Vengeance (The Prince's Games Book 1) by Rebecca Grey (electric book reader TXT) 📕

"You think I'd let The Oasis change me into one of them?" I point a finger out to the dance floor. Juilliard twirls a girl, making her skirt fan out around her.

Marcello doesn't answer. I don't look at him anyway, I'm certain there’s still some shade of sadness in his gaze, and being here is sad enough. A waiter in pressed black clothes and a white mask stops to offer us the drinks off his tray. Marcello takes two and hands me one, drinking in silence as I look through the dancers and the throngs of people chatting on the outskirts.

A couple parts the dance floor as they spin out and back into each other with steps I'm sure Davison could never have taught me. I bite my lip. Red eyes watch Marcello and I back as I register long blonde hair and the smoothed back brown strands of her partner.

"Is that Sloane and Finnegan?" I blink. "When did... When did you let them in?"

Marcello holds his cup closer, squinting in disbelief of his perfect eyesight. "I didn't." Then he laughs. "But I'm not surprised. Want to join them?" He offers a hand.

"No, no I've had enough dancing for one night."

Juilliard throws his head back, rearing with a chuckle that travels all the way to us as he claps a hand down on Finnegan's shoulder. His lips move but I can't make out what he's saying with the angle of his face.

"Juilliard is as surprised to see them as we are. He told him he thought they'd skipped out at the last minute," Marcello says quietly. "He asked them where they went and how they got in but Finnegan is just saying it's a secret of their trade he can't share." He turns to look at me. "I'm not sure I would want to know the secret if he came right out and said it."

"You invited them to join our team for this very reason, right?" I don't turn my face back to him. Not when I can feel his heat so close. Not when I know if I move just right I can brush my lips against the scruff on his face. My palm tingles with the memory of him pressing my hand to his cheek. Why had he done that?

"That very reason." He nods. "Nilsa?"

"Yes?" I press my back to the wall and give him as much space as the room will allow as I stare up into his gaze.

"Want to get out of here for a little bit? We have to be back by eight, but we aren't missing anything before then."

Do I want to leave this party? Fuck yes. Do I want to get trapped with Marcello so he tells me more sad stories I never wanted to hear? Not at all.

"You have about a minute to decide before your Human lover boy comes back over here and tries to talk to you again. He's been working up the nerve to come over here for the last five minutes," he adds when I hesitate.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Someplace quiet." He looks out the corner of his eye, extending his hand yet again. I stare down at his palm. "Lover-boy is on the move."

My shoulders rise and fall with the anxious beat of my heart as I try to decide between staying or going. This is new territory for me. Being hired to kill is simple. It's doable. Being alone with Marcello is hard, like walking a tightrope. If I make it to the other side I'll have won the Games and this will look trivial but if I fall for his charm and good looks, I'll be crushed when he’s done with me. Eventually, he will be. I'm right now entertainment, a blip in his long lifespan.

Davison appears in my peripheral. This could be the very last night of our lives. I'm already acquainted with Marcello and I'll only moreso be during the game. Davison is another chance to hurt or be disappointed if he does not survive, and for me to win... he can't.

I slap my hand into Marcello's, his fingers curling around my palm instantly. He turns, shooting Davison a devious look as he guides me beside him and out the nearest door. Music and voices become muted when the door closes with a loud thud, leaving us standing in a small lobby before another elevator. A small explosion of excitement erupts inside of me.

Marcello presses one finger in the button that points up. The two clear doors open without a sound and we step inside. He doesn't let go of my hand and my cheeks flush. The elevator rises and the lobby view disappears as we enter a dark shaft. I watch as floors come and go.

"I thought for a moment that you'd let at least the Human in." He sips from his glass.

"Let Davison in where?" I shake my hand free and cup my drink with both hands.

"In through all those walls you put up." He puts his other hand into his pocket, turning to face the doors as the elevator slows. "I guess I understand why you wouldn't. Doesn't feel good to lose people you care about, so if you just don't care about him then it won't hurt if he dies." Marcello finishes his drink and I quickly follow suit. The drink warms my body, starting from the pit of my stomach and working out toward my limbs.

"That's exactly right." The glass doors open to brisk evening air. All I can see is the rise of another building straight ahead. But Marcello is right, it's quiet.

"Is that why you won't let me in?" He steps in between the elevator doors, taking my empty glass out of my hand and setting both glasses on the elevator floor.

"Why would you want to get to know