Page 92 of Trivium

Ren side-eyed Loveleena but listened to Serena’s orders and took his place next to her. As soon as Serena grabbed Ren from behind and they were both distracted from the movement, Loveleena dropped the truth potion in Ren’s cup.

“And the key here is to actually go up and under.” Serena explained her movements, while Loveleena nodded along, even though her mind was wrapped around the truth potion. All she could think about was Ren drinking what was left in his glass.

Serena had Ren in a headlock in no time, a smile plastered on her face. “You just gotta practice a little and I bet you could get it,” she said brightly. “Hey, maybe Ren will let you practice on him!”

Ren’s gaze was piercing as he locked eyes with Serena, who shot back a full smile in response before they both returned to their places at the table.

The seconds ticked by as Loveleena watched Ren grab his glass and hold it up to his lips. He paused, and Loveleena held her breath in anticipation.

“Hey!” Lennox called over to Ahmina who had just entered the mess hall with Rory, Artie, and Emerson. “Come sit with us.”

Ahmina looked like she would rather singlehandedly face a Tigress than sit with them but reluctantly agreed. Emerson fist bumped the men before sitting down beside Loveleena. They exchanged greetings, while Loveleena’s eyes remained locked on Ren and his glass.

“Are you guys drinking?” Rory said, nodding at the drinks in their hands.

“Gotta enjoy ourselves before final assessments, yeah?” Serena said.

“We never know which first years are going to die, so we celebrate beforehand,” Ren said dryly. Serena swiped Ren’s drink out of his hand and held it up to Rory. “Want some? Ren loves to share.”

“I don’t think you should drink that,” Loveleena said before she could stop herself.

A perplexed Rory tilted her head. “Why?”

“Uhhh…” Loveleena searched for a reason. “Weren’t you two at the party last night? Shouldn’t you go easy, you know, with assessments this week?”

Ahmina looked mortified. “Oh Goddess, give me that,” she said, grabbing the drink from Rory and taking three large gulps. Loveleena shook her head slightly, hoping Ahmina would pick up on the fact that it had the truth potion she had made in it, but Ahmina was too distracted by her own embarrassment.

Fuck. This was bad.

“You!” Ahmina shoved the drink at Lennox. “You drink too.”

Lennox didn’t waste any time, more than happy to follow Ahmina’s orders. Loveleena hung her head in her hands. This was going horribly wrong.

“Ren,” Lennox said, swirling the liquid around in the glass. “What is this? It tastes incredible.”

Ren frowned but didn’t say anything.

“Ren, you’ve been holding out on us?” Serena took the glass from Lennox and took a sip. “I want to try it too.”

By the time the liquid was gone, everyone at the table had had a taste, everyone except for Ren and Loveleena. She dug her fingernails into the skin of her palms. That potion took Ahmina months. This couldn’t have gone worse.

Serena giggled. “Let’s play a game.”

“I’m down,” Lennox said, slamming his palm on the top of the table. “How about cups?”

Emerson groaned, “not again.”

“Truth or dare!” Rory cut in, jumping up and down.

Now it was Ahmina’s turn to complain. “Rory, that game is so overdone. Can’t we play something else?”

“Coins, then,” Ren said, and everyone agreed. He gave Loveleena a cocky look, and she scowled in response.

“Alright, let’s go over the rules for anyone who hasn’t played before,” Serena said, pulling out a pentacle from her satchel. “Flip the pentacle. If it lands on a nobleman, you get to ask anyone a question and they have to answer. If it lands on a creature, you get a pass.”

They all agreed, and Rory, Ahmina, and Artie all found empty seats at the table.

“I’ll go first,” Loveleena said, grabbing the pentacle. If everyone but Ren was influenced by the truth serum, she wanted to at least use it to her advantage. She flipped the coin and it landed on a creature. Cursing, she slid it across the table to Ahmina.