Rolling my shoulders, I shook my hands out and took a calming breath, preparing myself to…I stilled, sniffing the air. My head snapped to the side as I felt something heavy land inside my cargos pocket. Ezra was standing directly next to me. He took a drag of a cigarette, attention toward Jack and Pearl, not looking at me. My hand immediately went into my pocket, staring at him as he continued to watch them. My breath caught at the gold flask I held, and I instantly unscrewed the top, chugging one large gulp after another of the smooth whiskey, the icy cold quickly transitioning to a fiery burn.
“Not too fast,” he said softly. “We wouldn’t want you puking again in front of everyone.”
A half hysterical laugh burst forth, the burn of the liquor slowly becoming a steady warmth. “Where did you get this?” I studied the flask. It was solid — as in probably real gold — and overly fancy with engraved designs, one of which was his initial.
He shrugged. “My dad gave it to me as a gift one year. I had it in my closet.”
“And the liquor?” It went down a lot smoother than the shit from the bar.
His lips twitched around his cigarette, still not glancing my way. “Let’s just say you’re guzzling some of the finest whiskey ever made.”
I blinked from him to the flask. “It’s the original stuff he gave you?”
He hummed while blowing smoke up into the air.
“Thank you.” My eyes lowered as I rubbed my forehead, my gaze catching on his boots. “Ezra?”
“Hmm?”
“Where else did you go besides your room?”
His chuckle was more of a rumble as he bent, breathing at my ear, “You lied to me.”
Staring at the sand on his black boots, I took another sip from the flask. “You shouldn’t have been there.”
“I wouldn’t have interfered,” he whispered.
Nostrils flared, my eyebrows rose at the lie.
His own rose, still bending, our faces level.
Ah, a lie for a lie.
Barely above a breath, I hissed, “You cannot ever interfere with a challenge.”
He hummed. “I didn’t.” Truth. “You didn’t need my help.” Truth. His head cocked. “Although, I would love to know what made you stop at the end of the second one.”
My lips lifted. “The world will never know.” It wasn’t my secret to tell.
Ezra blinked. “You’re really not going to tell me?”
“Nope.” I twisted the top back on the flask and handed it to him. “You’re in trouble, mister.”
He snorted, pocketing the liquor — not stupid enough to drink after me in front of people — and sidestepped the fact he had trespassed on a Shifter tradition. “I can’t believe the fuck hit on you afterward.”
I shrugged, turning my attention back to Jack and Pearl, who had caught sight of us. “He wasn’t really interested.” I glanced at him. “Where were you hiding?”
He grunted, and then grinned naughtily. “Keep your secrets and I’ll keep mine.” Probably downwind and in the trees for me not to have scented him. His smile faltered for a moment, his eyebrows puckering a smidge as he glanced at me. “You alright now?”
My lips pinched. “I’m…better.”
He nodded once, then motioned for us to move forward. As we did, I found it a tiny bit amusing the way he positioned himself next to me. As if he were protecting me, automatically maneuvering himself between me and anyone else who got too close. “Really, Ezra. I’m better.”
His only response was a grunt. He didn’t stop what he was doing even when it was King Venclaire who was heading for what appeared to be a refill of popcorn. The King blinked, his nostrils flaring, and he slammed a hand on Ezra’s chest, his head swinging in my direction. “Lily? Are you hurt?”
It was my turn to blink. “No.” At this point most of the Elders’ heads around us swung in our direction. “Why do you ask?”
Ezra was carefully removing the hand against his chest, glaring at it, as King Venclaire inhaled again, holding in the breath. “Blood. Grief.” His lips pinched as his gaze ran up and down my frame. “You were challenged?” His tone held bite to it, his eyes flashing in irritation as they met mine.
I held my shoulders as straight as I could, nodded once.
“Twice,” Elder Talus murmured from his perch on a couch. “She handled both well.”
Nice. Now everyone knew. Which included Jack and Pearl, both of them having gone mute. I clarified, “The first challenge couldn’t be stopped. The second I let go.”
Elder Harcourt nodded from a row away, sipping from his drink. “Mercy inside death’s grip is true wisdom.” His lips lifted. “Such a Queen you will become.”