Page 42 of Wild Hunt
Even so, if she thought she had a chance at winning against the upperclassmen, she had another thing coming. The Valkyries were my first line of defense, but they were far from being the only foot soldiers on the field.
And if shereallygot far, she would have the pleasure of going against the Triad.
I almost hoped she would.
“Hey, man,” Atlas said, coming up to give my shoulder a friendly push. “Your girlfriend’s pretty tough.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” I muttered, taking a sip of meade. “She’s my fiancee, and until next year, she’s the Rabbit.”
“Right,” he said uncomfortably, walking off.
I spotted Fenrir across the room and I was more than content to continue ignoring his existence until he came over.
“Your father is back at the guest house,” he remarked.
“So he is.”
Fenrir sighed, glancing over his shoulder. “You should at least pay the old man a visit, or he might get suspicious.”
“Of what? He pays no mind to what goes on here, except to gawk at these festivities once a year,” I scoffed.
“Still,” Fenrir muttered.
“Mind your own business and leave the family affairs to me.”
He narrowed his eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m stuck with your miserable ass and as far as your father knows, I’m keeping an eye on you for him.”
He had a point, but I wasn’t going to admit as much.
“Where’s Kore?” he finally asked, scanning the crowd.
“How should I know? Probably out celebrating her victory by boffing some second year.”
He gave me a filthy look, and I knew that sooner or later, we were going to have to address the elephant in the room, but I wasn’t in the mood tonight. Before he had the chance to say anything further, Daphne approached us.
“Hades? Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Anything you have to say in front of me, you can say in front of him,” I said, taking another sip. Just because the parents were fighting didn’t mean we had to show the kids anything but a united front. I wouldn’t make the same mistake I’d made in the cafeteria again. Dissent showed weakness.
She hesitated, but finally spoke, “Kore is planning something if we win.”
I raised an eyebrow. I knew having her spy for me would pay off, if only because she actually seemed to like my betrothed. “And what might that be?”
She lowered her voice and stepped closer. “She’s going to use the victor’s speech to call out the Academy, and the Hunt.”
Fenrir looked at me, his anger momentarily replaced with disbelief.
I chuckled. “Of course she is. She’s a firebrand. She has to turn everything into something political.”
“What should I do?” Daphne asked nervously.
“Nothing,” I answered. “Just keep competing, and let her think you’re going along with it.”
She seemed unsure, but finally nodded. “Is that all?”
“Enjoy the evening,” I said, raising a glass to her.
Once she was out of earshot, Fenrir asked, “What are you planning?”
