“Yeah, let’s go!” I linked my arm with Warner’s. Stormy eyes followed my moves. “Better luck next time.” I turned to go, pulling Warner along.

I didn’t know why I did that, but when I glanced back at him, something flipped in my stomach.

An almost non-visible smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. It whispered a secret I couldn’t unfold.

“What was he doing there?” Warner asked once we were outside.

I shrugged. “Nothing. You tell me, how do you know him? Even at that party, it seemed like you knew him even before anyone introduced you two.”

He laughed as if it was the silliest question someone has ever asked him. “Who doesn’t know Achilles Valencian?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Is there any problem between you guys?”

“Why do you ask?”

A shoulder of his lifted. “I don’t know, but… whenever you’re with him or hear about him, you always get tense.”

I tried my best not to get tense right now. “Nothing. It’s just… we never got along,” I lied. My tone told him not to query more. And he didn’t.

When we passed the place where those drunk guys were, I didn’t spot them anymore. But I did spot some drops of blood scattered on the ground. Frowning when I looked up, I found some guards dragging those guys away down the stairs to the exit. One of them was holding his bloody nose. He was the one who asked me if I was interested in his money.

Then the bruise on Achilles’s knuckles flashed in my mind. A silent gasp left my lips. Did he… did he do that to them?

But why?

When we got back down to our folks, I was still lost in my thoughts. But my sister’s gloomy face caught my attention. Of course. The horse she was cheering on lost. Tobias, on the other side, was grinning ear to ear as he poked Tess.

“See, I told you Jordan will lose. Now you owe me a thousand dollars!”

“But you weren’t supporting Cage either! So how come I lost the bet?” Tess glared.

“Doesn’t matter. The bet was about Jordan’s winning or losing. And he lost. So, the money is mine!”

Huffing, Tess slumped beside Caleb, who shook his head in amusement. “It’s all Ace’s fault! Why didn’t he tell me that this time he was betting on Cage instead of Jordan? It’s not fair!”

My eyes widened. He betted on Cage? Not Jordan? But I thought…

My gaze met Caleb. He flashed me a sheepish grin. “Even I didn’t know. But what I said turned out true, right?”

That he never loses.