Page 80 of Wristlocked

What kind of dragon waits around for the princess to rescue him, then turns around and burns her and the knight to the ground?

“Gale.”

I open my eyes. Lyot is still here.Why is he still here?

“Why are you still here?”

“Jesus Christ, you’re such a fucking asshole.” But he’s crouching down next to me, and there’s something like compassion in his eyes.

“I knew who she was,” I admit. “And what it could mean for me.”

“The Laurent princess.”

And her pretty boy guard dog. Of course he remembers. “She called me the Sullivan whore.” My smile is cracked and bitter.

“She didn’t know you yet.”

“She should have kept it that way.”

“Right.” Lyot gives me his own wry smile. “That was never gonna happen. Believe me, I tried.”

“You should have tried harder.”

“Fuck off.” He shakes his head. “Gia always gets what she wants. Look atus.”

“She didn’t want to beused.”

Stop being nice to me.

“Is that what you did?”

“Of course. Why do you think I put her in my showcase act?”

Go away, Lyot.

“Because she put me on my knees and you couldn’t stop thinking about it?”

Well, that too.

“Are you seriously flirting with me right now? I’m the asshole, remember?” I shake my head. “Carmen didn’t lie about anything.”

“Fucking Christ, Gale.” He sighs. “Weknowyou’re an asshole. According to Gia, it’s part of your charm.”

“I doubt she’s thinking that right now.”

“Look.” He scrubs a hand through his hair. “You say you used her for her name, and yeah, that’s a big fucking betrayal for her. But you didn’t actuallyaskher to go to her parents, did you?”

“No.” I close my eyes again like it will block out his rationalizations.

“Why not? Look at me.” He slaps the side of my head with enough force to bounce it off the wall. When I scowl at him, he continues. “You could have brought it up when Gia asked you to break things off with Celeste, but you didn’t. You went and told the bitch you were done, with no Laurent safety net. Except Gia, who would never use her name for anything. It could have been the end of your career at ACCA. Hell, it could have been the end of your career, period.”

“I couldn’t keep letting Celeste fuck me. Not after…”You.Her.Everything.

“Why not? If you were only using us for Gia’s name. Why not cover all your bases until you were sure?”

I don’t answer. All I can see is Gia’s icy anger and sodden pain, her wildfire doused by my stupidity. Lyot can poke at the dead coals all he wants, but they’re both better off without me.

I can’t remember if I kissed her goodbye today.