The Queen They Buried

Aubree felt a little awkward the whole time they were eating.

For some reason–maybe because of the mix–up earlier–Bowen suddenly said that since they’d known each other for a while, calling him “Mr. Turner sounded way too formal. He told her she should just call him “Uncle Bowen” like Alvin did.

Aubree felt like he was messing with her, but thinking of the future investment, she played along and said, “Uncle Bowen.”

“This place is known for its beef pasta,” she added quickly. “Back then, I couldn’t afford them, and now, I can’t really eat spicy stuff, so go ahead and enjoy them for me, Uncle Bowen.”

She adjusted to the name pretty easily, since she was close with Alvin anyway.

But Bowen fett weirdly thrown off by it. Alvin called him “Uncle Bowen” all the time, and it meant nothing, but hearing it from Aubree hit differently. It

sounded nice.

The difference surprised Bowen himself a bit.

Meanwhile, Alvin–busy gaming at the team base–had no clue that just over one meal, Bowen had mentally criticized him from head to toe for no

reason.

Bowen asked the owner for a bowl of clean water, then used a fresh fork to rinse the beef, washing off the spicy sauce before setting it on Aubree’s plate. “If it’s that good, you should have some too.”

The steam from the pasta curled around his face like a soft fog, giving him a kind of dreamy look.

Aubree accidentally stared a second too long. When Bowen glanced over, she quickly looked down and started eating again.

Noticing her red ears, Bowen smiled to himself, suddenly thinking about the first time he saw her at the orphanage.

He was eighteen then–already out of school and running the company. He’d gone to the orphanage for a charity event.

Back then, Aubree wore two braids and sat quietly in the corner with a sketchpad, totally out of place in a room full of noisy, crying kids. She looked way too mature for her age.

Bowen had thought she was adorable. She reminded him of a little girl his older brother once rescued from traffickers five years earlier. If that girl had managed to escape, she’d be about Aubree’s age now.

After they finished eating, Bowen drove Aubree back to Ellis Heights. He didn’t stay long–just asked about the Autumn Finals and said he’d come watch before taking off.

As the Autumn Finals drew closer, the official announcement of the final lineups of both teams stirred up quite a storm on Twitter.

sides had made changes. Apex Squad replaced their midsolo with Killian, who used to play for God’s Fury. Carmen, who’d been listed as a sub,

God’s Fury were shocked to see Killian show up on the other team, and even Apex Squad’s

the God’s Fury poster

girl–absolutely gorgeous–in a silver and white uniform. If one didn’t know better, one’d

dropped Killian and replaced him with

1/3

Chapter 32

they planning to win by distracting the enemy with her

this call? What were

beauty pageant. This was pro gaming. And if they

polite crowd. Killian’s die–hard fans had

Fury was

who recognized Phoenix as the same player who’d been turning heads in recent

attention to that.

the tweet, she was shocked at first–Phoenix was

and a

day–that smile faded fast, replaced by jealousy. How does she get so

didn’t you tell me you joined Emery’s team?” Daxton asked

pulled herself together. “Daxton, I just wanted to see what it’s like

“Your health isn’t great. Why would you take a risk like

“By the way, did

face darkened as he heard that. When he realized Aubree was on the opposing team, his expression

own family, huh? She’s just an ungrateful brat,” he said with pure disgust,

to his arm and pouted. “Daxton, do you think she’s trying to win the championship just to

was light, but her eyes held something more. Carmen didn’t get why Emery and Bryan had both changed their attitudes toward Aubree. She needed to find a way to turn them against

She always acted cold and

scoffed, “Just more

Aubree had planned all of this. She was

to get, trying to win people over and

still here. And I’ll be at

she dared help the

an official Twitter account, so they had no clue what was going on online. With the finals right around the corner, even Aubree, who