Dating and Dragons (Dungeons and Drama, #2) (41)
“True, I don’t trust the king at all,” I reply. “But if we agree, he’ll have to let us go in order to track the dragon, and then we can decide what we’re actually going to do.”
Mark nods approvingly. “Sneaky.”
“Makes sense to me,” Sanjiv replies.
Logan turns to me. “I half expected you to try negotiating with him to save yourself since you aren’t actually in his debt like I am.”
“That’s harsh even for me. You’re one of my party members.”
He cocks his head and gives me a small smile. “Does that mean you’re beginning to trust me?”
“I…I’m not sure yet.” A jolt of adrenaline shoots through me at his expression. “I’m possibly beginning to think about trusting you.”
“Good to know I’ve made a small amount of progress, then.” His gaze is warm, without a hint of sarcasm. “For what it’s worth, I’d trust you with my life.”
I make a strangled sound before I can stop myself. He raises an eyebrow and returns his focus to the others.
Trying to figure out Logan is hard enough when it’s just the two of us, but it’s impossible when we’re sitting at this table. I know I shouldn’t trust anything he says or does here because it’s not him, it’s Adris, a character he especially designed to be charismatic. But it’s still him playing his character, right? So if he’s dismissive of me, is that only because our characters don’t get along? If he flirts, is it only his character saying the words? More and more, I’m understanding why it’s important to keep romance away from this livestream. It makes everything a million times more confusing.
* * *
We agree to the king’s request and are released to begin tracking down the dragon, though we all agree that we’ll be no match for it. We make our way back into the dense woods only to run into a wyvern. Rolo loses so many hit points that we almost lose him, but by the end of the session everyone is still alive, so I guess that’s saying something.
I rub my eyes and slump back into my chair when the cameras turn off. That was exhilarating and draining at the same time.
“Fun session.” Sloane chuckles. “Looks like the chat has a new favorite.”
“I told you Rolo was a winner. Everyone loves an underdog,” Mark says, and puffs up a bit.
“Not you, although they do love you too. There were some concerned comments when you almost died. No, they can’t stop talking about our dwarf sorcerer.”
I blink, then sit up and look from side to side. “What? Me?”
“One viewer is requesting I bring in another wyvern next time so they can watch you demolish it.”
“Do not listen to them,” Sanjiv says wearily. “We were fighting for our lives out there. I don’t know how you expect us to take on a dragon.”
“Can you tell who the people in the chat are?” I ask.
Sloane inspects the screen and shakes their head. “No, not really. I mean, my parents watch every game, but I know their usernames. And there’s a few friends from school who log on. But otherwise none of the usernames are recognizable.” They lean a little closer. “Actually, it looks like you have a fan, too, Kashvi.”
“Everyone likes a girl with a sword,” she says. “But I’m glad the chat isn’t full of haters. And to think there was ever a question of whether we should add Quinn to the group.” She raises a playful eyebrow at Logan. “She’s our MVP now.”
He raises his hands in defense. “I’m happy to admit when I’m wrong. I can’t imagine the game now without Quinn—and Nasria—in it.”
There’s an intimacy in his eyes that makes me jittery. I busy myself with stacking my game books because one look at my face and the group will know my feelings for Logan are quickly becoming less and less platonic.
“That’s good,” Sloane continues, “because they particularly love listening to your characters bicker. And flirt.”
The others look a bit uncomfortable at that news, but Logan only laughs. “I guess we’ll have to keep it up, then.”
Chapter Sixteen
I’m a swirled-up mess of excitement and nerves when Mom drops me off at Mark’s house the following Sunday. Today is the comic book event an hour away, and all of us are commuting together in his van. I can’t wait to spend today hanging out with everyone, chatting, eating food, and dressing up. However, an entire day with the group means an entire day with Logan, which is going to add a whole new level of complications.
Luckily, Kashvi and Sanjiv are already in Mark’s garage when I arrive, so I’m distracted from these stupid and confusing thoughts.
“Quinn, I’m sorry, what?!” Kashvi exclaims as soon as she sees me. “Your costume is whoa!”
I look down with a self-conscious smile. It was hard to find a way to make the “Diana the Acrobat” costume work when it’s only forty-five degrees. The original costume was basically a brown fur bikini and knee-high boots with gold accents. Not exactly winter weather appropriate, plus my parents would have had an aneurysm. Instead, I found a short brown skirt at the local thrift shop, which I paired with thick tights and boots I already owned. For the top, I had to get more creative. I ended up deciding on a brown long-sleeved crop top, then added a gold belt and accessories from Grandma’s attic boxes. It’s an…abstract version of the original—more “if you know you know” than the others—but it was the best I could do. And even with all my modifications, I’m still wearing a crop top and miniskirt in the freezing cold.