Chapter 220: Let’s Play A Game

"What did the intruder look like?" Caelis asked, his expression turning serious, and for the first time, Aria noticed a strange similarity between the two men.

Wait a minute. Why the hell was she comparing the serpent to her wolf?

Aria shuddered. Whatever was going on with her needed to end right now. Caelis was a cold-blooded, murderous snake shifter and absolutely nothing like her Maverick.

Maverick looked at Trisha, who immediately became aware that everyone was waiting for her to speak.

"Urm..." She took a steadying breath. "His face was painted, so I couldn’t really make out what he looked like. But he had these really striking amber eyes and red curls, I think..." Her cheeks began to warm beneath everyone’s scrutiny.

Then she remembered something else.

"And yes, he was wearing a black sweatshirt, which I thought was strange because almost every other male I’ve seen tonight is either shirtless or barely wearing anything."

"Is that so...?" Caelis murmured.

Something about him changed. His features remained composed, but his focus seemed to turn inward, as if Trisha’s description had given him something to think about.

Maverick caught it too.

"Who is he?"

Caelis regarded him. "I cannot tell you because I don’t know. However, I’ll have my people search for anyone who doesn’t belong here. If there’s an outsider somewhere on these grounds, he’ll be found and apprehended."

Although Caelis’s words should have been reassuring, Maverick didn’t believe him for a second. The snake was full of lies and secrets.

Perhaps Caelis sensed his distrust because his features remained perfectly impassive as he changed the subject. "You should enjoy the party, Professor Maverick. Your opponent has apparently decided not to attend."

Maverick’s eyes narrowed. "Rhydian?"

"Who else?" Caelis replied. "But fear not. He’ll be here in time for the fight. Even Rhydian isn’t cowardly enough to run from that."

Aria perked up at the announcement. Rhydian wasn’t coming to the party?

Relief immediately washed through her. All night, she’d been anxious about what might happen when Maverick and Rhydian finally came face-to-face again. Who knew she’d been worrying about nothing?

Except the feeling lasted all of five seconds.

Why wasn’t Rhydian coming?

This was the same party he’d practically laid his own future on by negotiating for the humans to attend. Why would he suddenly decide not to show up?

Was he all right?

Oh, for crying out loud, Aria. What is wrong with you?

She was standing beside Maverick, worrying about another man. A dragon, no less. Rhydian was none of her concern. Absolutely none.

Aria chided herself and tried very hard to believe it.

"Speak of the devil..." Trisha muttered with annoyance, drawing everyone’s attention.

They followed her gaze to see Brittney heading toward them, except she wasn’t alone. She was being dragged along by none other than the serpent shifter who worked for Caelis.

"What is the meaning of this?" Aria’s eyes narrowed at the sight of her friend, immediately going on the defensive.

Valerie and Variant quickly pulled a furious-looking Brittney from the serpent’s grip, tugging her to their side.

Venus subtly bowed his head toward Caelis. "I found her wandering around the woods and brought her back. We wouldn’t want a careless human getting herself killed and somehow having the blame fall on us." The last part was deliberate, his attention shifting toward Maverick.

"Careless?" Brittney snapped. "Why don’t you come say that to my face, you little earthworm?"

She made a move as if to confront Venus, but Variant immediately pulled her back with a frown.

"Are you out of your mind?" she chided before giving Brittney a proper once-over. Her brows furrowed. "Why are you wet?"

Brittney looked down at the damp patches on her clothes. "Well..." She cleared her throat. "I heard there was a beautiful lake around here and decided to check it out."

"In the woods this late at night? By yourself?" Maverick asked, looking more disapproving than suspicious.

Brittney shrugged. "The leaders of the beasts gave their word that we wouldn’t be harmed. There was no way I wasn’t going to take advantage of that."

Maverick said nothing. He wasn’t pleased that she’d wandered off alone, but he didn’t want to escalate the matter any further. What mattered was that Brittney was back and unharmed.

What none of them noticed was the brief glance Brittney and Venus exchanged.

For a fraction of a second, Brittney’s irritation disappeared, and something far more intimate passed between them. Venus’s gaze lingered just a little too long before they both looked away, returning effortlessly to their roles as the irritated human and the serpent who had supposedly done nothing more than drag her out of the woods.

However, Valerie subtly sniffed the air. The scent was faint, but she caught traces of Venus on Brittney. Her squirrel immediately became curious, but Valerie dismissed it just as quickly. The serpent had dragged Brittney all the way back from the woods, so naturally some of his scent would have rubbed off on her. There was no reason to think anything more of it.

"Well, thank you for your help, Caelis, but I think we’re done here," Maverick told the serpent when it became obvious he had no intention of leaving.

"Oh, I know." Caelis made no move to go. "But since this is a party, I was thinking we could all play a little game."

At the mention of a "game," everyone’s brows shot up. Caelis voluntarily standing around socializing with them was strange enough. Caelis suggesting they all play a game together was downright suspicious.

Maverick sensed something was up immediately. "No, thanks."

"Don’t be such a bore, Maverick." Caelis sounded almost offended. "You’re the academy’s greatest advocate for human-beast interaction, and the moment I suggest an opportunity for exactly that, you refuse?"

Maverick’s eyes narrowed.

Caelis ignored him and turned his attention to the girls. "If you don’t want to play, then surely the humans are capable of deciding for themselves whether they’d like to have some fun."

His gaze settled on Aria.

"Or am I mistaken, Aria Aspen?"