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"I shouldn't have come," he sighed, conflicted. He rose to his feet and departed with his shadows. A shiver ran through me as his shadows dissolved into nothingness.
“Cassius…”
“It’d be best to interact as little as possible. After all, you hate me so it should be easy for you.”
Before I could form a response, he walked out of my room. I stared at the door for a long moment thinking he would come back in, but he didn’t. Something deep in my chest had twisted at the tone of his voice, but I ignored it.
When I got to the dining hall the men were already eating. Before I went to sit down, I considered asking Cassius why he was acting so damn weird toward me. So instead of sitting with Nev, I headed straight for Cassius. His golden eyes watched my every step towards him before they swept across the rest of the room.
“I want to know why -”
“How many times do I have to tell you, Thea, I don’t want or need you warming my bed? Stay the fuck away from me.” His voice boomed in the quiet space.
The chattering in the room stopped and my cheeks burned with intense embarrassment. What the fuck was his problem? His face was cold with indifference. I glanced over my shoulder to see all the men staring at me as Cassius humiliated me. This guy was such a fucking asshole. When I turned back to him, he seemed to wait for a reaction, but I couldn't think of anything to say.
There was a hint of surprise on his smug face when I just nodded softly and turned to sit next to Nev and some blonde-haired guy I hadn’t noticed before. Cassius gave me a smug smile before he left the cafeteria. Ignoring the stares and whispers, I started to eat my food, even though what just happened left me nauseous. My mind swarmed at the way he had treated me. It was like he was trying to piss me off.
“Everyone was worried about you after no one saw you yesterday,” Nev said to break the tension. “This is my friend, Haden.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Thea.” Haden stood and gave me a polite bow. The gesture of bowing was odd, but it was better than gawking at me.
“It’s nice to meet you as well. A friend of Nev is a friend of mine.” I smiled at him. Cassius had returned and stood near the wall by the main doors of the dining hall watching me. It was easy to pretend I didn’t notice him as I focused on Nev and Haden telling stories from home.
“We should ask her,” Haden whispered. Nev’s eyes widened.
“Ask me what?”
Nev glanced up at me nervously, and I wondered if I was really that scary to make him act this way.
“We were thinking that maybe the three of us could form an alliance?” He looked around before leaning closer. “Everyone else is forming them and we heard a few wanting to ask you.” That was a surprise. Most of the men seemed to stay clear of me.
“We don’t even know what the trials will be. How can we form an alliance?” I asked as I ate my food.
“Well, it’s more for if we can help the other out, we will,” Haden said. “Of course, when it comes down to it, it’s each of us on our own. What would it hurt to help each other out if we can?”
“What place did you finish in the last trial?” I asked.
“Seventh.”
Top ten. Maybe it would be good to have a little reassurance during the trials. If we could work together to finish the trials faster, it would only work in my favor.
“Ok, sure.” I shrugged.
Haden’s face beamed brightly at me before standing up and leaning across the table to hug me tightly. I gave him a small pat on the back as Nev laughed. Cassius turned and walked out of the dining hall as I sat back down.
Nev, Haden, and I spent longer in the dining hall than anyone, and we speculated what the next trial could be. They had ideas from being dropped in a body of water to being locked away in the darkness. It was all foolish ideas to me. The uncertainty of what the next challenge would entail consumed me, but I was certain that their assumptions would be far off. Whatever awaited us would undoubtedly be something none of us could have anticipated. The king would make sure of that.
“I heard we get to use our magic in one of the trials.” Haden smiled. “That’s what past contestants said.”
This news didn’t make me happy. Sybil had said fire magic was unheard of and it would probably lead to them knowing I had elite magic.
“That would be helpful,” Nev agreed.
“What magic do you have, Thea?” Haden's expectant stare pierced through me. Something in the way he watched me told me to conceal my abilities.
“Healing,” I lied. Haden’s jaw tensed as if he wanted a different answer. I wondered what he had expected me to say when his friendly smile came back. I must just be paranoid.
“What magic do you have?” I asked.
