I supposed that, under the circumstances, she’d felt obligated to include me in her invitation.
Or perhaps she merely wanted to impress Casimir by appearing charitable. But none of it fooled me. I didn’t need the gritty sweetness coating my tongue and teeth to know that her offer was disingenuous. I fought to maintain eye contact with Bryce as I bit back a grimace.
Bryce was still standing there, her cheeks tinged a lovely shade of pink as she waited for our answers. Pushing aside my irritation, I opened my mouth, prepared to politely decline her offer when Casimir interrupted?—
“Of course, we’d love to come.”
I turned my head so fast that I nearly cricked my neck, but Casimir brushed off my death glare, his attention still focused on Bryce.
To no one’s surprise, Bryce faltered at his use of the pronoun “we,” but recovered quickly and offered him a dazzling smile. “Wonderful!” she cooed. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She pressed an invitation into Casimir’s hands. “All the details are written here. Don’t be late.” At last, Casimir glanced in my direction. Bryce’s dark eyes followed. I felt a bitter swell of triumph when she failed to conceal the grimace that flashed over her perfect, oval face.
“Anyway, I’d better go. I forgot I promised to meet up with Margot to finish a project for Astronomy,” she said.
The second lie spun across my tongue and lodged itself at the back of my throat, confirming my suspicions. Bryce had been under the impression she’d be meeting Casimir alone, and since my presence had spoiled her plans, she preferred to make herself scarce.
“See you next Friday,” she trilled, offering Casimir a coquettish wink before she swished through the creaking doors and back into the library, her long sheet of black hair catching the light as she disappeared from view.
The second she turned the corner, my false smile slipped, and the scowl that replaced it only deepened as I caught sight of Casimir’s expression.
“Something the matter, Farrow?” His brows knitted together in an expression of polite confusion, though the corners of his mouth continued to twitch.
“I guess congratulations are in order. You’ll be inducted into the Gilded Circle in no time. I just hope their ceremonies involve less blood sacrifice than the Order’s,” I sneered at him.
“What are you talking about?” He snorted. “As if I haven’t got my hands full with one dastardly society already. I have no interest in embroiling myself in the no-doubt sordid affairs of another.”
“Then why did we just accept her invitation?” I asked.
He looked at me with incredulity. “I’ve just told you, Farrow. Bryce has something I want.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” came my scathing retort.
Casimir shot me an exasperated look and muttered something about my being impossible. “Listen,” he said, forcing his tone to remain calm, “I have reason to believe the Yu-Ri’s are in possession of a very powerful magical necklace. You and I are going to this party, and you’re going to help me steal it.”
I protested, “I’ve never stolen anything! And besides, I wasn’t really invited!”
Comprehension dawned over his features. “Is that why you look so sour? Because you don’t think her invitation was genuine?” He snorted. “I thought you were above such petty social slights.”
I fixed him with a glare sharp enough to cut bone. “That’s how I look when I’m forced to swallow someone else’s lies,” I spat. There, that should wipe that smug smirk right off his lips.
The amusement slipped from his face. “What are you talking about?”
I jerked my chin toward the door. “Bryce lied when she said she’d love it if I came to her party,” I explained. “And then she lied about her so-called project with Margot.”
He gave a noncommittal shrug. “I suppose one interpretation of that sour look on your face is that you tasted the disingenuousness of Bryce’s offer,” he hedged. “The alternative is that you’re merely irritated that Bryce sought me out to invite me to her party, and then included you in the invitation as an afterthought.”
Asshole,I thought.
“Didn’t you ever notice that August was lying to you? If, as you said, your abilities go so far as to detect the merest hint of falsehood.”
I faltered, at a loss for how to reply. I should’ve seen this coming the second I’d revealed my abilities to Casimir. How could I explain that I had tasted August’s lies, how they had lingered on my tongue like smoke—that the lies of every person I’d ever met—with one glaring exception—exuded an intangible and unforgettable flavor, varying from sweet and cloying to the bitterest ash; and how, in spite of that, I had stayed, hoping against hope that one day August would wake up and stop lying. That one day, he would choose me. Casimir wouldn’t understand.
“Maybe I couldn’t taste his lies,” I said. It was a lie, of course, but I couldn’t stand the idea of Casimir pitying me.
He sank back into his chair and eyed me from behind his dark lashes, his expression doubtful. “Is that so? Huh, funny how you forgot to mention it. How disappointing, here I was, thinking I was the special exception to your rule.”
I gave an unconvincing shrug. “Must have slipped my mind.”
He hummed. “You know what I think?” He tilted his head, examining me.