“Candice,” Liz whispers, her eyes wide in terror. “No.”
Vincent stands up straight. “You are such a thorn in my side, stupid human girl. But I have trouble being angry when it’s just so entertaining to watch you fail.”
I cross my arms, feigning confidence. Close. So close.
Failure or success is a breath away, and I don’t know which I’ll get.
“Dear, sweet Candice. You could have been great, you know. Could have had such great power. But now, you stand before two High Orizians, a cyclops, and a jinn. You do realize you’ve failed, yes? There is nothing you could hope to achieve by coming here except dying.” He grins.
I grin back.
“Dear sweet Vincent,” I croon back, mocking his tone. “I think you’ve miscalculated.”
His chest puffs up, but his smile slips.
“You saved your friends, perhaps. Is that all you wanted? Very noble of you.”
I don’t respond. I don’t flinch or move away as he prowls closer. I’m sure he can hear my rapid heart and the fear laced in my traitorous body.
“You know I might have mercy on you if you were to admit defeat. Fall to your knees. Beg.” He waves vaguely. “Something along those lines. But you insist on pretending you are unafraid.”
My grin widens. “I’m not the same girl you faced at Shadow Hills, Vincent. I’ve only gotten stronger.”
“You’re weak. You have no allies here. Help isn’t coming,” he growls. “Your prince is dying. He’ll be dead before the end of the night.”
From his perspective, things are extremely grim for me. But I’m so much closer than he realizes.
But so long as they have control of the jinn, I cannot win this match.
Meaning, I’m still very much dead if something doesn’t change quickly.
“Do you think I’ll have mercy for that bravery?” He shivers back into his teacher form. Same suit and slicked-back hair as when he sat at his mahogany desk as the school headmaster, telling me how powerful I could be. “Well, let me clear this up. You lost that honor long ago.”
His hands spread wide like he’s measuring his own power.
“The game isn’t over yet, Vincent.” I cross my arms and flick one brow confidently.
He doesn’t like this. His arms drop, as does his expression.
“Kill her,” the cyclops yells. “Get it over with.”
“Your potion didn’t work on High Orizians, did it?” Vincent says. His expression exposes his uncertainty, but he doesn’t know how I could possibly have the upper hand. He steps forward.
I stumble back a step, but I can’t show him my fear.
When in doubt, bluff.
“Oh, it would have,” I purr. “If I had given it to you.”
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t treat me like a fool. You would have killed us all if you could have.”
“Close.” I shrug. “I did make one miscalculation, though. Would you like to know what it was?”
He considers for one moment, then growls. “When I make your sister kill you, we’ll make it quick, won’t we, love?” He eyes Liz, who now has tears slipping from her eyes. “Our jinn understands how in over your head you are, doesn’t she?” He brushes the tear from her cheek.
“Love?” I ask him, arms crossed.Keep him talking. Keep him talking.
Come on, Lola. You can do this.
