Page 85 of Court of Lies and Deceit

Jocasta, who is standing in the middle of our row, casts me a glance from the corner of her eye. “He should be arriving any minute now.”

We’re standing side by side in the middle of the large room, arranged in a straight line and facing the grand stairs that the Unseelie King will saunter down soon. Apparently, he needs to congratulate us on the win before the actual party can begin. But the infuriating monarch is fifteen minutes late, which has forced us to just remain standing here while the rest of the guests appraise us like livestock.

“You said that ten minutes ago,” I huff.

Jocasta doesn’t reply.

A low murmur fills the room as the crowd, dressed as scantily as we are, continues studying us. I can almost feel them reassessing their previous opinions of us. The fact that we won the first game proved that we are strong. And these outfits we’re wearing now make them see us as desirable. Though I will never admit it to Jocasta, she did know what she was doing when she picked these outfits for us.

The quiet murmurs disappear in a flash as a figure appears at the top of the stairs.

Clothes rustle and jewelry clinks as everyone bows to the Unseelie King. Well, everyone except the six of us. With a growl of frustration, Jocasta grabs my arm with one hand and Draven’s with the other and yanks. We exchange a glance before bowing slightly. The others do the same. Though Isera’s so called bow is barely a dip of the chin.

Orion Nightbane saunters down the white stone steps and towards the packed room below. There is a satisfied smirk lurking on his lips as he watches his people bow to him. Then his eyes find Isera, and his gaze sharpens. But he thankfully doesn’t press the issue.

The crowd straightens again as he reaches the final step. He remains there, watching us with a haughty expression on his face for a while. Once the silence has started to get uncomfortable, he finally speaks.

“Congratulations, Jocasta,” he says, his voice echoing across the whole room. “On the Black Faction’s surprising win. We were all wondering what you were thinking when you picked these outsiders as your team, but you have trained them well and given us a most entertaining first game.” A knowing glint flickers in his eyes as he briefly sweeps his gaze over the six of us. “I look forward to seeing how they will perform in the final game.” That wicked gleam disappears as he shifts his attention back to Jocasta. “But for now, enjoy all this night has to offer.”

Jocasta bows deeply. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

He waves his hand, giving her permission to withdraw, before strolling towards the luxurious dark blue sofas that have been set aside behind a golden rope. Thick curtains of the same royal blue color frame the private area, sectioning it off from the rest of the massive room and providing privacy. The crowd waits until Orion has taken a seat in the middle of the comfortable seating arrangement before they start moving and talking again.

As soon as everyone’s attention is at last elsewhere, Jocasta turns to us. “Alright, we need to start making rounds so that people can meet you. The more you?—”

“Jocasta,” Orion calls from where he lounges on the dark blue cushions. Raising a hand, he twitches two fingers in arrogant command. “Send over the Shadow of Death and his mate.”

She immediately snaps her gaze to us. “You heard him. Get over there.” Steel creeps into her tone as she gives us a pointed look and adds, “And behave.”

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes and instead simply turn around and start towards Orion with Draven next to me. Clenching my jaw, I try to force down a burst of anger.The Shadow of Death and his mate. I hate the fact that he defined me only by who I am to Draven, but I know that he did it for exactly that reason. Draven has already explained that Orion loves to play mind games and get inside people’s heads, so I try to block out the anger. He wants to get a rise out of me, and I refuse to let him. We have a mission to accomplish, and it starts right now.

Several groups of people watch us with excitement in their eyes as we approach the Unseelie King’s private section. He just watches us with a smirk from where he’s lounging on the dark blue couch, his legs spread and both arms draped nonchalantly along the backrest. When we reach the gold rope, we simply walkaround it and then come to a halt right in front of the sofa. It makes us tower over him.

Annoyance flits across his face and a muscle flickers in his jaw for a moment before he manages to hide it.

“Sit down,” he orders.

“No, thanks,” Draven drawls, spreading his wings a little wider.

It blocks Orion’s view of the rest of the party, and everyone else’s view of him too. Lightning flashes in his eyes as he tries to stare us down even though he has to tilt his head back to even meet our gazes. We just look back at him, smirks full of challenge on our faces.

Come on, I urge silently in my mind.Come on, do it. You have to have brought it with you. Come on. Do it.

Fury burns in his eyes.

Then he lets out a scoff before reaching into a pocket in his fancy shirt.

Victory pulses inside me as he pulls out a short piece of metal.Yes!He did bring the dragon steel. Now, we just need to steal it from him.

“Sit down,” Orion orders, a vicious smile on his face as he spins the dragon steel nonchalantly in his palm. “Before I make you.”

Draven, who I now know is an incredible actor, glares very convincingly at Orion before tucking his wings in tighter and dropping down on the sofa to the king’s right. I shoot Orion a, in my opinion, very convincing scowl before I sit down on the sofa to his left.

“So cocky when you’re waiving that little stick around,” Draven challenges, his eyes locked on Orion. “Because without it, you know I’d mop the fucking floor with you, you preening little princeling.”

Orion lets out a cold laugh, his eyes still pulsing with smugness. “Is that what you think?”

“You wouldn’t even last two minutes in a one-on-one against me.”

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