Riona rubbed her cheek. It stung but she was glad that Lisbeth must have had it worse with her words earlier. "Ah, the royal slap. Always so effective. Feel better now, Your Highness?"
The princess's eyes flashed with anger. "Don't patronize me, Fangless."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it. Just trying to help you channel your inner drama queen. It's quite therapeutic, I hear," Riona said with a smirk.
Lisbeth glared at Riona. "If you say another word, I'll rip your mouth to pieces."
"Whew, scary! Maybe next time you'll think twice before tampering with things you shouldn't. Now, I'm not here to expose you. On the contrary, I want you to fix everything. Sir Kai is already investigating it, so you better hurry."
As Riona turned to leave, Lisbeth snapped, "What's in it for you? Why are you helping me?"
Riona stopped and turned back, "Let's not pretend, okay? You know I wouldn't help you with anything. I'm just saving myself from your mess. Cover up your dirty laundry properly. Don't just sweep it under the rug; throw out the garbage so no one can find faults with you."
"Why are you telling me this?" Lisbeth's voice was filled with suspicion.
"I told you, your misdeeds drag me around, and I hate that. Well, even if you got into trouble, you'd still have Thorin's shoulder to cry on. Ain't that nice? Just… don't involve me. Don't mention my name."
Florian, who had been lurking behind a pole that was used to erect the tent, finally emerged into the conversation. He blinked rapidly, his eyes darting between Riona and Lisbeth like a bat caught in a headlight.
Riona had noticed her little brother skulking around earlier, but she had more pressing matters to discuss with Lisbeth than Florian's game of hide-and-seek.
She had assumed he would wait patiently at that spot, but apparently, he had decided to shadow them like a particularly clingy ghost.
She reached out to grab Florian's hand and said, "Come on, Flo, time to pack up and head home. We've finally broken free from the palace prison!"
His face lit up momentarily, like a flickering candle in a dark crypt, before clouding over again with concern.
"What's eating you, little bat? Everything is going to be fine," she reassured him and proceeded to walk forward.
That was about as much effort as Riona was willing to put into fixing this mess. She could only leave everything to fate now, hoping that Lisbeth would be smart enough to cover her tracks.
She had made it crystal clear she didn't want to get involved, so Lisbeth should get the message, right?
Just as Riona thought she was free, Thorin popped up out of nowhere as if he had been biding his time for the perfect moment to ambush her.
"Did the talk go smoothly?" he asked with a grin. When Florian lifted his face, he waved at the boy. "Hi there! I believe we have not yet been introduced. I'm Thorin. And you must be–"
Before Florian could touch Thorin's extended hand, Riona yanked her brother's hand back. She rolled her eyes so hard she was pretty sure she saw her own brain for a second.
She gritted her teeth and faced Thorin, "Shouldn't you be off doing something useful? Like, I don't know, schmoozing with elite vampires to make sure your big fancy alliance with the Kingdom of Eira actually happens?"
He chuckled and pretended to be shy, fluttering his eyelashes. "You're so attentive to me. I'm so touched! But don't you worry, my dear lovely fair vampire, the only alliance I need is with you."
She didn't even have the energy to muster a comeback. It was painfully obvious he was just spewing nonsense for his own amusement.
But she was a Nightwatch now, and she'd be leaving the palace soon. Not even his obnoxious antics could spoil that sweet, sweet taste of freedom.
Despite Riona's best efforts to ignore him, Thorin stuck to her. He matched her pace step for step, stealing playful glances at Florian, who giggled, and even hummed.
Riona reached her breaking point. She halted in her tracks and shot Thorin a glare. "What in the name of eternal night do you want, Alpha?"
Thorin leaned in with all the subtlety of the wolf in the Red Riding Hood story. He had an all-knowing look on his face. "Did she confess about tampering with the Trials and throwing that poor little pup into the arena with you?"
He knew?
Riona's jaw dropped. "How did you…?"
Her grip on Florian's hand tightened to the point that it hurt him. Unable to vocalize his discomfort, Florian simply squirmed like a worm.
Thorin noticed Riona's death grip on Florian and decided to play the hero. He pried her fingers off one by one, like he was peeling a particularly stubborn banana, until she finally let go. Then he intertwined his fingers with Florian's.
"Who do you think blew the whistle on this whole incident?" Thorin revealed with strong self-satisfaction.
In his deluded mind, Thorin probably saw himself as a white knight riding to the rescue. But to Riona, he was more like a mosquito that just wouldn't buzz off.
"I made my rounds during the tests. I remembered every face in that arena. Number one should have been you, not that little girl. But your precious princess tampered with the scores and slipped her in. Care to guess why she did that?"
His tone was so intruding and arrogant that it felt like he was trying to dissect her with his words.
Riona's discomfort turned into outright anger. Who did he think he was, invading her personal space like that? Why did he think he had any right to dig up her trauma?
"You passed every test with flying colors. You defeated everyone in the duel, but then you were suddenly taken down by a small bat? I have my suspicions, but I'd rather–"
"It's none of your business," Riona cut him off, her voice ice-cold and deadly serious. "I would appreciate it if you could just mind your own affairs and stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong."
She snatched Florian's hand from Thorin's. "Come on, Flo."
Before she could make a clean getaway, a Nightwatch hurried over, panting. "Forgive me, My Lady, but the Trials are not over. There's been an additional test. The last one."
Riona's eyebrow shot up. "What now?"
"Princess Lisbeth has just added a new test. To see who can turn into a bat the fastest."
Oh, fantastic. Lisbeth knows I can't transform.