Chapter 15
“Can I just go back home?” I groaned, tugging Felix on the arm to slow his steady pace. “I barely know anybody here.”
“And how do you expect to get to know anybody if you don’t socialize?” he teased, draping a huge arm around me. I huffed. Damn extrovert.
Felix wore a figure-hugging button-down and crisp linen pants. His long hair, normally tied into a bun at his nape, flowed freely in soft blond waves around his face.
I’d borrowed an outfit from Felicity. With the six inches and infinitely more impressive muscles she had on me, that had been a challenge in itself.
In the end, I’d slipped into an emerald-green dress with a tie front and thick straps across my shoulders. She had said the color matched my eyes perfectly.
She’d wanted to do my copper hair into an intricate braid at the top of my head, but the styling and tugging gave me a headache. Instead, I let it hang loosely, the ends caressing the small of my back with each shaky step I took.
The area surrounding the vast firepit was packed with rebels, all drinking and laughing. Most of them were nicely dressed, which I appreciated. I didn’t want to feel even more out of place. I felt my heart racing as we swerved between them. Felix greeted everyone by name.
I didn’t notice when, but he somehow got his hands on two giant mugs. He passed me one and clinked them together before taking a big gulp. I sniffed the liquid, immediately scrunching my nose at it.
“I knew you had magic powers,” I told him as I took a sip and winced at the taste. “You’re a terrible-mead-caster. Deadliest of them all.”
He chuckled. “The faster you drink, the better it tastes.”
I drank while following Felix around. It was hard trying to butt into conversations I felt I shouldn’t be a part of. I mostly stood awkwardly nearby as Felix chatted merrily with everyone we encountered.
Archie became a friend by coincidence years ago, even without me trying. It just felt natural.
And Annora…
My stomach clenched painfully. I squeezed my eyes shut, begging my uncooperative mind not to conjure up the horrible images etched into my brain.
Annora had been everyone’s friend. She was kind, and the conversations had always felt easy with her. She helped me in every way she could. And I repaid her how?
By getting her killed.
“Prue?” Felix stared at me with concern.
“Yeah?” I chirped in an artificially bright voice. I shot him a big smile to prove I was having a good time.
His blue eyes searched mine for a moment. Then, he broke into a smile. “Let’s get this party started.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a group of young people, most of whom I recognized: Jax, Anna, Felicity, and a few men I couldn’t put a name to.
As my gaze glided to the last person, my breath hitched in my throat. My hand instinctively found my neck as our last encounter floated to the forefront of my memory. At this sight, Daegal’s lips curled upwards into a knowing smile.
He looked annoyingly good, with messy dark waves falling across his eyebrows and a black button-down shirt that clung to his muscular arms.
“Prue!” Felicity exclaimed, throwing her arms sloppily around me.
I was grateful for the distraction as she leaned down to rest her cheek on my shoulder.
Her breath smelled of something sweeter than what was in my own mug, and one of the straps of her blue dress had slid down her arm. I adjusted it back in place.
“Hi again,” I breathed a laugh, patting her on the head. “Having fun?”
“Oh, yes!” she squealed, letting go of me. “Please join us!” Her words were as wobbly as my knees.
I looked at the small group. They all wore the same happy, dazed expression.
Well, all except for Daegal. His eyes swept over me lazily, lingering for a moment on the ties around my waist. When his eyes met mine again, I raised my brows at him.
“Afraid to let loose a little?” I asked him before I could stop myself.
His face morphed into an unrecognizable expression. Amusement? It didn’t look right when his gaze was fixed on me.
“I just got here. Are you down for—” he clicked his tongue as if to remember, “—a friendly game?”
Instead of letting my hesitation show, I nodded determinedly and stepped closer to join the unfinished circle they’d created around a long wooden table.
“Sure,” I said, deciding this would be my best chance at beating him at something. “What game do you want to lose?”
The group laughed. A tall man I didn’t know clapped Daegal on the back and whispered something that made them both grin.
“How about a little game of Pong?”
A bucket, a mug, and a tiny bowl were placed on both ends of the table. Then Jax fished a small leathery ball from his pocket and handed it to me. I rolled the ball in my hand, staring with confusion from him to Felix.
“The rules are simple,” said Jax. “You aim to throw the ball into one of your opponent’s containers. Hit the bucket, and your opponent has to take a sip of his or her preferred drink.”
He looked from me to Daegal, though I was sure from Daegal’s smug expression that this wasn’t his first game of Pong.
“Hit the mug, and they’ll have to down the entire drink.” Then he pointed to the bowl, which was barely bigger than the ball. “Hit this, and you get to pick whatever punishment you want. That’s also how the game ends.”
“The goal is to get the other person as drunk as possible,” Jax finished, clinking his drink with the people around him at every word he uttered before emptying the mug.
It sounded simple enough. Better yet, it didn’t seem like a game where Daegal could accidentally hurt me unless he planned to aim for my head instead of the containers.
Though I’d locked most of my childhood memories into the deepest part of me to keep the rot growing inside me far away from them, I remembered a few happy instances. Like catching and throwing a ball, like the one in my hand, with my father.
“Let’s do it then,” I said, taking my position at one end of the long table.
“First, we flip a coin to see who gets to start,” Jax called, but Daegal only shook his head.
“Just let her start.”
My blood rushed to my face. “I’m not taking your pity favors, Daegal.”
“And I’m not giving them, Prudence,” he purred my name, poisonously sweet. “I just want to get started.”
He started rolling the sleeves of his black button-down up to his elbows, revealing the inky secrets that linked me to the only man in the rebellion who hated me.
I gritted my teeth at his self-satisfied demeanor. “Fine.”
I held my hand up, closing one eye to help my aim. I’d show him what happened when he underestimated me.
I mustered all my concentration, wanting so badly to humiliate Daegal in front of all his smug hunter friends who stood behind him. They were watching me with wide grins on their faces that told me they were sure I’d lose.
I tossed the ball. It landed squarely in the bucket.
“Yes!” I shouted, pointing a finger at Daegal and accepting a quick hug from Felicity and Anna. His lips twitched upwards into an almost smile.
With a little bow of his head in my direction, he lifted his mug and took a big gulp that made his Adam’s apple bounce. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and passed the drink to one of the men behind him.
He took aim, and before I realized he had even thrown the ball, he’d hit the mug in front of me with a lazy flick of his silver-encased wrist.
Cheers and boos erupted around us.
Daegal gestured for me to drink, with his thumb and pinky spread apart to mimic downing the mead.
I rolled my eyes dramatically but grabbed my mug anyway. It was still half full of the vile brown liquid, and I had to drink it all. I’d only had alcohol a handful of times with Archie and Annora, and it’d always tasted better than this.
I turned to Felix, raising my mug at him. “Will you do me the honors?”
He grinned and clinked my mug with his. “Always.”
Felix started gulping down his drink. As I took the first swig, I tried not to wince at the stuff coating my tongue. But I kept going until I’d drained every drop.
With an exaggerated sigh, I slammed the mug on the table, making the buckets rattle.
“Well done,” Felix clapped me on the back. He’d finished ages before me, it seemed. “I’ll get us some more.”
“Wait!” I called. “Please get me something that won’t make me feel like I have to puke.”
He smiled. “That usually depends on how much you drink. I’ll find you some sweet mead.”
Grateful for the chance to rinse out the bitter taste in my mouth, I returned my attention to the opponent in front of me. He was already staring at me, looking slightly annoyed.
“Looks like we found something you’re good at. Losing to me,” he taunted.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “The game isn’t finished yet.”
Daegal craned his neck to speak to his friends. “How long before they light the celebratory bonfire?”
“About ten minutes,” Jax said after checking his watch.
“Guess I’ll finish it in five.”
I turned to ask Felicity when they were planning on finding a good spot, only to see that both she and Anna had already gone.
Felix wasn’t back yet, either. It was just me, Jax, Daegal, and the rest of their hunter friends.
Thank the Goddess for Jax. At least I still had one person here I could almost count on.
We shot back and forth at each other a few more times. I found it increasingly more challenging to hit the bucket each time I took a sip from Jax’s now half-empty mug.
My body was buzzing, and my head had started to spin after the first time Daegal made me down an entire mug of mead.
“Here,” Felix materialized beside me, pushing a mug of lighter liquid into my hands. I thanked him.
“Just in time,” Daegal smirked, raising his hand to shoot the ball. He’d no doubt make me drink the entire thing. I didn’t think I could physically drink that much in one go. Felix ruffled my hair slightly and told me he’d save me a good spot by the bonfire before taking off.
The rest of the group followed him, shouting for us to finish the game or save it for later. We both knew the game would finish when one of us won.
Daegal aimed. Shot. The ball landed in the smallest bowl with a ‘clink.’
I gaped at the sight in front of me, my rosy cheeks slowly draining of color.
Daegal eyed me for a moment, and the lack of a smug smile made me even more uneasy. What could he possibly make me do?
I was sure there had to be some restrictions, though I wasn’t sure the rest of the group was aware enough to stop him from picking anything.
He straightened up as though he’d finally settled on a proper punishment for me. Sidestepping the table, he walked towards me with a dangerous look in his eyes. Then, his lips curled into a satisfied smirk as he spoke.
“Dance with me, Prudence.”