Page 16 of Run of Ruin

Any kind of relationship would only complicate things. The last thing I needed was for Nexum to twist whatever feelings I might, or might not, have into some kind of headline. A tragic romance. A betrayal. A narrative they could sink their claws into.

So I shoved that strange pull I felt toward her deep down, buried it beneath layers of grit and resolve, and locked it away where no one, not even me, could touch it.

Then I stepped out of my cabin, face blank, heart walled off and headed to the main cabin.

Nova’s high-pitched and annoying voice met me before Ieven rounded the corner. She was buzzing around like a deranged hummingbird, hunched over who I assumed was Bex, applying makeup with the same obsessive fervor she’d shown yesterday.

She was painting her face again, no doubt with dark, smoky eyes, rouged cheeks, lips likely bleeding red. It did something to her features, giving her a striking, almost dangerous beauty. But I found myself preferring the way she’d looked last night. Barefaced. Blushing. Real.

Get a grip,I told myself, jaw tightening as I dropped into one of the seats that faced away from them. I needed to focus. Not on her. Not on that face. Not on the memory of her sleepy voice or the softness of her cardigan brushing against my bare chest.

Zaffir, the ever-present shadow with a lens, was already moving around the cabin, filming everything like the voyeur he was. I saw the camera shift toward me before I even heard his voice.

“Good morning, Ezra,” he said.

I didn’t answer.

“Are you looking forward to seeing Praxis today?” Still nothing from me.

He pushed again. “And are you excited to meet the other Challengers?”

I flicked my eyes up to the lens, then back down, saying nothing. I could hear the tight breath of his frustration, which almost made me smile. Almost.

Play the game,I reminded myself.For her.

But the words wouldn’t come. I didn’t know how to play it, not in a way that didn’t make me feel like I was slicing off parts of myself just to fit into their frame.

Zaffir gave a low huff and turned his attention toward the real star of the show…Bex.

“You’rejust about ready,” Nova chirped. “And... there.” She stepped back like a painter finishing a canvas, admiring her work.

I couldn’t see past her at first, but I felt it. That tug in my chest, the tightening of something I didn’t want to name. My neck craned against my will, hungry for a glimpse.

And then Nova shifted, and there she was.

Bex sat in the center of the cabin like she didn’t even know she’d stolen the air right out of it. Her blonde curls were swept into soft waves that kissed the edges of her cheeks and spilled over her leather-clad shoulders. A black corset cinched at her waist, structured and elegant, flaring out into a skirt that teased movement with every breath. Her eyes were lined in deep, smoky black, and her lips, god, those lips, were painted in a red so rich I couldn’t stop the thought of seeing them stretched over a thick hard part of me.

It hit me low, hard, and sudden. A surge of heat, a hunger that had no business affecting me this much.

And I didn’t realize how badly I’d slipped until I caught the movement to my right.

Zaffir.

His camera.

Pointed directly at me.

He’d caught it. Every flicker of lust, every pulse of weakness. It was all on film now. My big, stupid, traitorous reaction.

Fuck.

I forced my expression to harden, turning away, jaw clenched tight enough to ache. This couldn’t happen. I wouldn’t let it. Not with her. Not like this.

Not with them watching.

“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” Zaffir’s voice slid in like a knife disguised as silk, low and baiting.

I glancedup.

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