Page 45 of Rejected By a Wolf
But when it came down to it, Sophia wasn’t going to let him win. If Sophia’s parents were still alive, which she really hoped they were, she’d rather see Antonio die than knowingly prolong her parents’ eternal suffering as blood slaves for the Viovod.
Deciding this conversation could go south very fast, Sophia looked over to the sorceress again. The woman rested the side of her head against her hand as if bored, looking around at everyone with a condensing eye. “Let’s go see if she’ll even have us.”
“She will,” he said with absolute confidence.
“How can you be so sure?” Sophia asked as they began heading in her direction.
“What choice does she have? It’s late. Most teams have already been formed.”
What he said made sense, but there was a chance she was already on one of those teams. Antonio couldn’t be the only one who had witnessed how powerful sorceresses were.
They stopped just ahead of the fire she sat in front of. She looked up at them with the same bored expression Sophia noticed on her a minute ago. “Is there a reason you two are crowding my space?”
“We’d like to partner with you for the team battles,” Antonio explained.
She looked between them, making no effort to hide her judgment. “What makes you think I haven’t already partnered with others?”
“Well, did you?” Antonio made it clear he already knew what her answer was going to be in the way he asked the question.
“Why would you want such a tiny, frail girl like me on your team?” Her gaze wandered, settling on Sophia. “Perhaps it’s because you have a thing for small girls?”
Sophia began fuming, but she worked hard to bite her tongue. If Antonio believed this sorceress was their best bet, she’d trust his instinct. Despite what she had told him, she really did trust that he wouldn’t steer her wrong in this tournament.
“We both know you’re far from frail.”
At that comment, she shrugged, her eyes still on Sophia. “You’re the fey everyone has been talking about. A fey in The Elaron Games. Tell me - is it your plan to ensure the extinction of your species? Surely, there can’t be any other fey alive in the world.”
“Yeah, that’s my cue.” Sophia raised her hands in the air, indicating defeat. “There’s no way I’m partnering up with her. I’d rather no one.” Sophia made a move to walk away, but Antonio grabbed her arm, pulling her back. When his hot hand touched her bare skin, a shutter swept through her body.
I can’t think about him like that,she reminded herself. She couldn’t react to his touch this way. Nothing good would come from it.Better yet, I can’t think aboutanyonelike that.As the story of her life went, she would never be anyone’s first choice. Sophia was not meant to be that woman for anyone.
“Sophia,” Antonio warned.
Sophia rolled her eyes, begrudgingly looking back at the sorceress, whose eyes sparkled with amusement. Eyes on the sorceress, she told Antonio, “I’m trusting your judgment, don’t make me regret it.”
He nodded, shifting himself so he was facing the sorceress again.
Yawning, as if to purposely express disinterest, the sorceress said, “I suppose I don’t have a team yet. Who am I to say no?”
“Good. We’ll meet here tomorrow morning.”
She grinned up at them with tired eyes. “I don’t plan on going anywhere, so I guess I’ll still be here.”
And with that, they found their third.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Antonio Payne
Standing in front of his tent, Antonio stretched his body out as he breathed in the damp morning air. The rising sun cast elongated shadows over the quiet campgrounds, which was eerily silent compared to the night before.
It only made sense that everyone was still sleeping. Today’s battles wouldn’t begin until the evening and would run late into the night - teams with vampires not being scheduled until after sunset.
Alas, Antonio had difficulty sleeping, tumultuous thoughts prodding his mind all night long.
So much had transpired in so little time yesterday that he was struggling to make sense of it all. At least, after everything, Sophia was currently under his protection and safely sleeping in his tent. Thankfully, Lance had brought in a second makeshift bed the night before, providing them with enough comfort to both sleep in beds, neither of them having to sleep on the floor.
Antonio grinned, remembering the moment when Sophia had told him she trusted his judgment. He was determined to show her how right she was to trust it.