“Good luck,” she called out.
“That’s the second time in two days you’ve said that to me,” I said, looking over my shoulder.
“I think you’re going to need it.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
I nodded at her, then pulled open one of the doors and left the library.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I went to my room, took a shower, and hung out with Oscar and Tiny for a while before going down to dinner in the dining hall. Of course, all anyone wanted to talk about was what had happened at the tournament, and I once again found myself the center of attention, as a steady stream of folks dropped by the table where I was sitting with Devon and Felix.
“Are you guys okay?”
“How’s Henry?”
“It was so amazing the way Devon caught you before you fell!”
The questions and comments went on and on. I stayed quiet and let Devon and Felix do most of the talking. After all, they were the ones who deserved the glory, Devon for grabbing me and Felix for helping to heal Henry.
But the curious looks and constant talking, smiling, and nodding politely got to be too much, so I downed the rest of my lemonade, grabbed my glass and plate, and headed over to the buffet for some refills.
The pixies had set out another delectable spread of sandwiches and summer salads, along with fresh fruit and several different kinds of cookies. I poured myself some more lemonade, then grabbed three chocolate chip cookies, along with some strawberries to take back up to my room to Tiny.
“I see you’re looking no worse for wear,” a voice called out. “Especially not when it comes to your appetite.”
Vance swaggered up to the table, elbowed me out of the way, and started heaping triangles of toasted club sandwiches onto his plate. “Got to get some of these beauties before you steal them all.”
My hand tightened around my plate, but I didn’t respond, and Vance glanced over at me.
“What’s the matter? Monster got your tongue?” He clucked his own tongue, mocking me. “Then again, I suppose you did have a scare today. Maybe next time you won’t be so lucky, Lila.”
My eyes narrowed. “Is that a threat?”
He dropped his gaze and grabbed another sandwich off the tray, so I couldn’t use my soulsight to see what he was really feeling.
“Nah,” Vance finally said. “I’m going to win the tournament, and that’s all there is to it. In a couple of days, everybody will be gathered around my table. Not yours. So enjoy the attention while it lasts.”
He smirked again, shouldered past me, and went back over to where his friends were sitting. Vance took a seat, smiling, joking, and laughing with the other guards.
But my feet felt glued to the floor, and all I could do was stand there, frozen in place, wondering if there had been a far more sinister meaning to Vance’s words than what he’d actually said.
I wasn’t hungry anymore, and Devon and Felix were still busy talking, so I slipped out of the dining hall and went up to my room.
Oscar was still eating and gossiping with everyone else, so he wasn’t around to see me get ready for my night of skulking, much less ask awkward questions about where I was going and what I was doing. Tiny was in his corral, but the tortoise wasn’t going to tell anyone anything, especially since I dropped several strawberries onto the grass in front of him. Tiny nodded his green head in approval at my buying his silence, lumbered over to the berries, and started eating them.
Oscar had insisted that I wear nice clothes to dinner again, but I stripped them off in favor of a pale blue T-shirt, gray cargo pants, and gray sneakers. The soft, muted colors would be perfect for blending in with the shadows. My hair was already in its usual ponytail, with my chopstick lock picks stuck through it, so I moved on to the next things I needed.
Weapons.
I buckled my sword and scabbard to my black leather belt, which was studded with three stars. At first glance, the metal pieces looked like pretty decorations, but they were actually throwing stars made out of the same bloodiron as my sword. If things went according to plan, no one would see me enter or leave the Draconi compound, but I wanted to be prepared in case I had to fight my way out.