"Luce! There you are," Thea calls my name as she jogs toward us. Even in this low lighting, she looks absolutely stunning, her mane of red hair bouncing in the air. When she sees the newcomer, she comes to a halt, her eyes narrowing at him.

"What are you doing here?" She points a finger at him, her other hand balancing on her hip.

The stranger grinds his jaw as he shakes his head.

"I should be asking you the same. You know you're not supposed to be here."

"So that's it? You just came to ruin my fun?"

"Your fun? Do you hear yourself? You know what this is. You can't be here," he states resolutely, bypassing me and grabbing her hand.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do, Cer," she hisses, her eyes shooting daggers at him. "I'm sick of you ordering me around and following me wherever I go. You're so overbearing." She stomps her foot.

He shrugs.

"You're still coming back with me."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not, and you can't tell me what to do," she huffs, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. A twitch appears in his jaw as he attempts to stare her down in order to intimidate her, and that's enough for me to get red flags out of this interaction.

"Yes, you are. And don't make me repeat myself again, Thea. You know I hate that more than anything else," he speaks slowly, intently.

Thea swallows hard, her lips pressed together in worry.

Immediately, I think of the worst—that maybe he's her pimp and he's afraid she's going to tell people she's being exploited.

"Uhm, it doesn't seem like she wants to go anywhere," I interrupt, slowly getting to my feet and dusting my dress. My left arm is eerily numb despite the fact that I should be howling in pain given the fall I just took.

"Did anyone ask you?" The man—Cer—raises a condescending brow at me before turning to Thea once more. "You're hanging out with humans now too?"

"Humans? Geez, I guess I should probably be happy you didn't call me a peasant," I add dryly.

He looks me up and down, seemingly disapproving of my appearance.

"That would, indeed, be more appropriate."

"Cer! You're being rude to my friend. Apologize!" Thea stomps her foot again, this time punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"Why should I apologize to a human?" He rolls his eyes. "It's almost time for the Game to start. We can't be seen here."

He makes to turn, his fingers tightly wound around Thea's arm as he drags her after him.

"Let her go," I muster all my courage as I insert myself between the two of them. "She doesn't want to go with you, and you can't force her."