The nothingness inside me expanded.
Surprisingly I wasn’t the only one glaring at Lothaire.
All my teammates sat ramrod straight and stared at the vampyre with varying expressions of anger. None of us celebrated.
Why are they mad at him?
At the shifter table, Sadie beamed as she hugged Jax and Cobra at the same time. Xerxes and Ascher clapped each other on the backs.
At the table next to them, the angel with heterochromia glowered angrily. His feline features hardened into a predatory expression. All the angels glared over at me like it was somehow all my fault. At the other table, the devil legion glared over at the kings like it was their fault they lost. The leviathans and assassins slumped forward with disappointment.
I inhaled enchanted smoke.
Students whistled and clapped louder as they gave us a standing ovation.
Only one person looked similar to how I felt.
Jinx stared at me.
Her forehead was wrinkled, and her eyes were sad. Her skinny shoulders were slumped forward like she was buckling under an invisible weight, and she looked much older than her thirteen years.
I tipped my pipe toward her.
Unease curled in my stomach.
Lothaire continued and said, “The gods have requested that all members of the shifter and academy legions compete in the showcase tomorrow. This includes substitutes.”
Jinx pretended to tip an imaginary hat my way at his announcement.
She didn’t look surprised.
My eyes widened as I stared at her sad face. What did he just say? She was only thirteen.
Anger lit within me like Malum’s flames, and the world snapped back into clarity.
I sat up straight with outrage.
The heavy doors to the great hall slammed open, and Luka walked in.
My heart pounded in my chest.
John’s twin was back.
They were both here.
Lothaire nodded as he walked past him and exited the room. The vampyre called over his shoulder, “The showcase will start at ten a.m. tomorrow morning. For now, feast and relax.” Then he was gone.
The shifter legion jumped to their feet to protest Jinx’s involvement, but servants streamed into the room with plates of food and blocked the path like they’d planned it.
Lothaire knew the shifters would freak out, so he left. Coward.
Plates, utensils, and food were delivered to tables, and the aroma of honeyed ham was overpowering.
Amid the commotion, students watched Luka with wide eyes as he sauntered to our table.
Everyone looked back and forth between the twins.
Luka pulled out the open chair beside Zenith and sat down. “What did I miss?” he asked casually.
“What the fuck?” a male student shouted as the room erupted in conversation.
Someone else said, “Wait, are they the lost twins from…” The voice trailed off, and I missed what they said.
Scorpius narrowed his blind eyes and said, “You’re back.”
Luka grunted. “Yep.”
John leaned across the table. “How is this possible?” He looked at his brother with worry.
Luka’s expression was blank, and like usual, it gave nothing away. “I’ve handled it just like you did. He agreed.”
John’s jaw dropped.
Luka lounged back in his seat. “I’ll explain everything later.” He waved his hand dismissively like whatever his twin was freaking out about wasn’t a big deal.
“Care to explain just what game you two are playing?” Malum growled. “The rest of your teammates would like to fucking understand.”
“We can’t say,” John said instinctively as he blinked wide eyes.
“That’s not true,” Luka corrected him. “We can explain everything. Later.”
John shook his head and gaped at his twin like he was processing something.
I picked at the dried skin on my lower lip.
Luka looked away from his brother and stared at me.
His eyes darkened and a vein on his forehead throbbed as he took in my bloody appearance.
“How are you more injured than when I left you? What did they do to you?” he asked gruffly.
Everyone at our table went still at his question.
Shivering from cold, glass falling from the sky, blood everywhere, sobbing, Xerxes beneath me, hobbling off the field, my teammates staring at my back, Malum promising to commit mass murder.
I put my elbows on the table and leaned tiredly against my hands. “Everything,” I said morbidly.
Luka leaned forward to question me further, but a familiar male voice interrupted him and asked, “So did the whore have sex with John or that other guy?”
Whore.
I stared at the table a few feet away from the dais.
It was the guy who’d been running his mouth a week ago. You would think Cobra’s shadow snake and Malum burning his crotch would have shut him up. Some men never learned.
Of course every one of my teammates whipped their head in his direction.
John made a growling noise, and Scorpius broke his fork into two pieces, while Malum burst into flames and stood up.
Tensions had been running high, and everyone was looking for a target.
For some reason, my eyes were drawn to the shifter table, and I made eye contact with Jinx like I was looking for her permission.
She raised her brow at me.
Her insinuation was loud and clear.
Maybe it was the agony stabbing down my back, maybe it was just general exhaustion, maybe it was the haze, or maybe I’d just reached my limit and didn’t care anymore.
Either way, something snapped inside me.
“Sit down,” I said to Malum as I shoved my chair back. There was a loud scraping noise.
I stood up and pulled back my throbbing shoulders.
Everything was in sharp focus as I walked casually down the steps of the dais.
I rounded on the pathetic student.
He flushed as I approached, then grinned widely and made a sexual gesture with his hands. “Come to service me?” he taunted.
The room quieted as everyone turned to watch.
The man taunting me was traditionally handsome, and he wore his purple blazer with an air of arrogance. He’d probably been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had never been told no.
I planted my hand on the table beside him and leaned forward so I invaded his personal space. He licked his lips and stared at my mouth.
I leaned closer.
His breath hitched. Pupils dilated.
I stabbed him in the crotch with the large serving knife I’d swiped off the table in front of him.
He opened his mouth to scream, but I grabbed his neck with my other hand and yanked him roughly out of his chair.
I held him up by his throat as he knelt before me.
“I want to reintroduce myself to the academy,” I said loudly, and my voice echoed across the high, arched ceiling because everyone was silent.
Students stared at me with wide eyes. They held their breath.
Sari glared at me with a disgusted expression.
I smiled at her. “My name is Aran Alis Egan, and you’ve probably heard that I’m the Queen of the Fae Realm.” I paused. “That is false.”
There were murmurs of confusion.
The man on his knees before me whimpered, and I choked him harder to shut him up.
“I’m not a queen.” I smiled. “I’m a dictator.”
I released my grip on the trash and let him fall to the floor as I casually walked away.
When I got back to my table, I collapsed into my chair.