I pull my attention back to the boy in front of me. He’s staring at me with calculating amusement.

“What?” I close my expression off to him, letting my face slide into a perfect blank mask. The mask I wore at many awkward foster-whatever dinners where I didn’t quite belong. It’s comfortable. I can pull off my own illusions.

“That’s better,” he says. “I could see everything you were feeling a second ago.” He smirks. “Not that it wasn’t entertaining.”

I resist the urge to grind my teeth. Blank. I am blank. “Who are you?” I ask again.

“You don’t know who I am?” He adjusts his already perfect tie. “I know about you.”

“I wouldn’t ask if I knew, would I?” I raise one calm brow—a neutral, almost indifferent expression.

He thinks about this, like I’ve asked him something profound. “Lots of people ask questions they already know the answer to. It’s much easier than asking something you don’t know and having to guess if you’ll like the answer or not.” His smile is smug.

I snort, dropping my mask for the briefest moment to knock him off his pedestal. “I bet you stayed up late thinking of that.” I slide my face back to impassive just as his twists in brief fury before matching my own.

He shrugs like I simply can’t understand his wisdom.

“So, what do you know about me?” I ask. I’m not entirely sure I want to know, but it may help me in the long run.

“You’re Ava. You belong to Aristelle’s troupe. They picked you up like a stray dog on the way here.” I tense at this. He sees it, and his lost smirk comes back. “You don’t stand a chance against me once the competition starts.” I just barely manage to keep my face blank.

“You’re an apprentice?”

“Bingo.” He shakes his head. “You really don’t know anything. I thought everyone was exaggerating.”

“What do you mean, everyone?” A twinge of panic shoots through me. I’m already behind. I know it, but I didn’t realize everyone else did too.

He catches my mask slipping again, and his smirk widens into a full-on grin.

Bastard.

“You really are going to make this easy on me.” He looks me up and down. “Nice pants.”

I cringe as I glance down at myself. I do feel underdressed. Everyone else seems to be in elaborate ball gowns or stunning suits, but I didn’t exactly pack any of that stuff, and this is what Xander thought I’d look good in, apparently.

I step around him. “Excuse me. I need to find my friends.”