Chapter 117: Truth or Dare

Aveline's POV

I sat on the long chair. My left ankle hurt badly. It felt like it was burning. Kieran had placed my foot on some pillows, but I was not thinking about the pain. I was thinking about my skates. I was completely sure someone had tampered with my skating shoes. I have been skating all my life. There was no way a simple snow trail could make me trip like that. Someone must have messed with my blades.

The walk back to the cabin was awful. They had found me at the bottom of the hill with a twisted ankle. The whole walk back was freezing cold. The tension and anger from everyone showed that a lot had happened while I was down in the snow. Nobody was talking. Landon was staring at the floor. Cassian looked angry and dangerous. Daphne was quietly wiping tears from her eyes.

Kieran sat on a small stool right next to my leg. He kept his large hands wrapped tightly around a warm towel on my ankle. His face looked like it was carved from stone.

Suddenly, Milo let out a loud laugh. He was trying to break the silence in the living room. "Alright, this is depressing as hell. We are trapped here, we are freezing, and everyone looks ready to kill each other. I demand we do a game of Truth or Dare right now."

Kieran did not look up from my foot. "No. We are not playing games. Everyone is still shocked from what happened down on the trail."

Landon stood up from his chair. He sounded pissed as fuck. He stared down at Kieran with total frustration. "You can't keep bossing everyone around, Kieran! Seriously! What else are we supposed to do here? Asher is the only one injured here, and he can watch us play. Stop treating him like a fragile kid and stop treating us like your servants."

The whole room changed quickly. Milo nodded. Katty agreed from her corner. Everyone agreed that we needed a game to pass the time.

I leaned back against the long chair. I adjusted the blanket over my lap so my tight chest binding stayed hidden. "It's fine, guys," I muttered in Asher's quiet voice. "I can just watch".

Kieran’s fingers tightened against my ankle for a split second. Then he let out a rough breath and sat back.

Milo smirked. He spun an empty bottle on the table. The game started immediately. The cabin grew very quiet between every turn. The questions were simple at first, but the emotional tension began to rise with every single answer.

"Who was your first kiss?" Milo asked Landon. Landon answered quickly to get it over with.

Then the bottle pointed at Katty. Milo leaned forward in the firelight. "Katty. Truth. Who in this room do you trust the least, and what is the reason?"

Katty gave a sweet, fake smile. But her eyes looked dangerous as she looked right at me. "Oh, that's easy. I trust Asher the least. Because some people look completely innocent on the outside, but they spend their private time sneaking around behind their friends' backs to steal what does not belong to them."

I clenched my fists under the blanket. My blood was boiling. Kieran did not say a word, but the cold anger radiating off my body made the room feel freezing.

Milo laughed loudly, trying to keep the chaos going. He spun the bottle hard. It slid across the table and stopped directly in front of Landon.

"Landon, your turn," Milo smirked. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Landon grunted, crossing his arms. "Make it quick."

Milo leaned in, his eyes shining. "If you had to pick one person on this team whose behaviour has completely changed this season, who would it be? And don't lie."

Landon glared across the room, his eyes moving between Kieran and me. "Kieran. He’s the captain, but lately, he’s acting like he doesn't care about the team at all. He’s completely blind to everything except... certain distractions."

Kieran’s jaw clenched tight, but he still did not speak

Landon grabbed the bottle and spun it violently. It pointed straight at Daphne.

"Daphne, truth or dare?" Landon asked, his voice sharp.

"Truth," Daphne said softly, pulling her jacket tighter.

Landon looked at her closely. "Who in this room is keeping the biggest secret from the rest of us?"

Daphne flinched. She looked terrified. She glanced at me, then her eyes quickly darted to Cassian before she looked down at her lap. "I... I think everyone is keeping secrets right now. We are all hiding how we really feel about the team drama."

"That's a cop-out answer!" Milo shouted, laughing.

"But fine, we'll let it slide. Spin it, Daph."

Daphne spun the bottle gently. It landed right on Cassian. Theo leaned forward from the floor. His face was completely red. He had been drinking heavily

The liquor was making him reckless.

"Cassian," Theo slurred his words. His voice was too loud in the quiet room. "Have you ever loved someone who couldn't love you back?"

Cassian did not even blink. He sat with his arm resting on the sofa. He looked cold and distant. "Pass,"

Cassian said flatly. He refused every single question that came his way. He just took a slow sip of his drink.

"You can't just pass every time, Thorne!" Milo complained. "That's cheating!"

"Try and make me answer," Cassian replied, his voice tense. Milo instantly went quiet.

Theo let out a bitter laugh. He spun the bottle himself. He was accidentally revealing way too much because he was drunk. His eyes were wide and completely locked onto me as he hugged his knees.

"Well, I have," Theo whispered. His voice cracked with an intense, angry emotion that made Daphne freeze. He was looking at me with total obsession. His nice-guy face was completely gone. "I love someone who ignores me. I stay in their corner. I protect them from the sharks on this team. But they still look at the wrong person. They still run to the people who want to destroy them."

Landon frowned. He looked at Theo with deep confusion. "Who the hell are you talking about, Mercer? You're drunk as fuck. Go sleep it off."

"I'm perfectly fine!" Theo hissed, his voice rising in anger. He pointed a shaking finger toward the table. "I'm talking about loyalty! Some people throw away their real friends for a piece of trash who doesn't even care about them!"

"Theo, stop it," I muttered, my heart racing. He was getting way too close to saying rubbish.

"Why should I stop, Asher?" Theo shouted, tears of pure jealousy filling his eyes. He stared at Kieran. His breathing grew shallow and angry."Look at him! Look at how he treats you! He treats you like you're his girlfriend, not his teammate! And you just let him!"

The room went completely dead silent. Nobody moved. The accusation was hanging heavily in the air. Landon’s eyes went wide. Milo stopped smiling. Katty looked thrilled by the chaos. The emotional weight in the cabin was so heavy it felt hard to breathe.