Page 38 of Court of Lies and Deceit

Keeping her grip on my jaw, she just slowly turns her head and locks eyes with Draven before giving him a cold smile brimming with challenge. “If I tell Rosea that this sneaky little girl used magic to influence the faction owners, your entire team will be disqualified.”

From the other end of our row, Lyra whips her head towards us in panic.

With my chin still trapped in the faction owner’s grip, I reach out blindly with my hand until I find Draven’s other arm. Brushing my hand down his forearm, I give his wrist a squeeze as I whisper, “Draven.”

He stares daggers at the faction owner for another second before reluctantly releasing her wrist.

She chuckles. “Good boy.”

Draven clenches both hands into fists but thankfully doesn’t rip her throat out.

After watching him with amused eyes for another moment, she uses her free hand to flip her long white hair back behind her shoulder before she returns her gaze to me.

“I can see why you would need to cheat in order to get someone to pick you, though,” she says, mocking amusement lacing her voice. “You’re the weakest team here.”

Behind her shoulder, the other three faction owners glance in our direction before moving on to other teams.

The woman still gripping my jaw once more slides her gaze to Draven. “Youare powerful, of course. The infamous Shadow of Death. But you can’t shift in here.” She flicks a glance over therest of us and then clicks her tongue. “And the rest of you? Two with no magic at all and threeSeeliefae.”

She saysSeelieas if the word itself tastes disgusting.

“Even before you were conquered, you were weaker than us,” she continues. “You were never ruthless enough to actually develop your powers to their full extent. And now when you’ve been starved and oppressed for millennia? Your powers will be nothing compared to ours.”

I grind my teeth as I glare back at her.

“Glare all you want,” she says, holding my stare. “It still doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. And everyone here knows it. Which is why no one will ever pick you.”

If I’d had my knife, I would have shoved it between her ribs. But unfortunately, I don’t have a weapon. And there are eight guards looming a few steps behind our backs.

At last, she releases my jaw. Dusting off her hands, she takes a step back and then levels a look full of threats and challenge on me. “If you use your magic again, I will tell Rosea.” She jerks her chin in the direction of the female fae with red hair who appears to be the organizer for these games. “And then you will be disqualified. Got it?”

I glare back at her in angry silence for a second before forcing myself to nod.

“Good.” She chuckles and then starts towards another team.

Clenching and unclenching my hands, I stare at her retreating back and imagine the sound she would make if I rammed a blade into it.

“Mabona’s fucking tits,” I snarl softly under my breath. “How the hell did she know that I was using magic?”

None of the others know either, of course, so they don’t reply. Instead, the six of us are forced to just stand there silently and watch as the other three faction owners inspect all teams except for ours.

“They’re not going to pick us,” Galen says as the four faction owners at last start walking back to the platform.

“No,” Draven confirms. Shifting his weight slightly, he casts a discreet glance over his shoulder at the guards lurking there behind us. “We need to make a move before we get back to the dungeon.”

“We’re not waiting for the next game?” Lyra asks, sounding incredibly relieved.

“No. There’s no point. It will be like this every time. Better to try to fight our way out.”

“Agreed,” Alistair says from my other side. “And without?—”

“Alright, listen up!” Rosea, the game organizer, calls across the arena. “It’s time to choose teams.” She reaches into a small brass bowl and pulls out a folded-up piece of paper. Opening it, she reads, “Green Faction.”

The male fae wearing a fancy green tunic steps forward. “Team twelve.”

A cheer rises from the indicated team.

Rosea pulls out another small piece of paper. “White.”

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