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There’s a knock on the door before it’s swinging open. I shuffle up onto my elbows as Val makes her way into the room. “Hey!” She kicks closed the door with her foot. Handing me what looks to be a folded robe, she chews on her lip nervously. “For the ritual that will be happening tonight. Usually, you have to wear your family crest, but we couldn’t find one for Royal, and Delila didn’t want to talk about why, so she gave you this one.”
I unfold it, spreading it out over my thighs. It looks to drop down to my ankles and has a string near my collarbone where it ties. A hoodie is folded beneath and when I flip it over, I freeze.
“It says Cornelii.”
Val’s eyes flash with sympathy. “I know. I don’t know why she did that, but it’s what you have to wear. Hey…” She takes a seat on the bed beside me. “Who are your family? Obviously, you’re Kiznitch, but why the secrecy with your bloodline?”
After running the tips of my finger over the blood red lettering that spells out CORNELII, I shrug. “My family wasn’t very well known in Kiznitch. They were at the bottom of the food chain.”
“Oh, well that could be it.” She brushes me off before flopping back onto my bed.
I internally tell her to get out. I don’t know when it was that we became friends, but she’s obviously getting comfortable with it. Immensely.
“Are you bi-sexual?”
I turn quickly to face her, to make sure I caught her question right.
“Ah, no. Why?” I ask, pushing the robe drama to the side for now.
“Well, I think I might be.”
Just as I’m about to open my mouth, my phone vibrates in my pocket. “Shit. I forgot to turn global roaming off.”
I see it’s Hope, so I hit ANSWER. “Hey?” Kicking off the bed, I make my way to the balcony door and step outside.
“Sass, tell me you’re not in Kiznitch.”
I gulp.
Val starts kicking off her shoes and crawling up my bed. I hope that the reason why she asked me that wasn’t because she wanted anything with me. Nope. No. “I am.”
There’s shuffling on the other side of the phone. “I’m coming over. I will text you when I land and give you the details of where I want you to meet me.”
“What?” I grip onto the railing. “Hope?”
The line goes dead. I bring the phone away from my ear. “What the fuck?”
“Everything okay?” Val asks, coming out onto the balcony.
I look up at her from my phone, figuring it’s probably just something to do with the fact that I’m in Kiznitch and Hope’s in America. She can be dramatic when she wants to be. “Yeah, everything is fine. Val?” I raise my eyebrows. “What are you doing here?”
She tucks her long blonde hair behind one ear. “Sorry. I know you’re really close with Perse, but.” Her cheeks flush red and her eyes meet mine. “Okay.” She exhales. “I’ve only got a very small pool of friends, because of my life in general, and one I’m sleeping with, and the other is not interested in this drama.”
“So—” I pause, turning to face her. “Wait! You’re sleeping with Maya?”
She jumps up onto the balcony railing. “Yes. But, please shhh.”
“Oh wow. I thought what I saw the other night was just—”
“—Kiznitch?” she interferes, a smirk on her mouth.
I chuckle, leaning against the railing beside her. “Yeah, Kiznitch.”
She shakes her head, looking down at the floor. “No. Okay, so I’ve been with girls before. A lot. Not only for the show, but because you know, alcohol and stupidity. I used to mess around a bit, but it was never serious. It was just drunk shenanigans.”
“Are we going to need alcohol for this conversation? I might need a shower first because that flight was brutal.”
Val laughs. “You’re right.” She kicks off the railing and lands on her feet. “I’ll be back in an hour with alcohol and snacks.” She turns her back on me and starts for the door. Pausing, she turns her head over her shoulder. “Killian is known to be a bit of a dick to people he doesn’t have time for. Don’t take it to heart.” Before I can answer her, she’s gone. Sex is not a guarantee for commitment.
Heading back into my room, I make a beeline for the bathroom, filling up the tub that sits in the corner. There’s a black shower with red fittings, and soaps of all sorts which fill the empty parts of the cabinetry.
After a quick bath, I slip on a pair of tight shorts and a loose Thrasher shirt. I’m making my way back into the room when the door swings open and Val steps through with a handful of snacks and a bottle of vodka. “So, I brought the vodka because I might need it.”
