Page 68

Maggie wonderedif one day she’d get used to flying around in private jets. Hopefully not. She never wanted to become that person. Even if she was kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really a princess. Harry was already passed out asleep again in a chair, and she was sitting across from Gideon, cards in her hand.

They were playing poker.

And she was cleaning his clock.

Now that she remembered she liked the game, it was like a whole new door in her head had been unlocked and opened. She might have suspected that Gideon was letting her win, if he didn’t seem so frustrated by it every time he failed to call one of her bluffs.

And that was almost all of them.

“What I find interesting is that you and I never resided in Constantinople.” Gideon took the cards and began to shuffle them to deal out a new round. They had already reset their chips twice.

“You mean Istanbul? Don’t make me sing the song.”

“Please, don’t. I’ve heard it enough times, believe me. Everybody thinks it’s clever. Yes, yes. Istanbul. It’s hard for me to adopt new names.”

“I noticed you gave up calling me Maggie.” She chuckled.

“I apologize. As I said, I have a difficult time updating nouns in my head.”

“I honestly don’t mind.” She picked up her cards and peeked at them. A pair of eights. Not bad, but not great. She’d definitely at least see the flop. She tossed in a chip to match his big blind. “As I remember more, it bothers me less.”

He went to respond when her phone buzzed loudly on the table, and she scooped it up. “Huzzah for in-flight cell service.”

There was only one person it could be, and Gideon guessed correctly. “How is our priestly friend?”

She opened her phone to read the text message.

Rinnie: Where you off to?

She began to type back. “Asking where we’re going.”

“And are you going to tell him?”

“Yup.” She hit send.

Maggie: Istanbul, not Constantinople.

A second later, and then a laughing emoji. She smirked. “They’d find us eventually. Might as well save some face with him in whatever harmless ways I can.”

“You’re very likely correct. With their connections, they would figure out where we went sooner rather than later. You’ve only saved him an inconvenience.” He hummed thoughtfully. “Hopefully, we will not be there long enough for them to plan any significant attack.”

“Not a fan of your old stomping grounds?”

“Not particularly, no. And not for any real reason, either. I was there for many centuries, and I think I just became tired of it. The kebabs are fantastic, and you will never find better falafel, but…eh.” He shrugged. “I prefer the milder climates and more politically stable environments. My home has never had either of those things.”

“You mean, places where you can wriggle your fingers into all the goings-on?” She nudged his foot with hers under the table.

He smirked. “I’m immortal. We need our amusements. I enjoy having access and knowledge, and in order to have those things, one must also trade in it. I’ve always had a hobby of worming my way into courts.”

“And now you do that with corporations? Huh. I guess they’re kind of the same thing.” She sat back and looked thoughtfully out the window. The sky was dark above them, and she could see the twinkling lights of cities and towns beneath them. It was beautiful. “International companies might as well be city-states now.”

“Precisely. They even wield their own political power for their own ends. Where once I might have whispered to the nobles of Corinth, now I banter with the CEOs of banks.” He shrugged. “Humanity evolves, but it does not change. Not really. We are what we are at our core.”

“So…who’s the most famous person you have as a revenant slave?” She grinned mischievously.

“Why, that would ruin all the fun in wondering.”

“Zuckerberg? Gotta be Zuckerberg. That guy looks like an automaton.”