A few gasps rang out.
Was that a no-no? My bad.
I read Kyros’s message.
Freebie. Couldn’t turn it down
King Mikael was picking up the dice now.
Pursing my lips, I readied my text.
The fifth exchange is a yes from me.
As Mikael crouched forward in preparation to fling his arms wide, I sent the text.
The buzz made him twitch as the dice left his fingertips.
I laughed, and Angelica looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
Pretty sure I lost that about the time I drove a car off a cliff to prove a point.
The kings zoomed back to their seats as Kyros read my message. He lifted his head, and holy shit, I swore he looked straight at me through the camera.
“What did you just say?” Conrad whispered.
My cheeks warmed. “Just discussing the weather.”
He snorted.
The dice catapulted over the chamber, but as they slowed, everyone quieted. We couldn’t afford Fyrlia to land on Agriculture again. It was the only industry where neither clan had a large foothold yet. With Mr Ringly’s ongoing development, if Fyrlia gained traction there first, we were really screwed.
The dice by Queen Titania’s foot was a five.
The other was a four.
A nine. Which put them firmly on Agriculture.
“Fucker.” I booted the glass tube.
Ilion gripped my arm as excited murmurs erupted at my back. “No, one of the dice is touching Queen Bethany’s shoe.”
Cool. I hoped they could sell it on eBay for a good price.
“If either dice touches someone, they have to roll again,” Danielle said.
Oh. “That’s great!”
Inwardly, Kyros was roaring with laughter though not a speck of it showed physically.
“Distraction from the same side isn’t considered interference,” Conrad said, gripping my shoulder tight.
Peering back to the live streaming, I studied King Mikael. The only sign of his fury was the white skin where his lips pressed together.
The kings stepped forward again. I had no idea how to gauge Julius’s reaction, but I felt he’d be all for the humiliation of his enemy.
Kyros was typing back.
What has changed in the last two hours?
I waited until after Mikael’s roll to respond this time. He’d be braced for the distraction and messing with him twice felt like tempting fate.
Hmm, what had changed in the last two hours? I’d learned Kyros sacrificed his time and happiness so my friend kept her freedom and life.
But really?
Sighing, I messaged back.
Nothing
Not only did I need the fifth exchange with Kyros. I fucking wanted it. Bad.
Desperately.
He was the whole damned tower, and I was so far gone that denial was futile.
Every speck of hope and anticipation I felt turned to fear and guilt… and resolve. Backing down wasn’t an option. It hadn’t been since I entered Kyros Sky, and so really, nothing had changed except what I was willing to admit to myself.
One way or another, I’d lose him anyway. If not because of my betrayal, then because I was working against him.
This was all so fucked up.
“Four,” someone exclaimed.
Ilion grinned. “Orange. Well done, Miss Le Spyre.”
Conrad clapped me on the back and nearly sent me sprawling.
Well done?
They wouldn’t be saying that before the end.
“Thank you for gathering today,” I said to the crowd of fifty Indebted, my voice pitched low.
I stood atop a pool-side table, ready for my afternoon shift visiting trouble properties for Live Right. I’d work through the weekend to get my game plan and various teams back on track.
I could always rely on work to distract me from feeling too much. From thinking about Tommy and the long list of shit I’d gotten myself into.
The Indebted were stone-faced. The smiles they always shot my way were just a memory. Yep, sneaking out without telling them was a dog act. I’d known it at the time—if not the threat Kyros’s berserk rage presented to them—but I’d acted in the knowledge it would place them in some difficulty.
“I’m sorry for putting each of you at risk by sneaking off the estate,” I told them. “There’s no excuse for it, other than Tommy’s life was on the line and I did not understand how badly Kyros would take it.”
Some of them softened, but would I just forgive some human for putting my life in danger when I was helpless to protect myself in any way?
Nope.
I chewed on my lip. “I didn’t intend to put any of you in a position where you felt helpless and threatened. I also understand that if someone did that to me, I’d have a really hard time forgiving them. I’ve already promised Laurel that I’ll never put the Vissimo on this estate in such a position again and know that I don’t make that promise lightly. You’ve seen what I will do for a person I care about. By making that promise, I’ve agreed to trust all of you with the people I love too. That’s something I’ve never done in my life.”
Scanning them, my stomach twisted anew with guilt. “With that said, I’d planned a surprise for you guys before I acted like a massive butthole, but I’m no longer sure the gift is welcome.”
Laurel had stood to one side throughout the conversation, her face as hard as the others. I was on my own for this and hadn’t expected any less.
She frowned at my comment.
If they rejected the gift, I’d deserve it. “I bought a nightclub a month ago. Tonight is the opening night. I’d like to invite any of your Vissimo brethren not on duty tonight and those on estate duty to come party. If you don’t show, it will be a seriously lame opening, but I respect that attendance is your choice. I’ll give the details to Laurel for those who are interested. And you can expect cameras to be there.”
I exhaled and nodded to them before leaping down from the table.
It felt like fifty sets of eyes bored into my back on the walk into the house, but I was glad to have the guilt off my chest at least. Though I felt so much guilt, I wasn’t sure I’d made a dent.
“Miss Le Spyre,” Fred said, bowing slightly as I passed through the music room to my office.
“Hey Fred, can I help you with something?”
“Just a few housekeeping points I wished to discuss.”
“Sure, come in.”
He followed me into the office and as soon as the door was shut, he reached for the noise-cancelling button.
I blinked as his face dropped into serious lines.
“Are you okay? The man in your suite two nights ago. We heard you screaming.”
… Oh my god.
The butler was stricken. “He hurt you, but I wasn’t sure if it was part of your strategy. I didn’t want to act without confirmation one way or another.”
“You were right to wait, Fred,” I said firmly, rounding the back of the desk. The computer was already on. Stacks of papers lined up. “If a similar thing happens in the future, don’t intervene.”
The butler stared at me. “He didn’t hurt you?”
Uhm. He hurt me in ways I didn’t know I wanted to be hurt.