Well, he could rot in Tartarus. I was finally home. He and everyone else who hated me had better accept it.

Lady Iyana appeared beside me when we left the dining hall for the arena. With her were two girls around my age. The one with gray eyes, pale skin, and black hair looked just like Lady Iyana. Her lipstick was dark red, almost black, and her makeup dramatic. Her black dress matched the choker around her neck.

The other girl was her opposite-short and curvy with medium-brown hair, and amber eyes. Her makeup was subtle. She was exceptional pretty, with Cupid's-bow lips and dimples.

"This is my daughter, Lottius," Lady Iyana said, indicating the pale girl, then she touched the brunette's arm, "and my niece Katia. Gabreel insisted you meet since you'll be going to the Academy together. Get to know each other," she said with a warning look at her daughter. "Lottie, be nice, dear, and show Princess Lilith a good time. Don't do anything that will disappoint your father, okay?"

Lottius rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mother."

"That's my darling." Lady Iyana patted Lottius's cheek and walked away, leaving the three of us alone.

"When are you starting at the Academy, Princess Lilith?" Katia whispered, amber eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I don't know. Please, call me Lil..." I faltered and frowned. "Lilith."

Katia stared at me with round eyes, then she glanced at Lottius, and then back at me. "Uh, I don't think we can do that. You are the princess and we are...we just can't." She glanced at Lottius again. "Right?"

"She said we can," Lottius said impatiently.

Katia still didn't look convinced. "There are laws, and your sister always says-"

"I'm not Solange. I want us to be friends, so please treat me like you'd treat one of your friends."

"She smothers them and drives them crazy with her incessant chatter and do-good projects," Lottius said in a bored voice.

"Shut up, Lottie." Katia focused on me, her expression hopeful. "Are you sure, Princess? Because once given, you can't take it back."

She was funny and sweet. "Yes. I'd really like for us to be friends."

"You'll want to take that back before the night is through," Lottius warned.

Katia ignored her. "Then it's an honor to be friends with you, Prin... Lilith." She pressed her hands together and giggled. "Oh, we're going to have so much fun together. I'll let you in on a little secret, Lilith. Everyone is dying to meet you."

"Don't you mean all the boys are dying to suck up to her to get in good graces with Lord Valafar?" Lottius asked. "Boys are such idiots. Everyone knows the king will choose your mate when you turn eighteen, and it's not going to be some wide-eyed young teenager with acne."

"No, that's not what I mean and you know it, Ms. Gla.s.s Half-Empty," Katia snapped, and scrunched her face. "I apologize for my cousin. She tends to be difficult."

"What do you mean, choose my mate?" I asked.

Katia glared at her cousin. "She has no idea what she's talking about. You should never repeat rumors, Lottie. It is so improper."

"Improper?" Lottie asked, and laughed.

"Rumors?" I repeated at the same time.

Katia ignored Lottie. "Yes, rumors. No one will force you to marry some old lord. Your father is not Queen Coronis. If you fall in love-"

"I'm gagging on your sweetness already, Katia, and it's only nine o'clock," Lottius said, making a face. She glanced at me, her expression hard. "Princess, I tell it as it is. One, I hate being told what to do. Two, bowing to royalty is a major pet peeve of mine. Three, if my bluntness is a problem, the same goes. I'll leave. If not, I'll help you escape this nightmare of a celebration."

"Great! Let's go," I said.

She glanced at Katia and sighed. "Oh, and your arranged marriage is just a rumor."

But rumors had to start from somewhere. I planned to find out where. "Where are we going?"

"The rides," Katia said. "The entire castle grounds and the park near the waterfalls are packed with gaming booths."

I nodded. "Sounds good."

"No, we're going to Lord Zhane's club at the mall," Lottius corrected.

"There's a mall on the island?" I asked.

Lottius made a face. "Sort of."

"Sort of? It's a strip mall of shops, clubs, and restaurants that circles the island from the west, up the north sh.o.r.es, to the east," Katia explained. "It has everything you could possibly need-fashion, electronic gadgets, foods from around the world, candy shops, cafes, gaming stores..."

"The best part is you can't see the shops from the castle and the castle can't see you," Lottius piped in. "I hate the idea of being watched all the time."

I frowned. "We are?"

"Oh, yes. The top floor of the castle is Sir Malax's spy gla.s.s." Lottius shuddered.

"Security and surveillance crystals," Katia corrected.

"Spy gla.s.s," Lottius retorted. "Even humans have more freedom than us."

"But we are safer," Katia cut in.

Lottie made a face. "We defeated the Guardians and the Archangels. We shouldn't be watching over our shoulders 24/7."

"We are not having this argument here," Katia said. "And I don't think Lilith can leave until the celebrations are over. We can play games on the grounds or go on rides."

"The games are childish and the rides boring," Lottius retorted.

"Get out of your funk, Lottie." She wrapped a hand around Lottius's arm and the other around mine. "You are making us look bad in front of Lilith. Besides, she's okay with going on the rides."

Lottius glowered.

Katia smiled sweetly back at her.

"Fine," Lottius said. "But keep the children away from me."

"Lottie pretends she's all tough, but she's a total softy on the inside," Katia whispered, but I was sure Lottius heard. "She can't stand to see anyone suffer. Do you need to ask Sir Malax's permission before we leave?"

Lottius groaned. "Why should she? She's the princess. She can do whatever she wants."

Unfortunately, Sir Malax was watching us with narrowed eyes. Beside him stood Lady Nemea. She'd been seated behind my chair during the first half of the entertainment and kept an eye on me from her table during dinner.

Father was having a serious telepathic conversation with some lord in the middle of the room, but he looked up and found us. He studied Lottius and Katia intently, as though trying to remember who they were, then smiled and nodded as though giving his approval. I smiled back. Solange was with her two friends and a bunch of guys who kept glancing our way.

"You see that woman by the door?" I indicated with my head.

"Lady Sour Face?" Lottius asked. "She gives me the w.i.l.l.i.e.s."

"Everyone gives you the w.i.l.l.i.e.s," Katia said. "Yes, we know who she is. Lady Nemea. She is very close to Lord...I mean, your father. She used to be his nanny."

I laughed. "Really? She looks younger than him."

"She's much older," Katia said. "She's nice."

"Everyone is nice to you. They don't know how manipulative you are," Lottius added with a mocking grin. "Just because you do it with a smile doesn't make you any less...annoying. Are we going or what?"

"First, let Princess...I mean, let Lilith speak. She was about to tell us something about Lady Nemea," Katia said firmly, then flashed a smile my way.

I liked these two. They were different, yet complemented each other. "Can we lose her?"

Lottius chuckled. "Now you're speaking my language."

Katia frowned. "Are you sure, Lilith? We don't want you getting in trouble."

"Live a little, Katia," Lottius snapped.

We walked across the room, skirting around men and women who bowed and quickly stepped out of our way. Being a princess had its perks. They weren't so accommodating to Lady Nemea. We reached the outside, where rows of tables were packed with food and drinks. People were everywhere, eating, talking, and laughing. The ones who noticed us stopped and stared, then switched to telepathy, but I heard them anyway. Maybe I shouldn't leave the castle grounds if people were this scared of me.

The gazebo, a familiar voice whispered in my head. Green Eyes. I'd recognize his voice anywhere.

Thanks. "Let's go to the gazebo," I said.

"Great! We can teleport to the gaming tents from there," Lottius said.

"I thought you said the games were childish," Katia reminded her.

"That was to shut you up." Lottius didn't even crack a smile.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Lady Nemea and several guards burst through the castle entrance. She searched around frantically. Forget about the people and their att.i.tude; this was the most fun I'd had since I regained consciousness.

"Let's go," I whispered.

Lottius followed my glance and grinned. It was obvious she thrived on breaking rules, while the more level-headed Katia tried to keep her in check.

We teleported and reappeared behind the gazebo, b.u.mping against each other, laughing and giggling.

"Next time, we teleport one at a time or hold hands," Lottius whispered.

"It's going to be fun having you around," Katia said, squeezing my arm. "I can't wait for you to start at the Academy."

"Ah, ladies. She's coming this way," a voice said from above us and we looked up. It was Green Eyes.

"Thank you," I said.

He bowed, his eyes twinkling, dimples flashing on both of his cheeks this time. "Any time, my princess."

Was he mocking me or flirting?

"Hold hands," Lottie ordered. She grabbed my hand and Katia's. "I'll choose our destination."

We teleported and reappeared behind a secluded tent at the edge of the field. Behind us, the base of a mountain ridge rose sharply. To the right were terraces with swimming pools, slides, and tubes. In front of us were tents and booths. To our left were giant rides with more screaming thrill-seekers. Crystals on poles lit up the night, and voices, not telepathic ones, real voices filled the air with laughter and squeals of delight.

"You need to cover your hair or everyone will recognize you," Katia said.

"No, we need everyone to recognize her," Lottius protested. "No one will expect us to wait in line when they do."

"Rules, Lottie. Everyone follows them." Katia glanced at me. "Unless, of course, you don't mind pa.s.sing all the kids and mothers who are waiting their turn."

I laughed. "I mind, thank you very much." I grabbed the hood of my cloak and covered my head.

Katia laughed. "They'll still recognize you. Let's change the color. Blue?"

"Green. Emerald green," I said.

Katia touched the bodice of my gown and green-inked it, completely replacing the white. She tucked my hair out of the way, adjusted the cloak to hide my necklace, and rearranged the hood.

Lottius watched us with obvious annoyance. "Seriously?"

"Hold your horses, Lottie." Katia adjusted the sleeves to cover my bracelet. "There. Everything is hidden."

We left our hiding spot and joined the throng of people enjoying treats. Everything was free. We picked up cotton candy from a stall and waited in line to win trinkets, stuffed animals, treats. The scene was familiar, yet I couldn't recall where I'd attended a fair before.

Little kids' games were simple-toy baby ducks floating in the air, toy frogs in a row opening and closing their mouths, bobbing hoops, and darts for popping water-filled balloons. Grownup games were more complicated. Most tried to use their powers to win, but the people manning the tents were using powers too, which made the games fun to watch.

The back of my head p.r.i.c.kled, telling me I was being watched. I turned and saw Green Eyes. He was alone, an ice-cream cone in his hand. He raised it in a toast. He was dressed in black and had a black cloak. Something about him was familiar, and it had nothing to do with the fact that I'd seen him in the kitchen. Maybe it was his smile or his c.o.c.kiness. Katia followed my gaze and her eyes narrowed.

"That's the guy from the gazebo," she said.

"You want to call security?" Lottie asked, and nudged Katia.

Katia made a face. "Over a minion? Please. He's harmless. They have no powers," she added for my benefit.

Harmless was hardly a word I'd use to describe the guy.

"He's kind of hot," Lottius said.

Katia's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Would too." She laughed when Katia's jaw dropped. "Tartarus pit! You're such a prude."

"Wouldn't dare what?" I asked.