10: Justin.

Thunder sounds outside, and I turn to Cora. “Yeah, what do you need?”

She peers over my shoulder and then smiles brightly at me. “Nothing really. I just wanted to give her a head start.”

I grind my back teeth as I narrow my eyes. “What are you playing at?”

Just then Mary moves close to stand next to Cora and somehow gives me the same bright smile like they’re not up to something.

“A word of advice?” Mary offers, but I don’t answer, and she doesn’t need a prompt to keep going. “The man who’s lucky enough to catch that one”—she nods in the direction Eris went—“will need to make sure he’s strong enough to hang on to her.” When her eyes come back to me, they narrow and then she does an exaggerated head-to-toe scan of my body. Something about her expression makes me think I didn’t measure up.

“Want to have a drink at the bar?” Cora asks Mary, and she nods without taking her eyes off me.

The silent warning is enough to have me turning away from the two of them and walking toward the elevato