackwing. You are not an asset.”

Drazen snorted. “Kronk is right. We already have the fiery end of things covered.”

“Perhaps.” Thorne smirked. “But do you have this?”