already crappy day.
She avoided looking but waited while the guys read. Gunther grunted softly and glanced at her, his optimistic look making her curious. “What is it?”
“It’s a formal invitation to the Hot Wings party this weekend, celebrating the start of the new season.”
“Should we even accept under the circumstances?” she asked.
Jake frowned. “It might be awkward, but it could give us—you—an advantage during your hearing. Several of the League’s board members who would preside over your hearing will be there. If you make a good impression, they might be lenient.”
“Not to mention those two throw kick-ass parties,” Teague added.
Jacob tapped again, this time growling slightly, and Ksenia couldn’t help but peek over his shoulder at the screen. The message she saw had her name on it, as well as theirs, and her professional arena name too. She read, her stomach coiled in knots. It was the notice of her actual hearing, which she was being summoned to just four days from now.
“Any chance they might actually cancel the thing if I kiss ass well enough this weekend?” she asked.
Teague chuckled. “If only we could be so lucky.” When she scowled, his grim expression softened. “Hey, we’ll get through this. Like you said before, the duo tournament is still an option. I’ll put feelers out tomorrow for potential partners. It’d have to be contingent on you still being able to compete, of course. We’ll do whatever we have to, I promise.”
A slightly less dread-filled sensation tugged at her chest. She knew with utter certainty that they really would do whatever was necessary, at least within their power.
Gunther peeled away to go start dinner, and she and Teague wandered to the living room where she flopped down, spread-eagle on the fur rug, groaning as she stared up at the bare wood rafters. Jacob disappeared upstairs, probably into his office to do damage control.
Teague sprawled next to her and reached out, grasping her hand and threading their fingers. He squeezed and she squeezed back, turning her head to look at him, her heart warmed by the small show of affection.
“I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice.
Her mouth quirked. “For what? You weren’t the one who made me break the rules.”
He shrugged. “Mostly for being an ass to you earlier. But also that. You were so damn close. I can only imagine how the season would’ve played out if you’d won.”
“Would it have knocked her out of the tournament altogether?”
“No, she’d have one more chance, but she still got damn lucky and I think she knows it.”
“I would have felt a little bad for beating her if she couldn’t advance.”
“That’s big of you, but she’d survive. She’s a good sport. And a lot of the losers of the solo tourney still wind up forming teams for the other tournaments. It’s why they stagger them the way they do—to keep the brackets filled and the ratings up. Some underdogs rise through the ranks with a partner. So I still have hope we can make it happen for you too.”
“And for you guys,” she said, twisting around to look into his eyes. “I don’t want to be the reason you have to give up your dreams, either.”
He reached out and touched her temple, brushing her loose hair back behind her ear. “Whatever the outcome is, I would never say I regretted it as long as I still had you.”
“Same,” she said, leaning down and kissing him.
When they parted, he narrowed his eyes. “So how’d you do it? Please tell me you knew you could and it wasn’t just a fluke. Please, please tell me you didn’t take some drug to do it, because that’s an instant banishment from the League.”
She sighed. “It’s a skill I was born with, so yes, I knew I could do it.”
His eyebrows shot up and he sat up slightly, forcing her to lean back. “Seriously? Is it genetic? Do others in your clan know you can do it? Because what you did . . . it’s something from the storybooks. The ancient, mythical race of Sand Draken who have impenetrable skin and can cloak themselves at will. Do you think they really existed?”
“Oh gods. Gunther!” she called, hopping to her feet and giving Teague a sidelong look. “Save me from this crazy, curious man.”
She jogged to the kitchen and found shelter behind Gunther. Teague followed, practically bouncing with excitement. “I’m close, aren’t I? Don’t hold out on me, Ksenia. Just a little hint!”
Gunther chuckled and looked back over his