Page 30

CHAPTER 30

AURIA

E ach of the men took a seat at the round, dark oak table. Crass and Nemin left two seats open between them, so Lander took the chair beside Crass. I took the last open spot, sitting in between Lander and Nemin, and set my cup on the table.

“Know the rules?” Perkins asked me, sorting through a deck of cards he’d grabbed from the middle.

“I’ll teach her as we go,” Lander said.

Crass looked over at me, a devilish glint in his eyes. Peeking out of the collar of his shirt was a black twirl, revealing his hidden tattoo. “Let the girl figure it out on her own. She looks like a quick learner.”

Perkins began dealing a card to each of us, then did another round before setting the deck down, leaving us each with two cards. As he moved, I eyed a splotch of black on his upper arm, reaching toward his elbow underneath his sleeve.

I glanced at Lander before checking my cards. A pair of spades. “I can do it.”

Perkins set two vials of magic on the table, starting the bet.

My brows rose slightly. They were betting with magic. I didn’t have any with me, as I had no reason to carry it around, along with coins. If I ever needed to purchase anything during our stay in one of the kingdoms, one of my guards would take care of it for me. But right now, there were no guards. As they were still healing from the attack, none had joined us for days.

Under the table, Lander nudged my leg before shooting me a nervous look. He hadn’t thought this far ahead—that much was certain.

“I’m in,” Crass said, setting the same amount of vials in the middle.

“Call.” The contents of Lander’s hand clanked as he placed two vials beside the four now sitting in the middle.

“I’ll call,” I said hesitantly, getting some kind of understanding of the gist of the term by watching the others. After a lifetime of being kept away from the fun, I was an excellent observer, which I hoped would give me the upper hand through this.

“Have to bet something of equal value, girl,” Perkins muttered, eyeing me.

I blinked, trying to think of anything I had on me to give besides what I wore. “My shoes?”

“Your shoes and a seat on my lap for the duration of the game will do,” Nemin offered up.

I looked at Lander.

“It’s fine,” Lander said, answering the question in my gaze. He didn’t really have a say in what I did, but I also didn’t want to mess up our act that we were happily engaged.

Nemin kept his eyes on me, a smirk cresting his mouth. “I don’t bite.”

By the starved look on his face, I highly doubted that.

I toed off the ankle boots Siara had given me, setting them on the table, then slowly stood from the chair and straightened my dress. The ivory fabric fell just above the knee, exposing more of my legs than I was used to. In Amosite, it never would have been allowed, but in the beating sun of Deadwood, the other black clothes felt unbearable today.

“Keep your hands to yourself, Nemin,” Lander warned as I perched atop Nemin’s knee.

His hand went to my waist, pulling me back to meet his chest. I was angled in such a way that he couldn’t see my cards, but just in case, I laid them flat on the table. I could remember my two spades just fine.

“Raise,” Nemin said, placing three vials and a stack of coins on the table.

Perkins set three cards face-up on the table as Nemin murmured close to my ear, “So, Auria, what led you to want to marry Lander?”

“Certainly couldn’t be his skills in gambling,” Crass snarked.

Perkins let out a low chuckle, the loose skin under his chin wobbling with the act. He added two vials to the table.

“It’s more of a mutual thing,” I answered, eyeing the jack of clubs, seven of spades, and nine of diamonds. I had to be doing something right as I had three spades in total now.

“Raise,” Crass said, following suit with Perkins’s bet and a stack of coin on top.

“I’ll call,” Lander said, tossing in a handful of coins and two vials before taking a swig of his drink.

Crass’s gaze landed on me, the amber light reflecting off their boozy sheen. “What’ll it be?”

Along with magic, I had no coin on me, but I had to bet something. “My necklace?”

Crass’s eyes fell to my collarbones, then lower. “I don’t know, Nemin. You think her necklace is worth a wad of coin and some magic?”

My throat worked on a swallow as Nemin glanced from his cards to my necklace, his face far too close to mine. From this angle, he had a clear view of the swell of my breasts, and the thought alone caused a shiver to skate down my spine. “It’ll do this round,” he finally said.

I reached up to unclasp the chain, then set it in the pile with the rest of the pot. I opted for a long sip of ale in the hopes the alcohol would wash away my nerves.

“I’ll raise it.” Nemin shoved three vials toward the center along with his coin, his inked arm brushing mine.

Perkins let out a puff of smoke as he set another card in the center, revealing a ten of spades. My fourth spade. That had to be good for something.

“Fold,” Perkins muttered around the head of his cigar, a frown pulling the corners of his lips down.

“I’ll call it.” Crass set two more vials of magic on the table.

Lander chewed on his lip before adding his portion to the pot.

Nemin’s thumb pressed into my side, signaling my turn. With nothing to bet, I should’ve folded, but instead, the word fell from my lips. “Call.”

Crass’s smirk grew as the rest of the table waited. “With what?”

I mentally checked each item I wore, which wasn’t much. I couldn’t offer them an abundance of whatever magic they wanted, as it’d give away my abilities, so I only had one other thing to offer. “My dress.”

Thankfully, I wore a corset and undergarments underneath, so I wouldn’t be entirely exposed if it came down to it.

Nemin raised a brow, his hand gripping the fabric. “Brave girl.”

“Braver than you,” I snipped, not sure where my boldness came from, other than the alcohol.

A wry smile stretched his lips. “You’d be surprised.” He tossed two vials on the table, not taking his eyes off me.

“You’re a lucky one, Lander, to have such a temptress,” Crass crooned before sipping on his ale.

Lander ignored him, staying silent as his fingers nearly folded the cards in his grip.

The door burst open behind us, and none other than Bowen stormed in, his gaze trained on me, not giving a single ounce of his focus to anyone else in the room. His eyes burned into my skin where he stared at me, and I wondered if it was due to the position I was currently in—perched atop Nemin like some sort of shiny prize.

“What are you doing?” Bowen practically growled.

I grabbed my cards off the table, lifting them a few inches in the air. “Playing a game.”

“Not anymore,” he said, no room for debate in his tone. Naturally, that would’ve turned me away, but Bowen’s command was one I wanted to heed, and the alcohol was not helping in my persuasion.

I shook my head of its haze, though it did little with the thick cigar smoke hanging in the air. “We’re almost done. I think.”

Nemin snorted.

“The girl has already bet so much,” Perkins said with a false pouty tone, a glint in his eyes as he trailed them down my body. “Let her take her chances.”

Bowen let the door fall shut behind him as he leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms. My eyes followed the action, my breath hitching as I noticed the tattoos covering his arms, the same ones I saw the night of Exitium Lunae. From his wrists to beneath his shirt, he was full of black ink. My heart picked up its pace. How had I forgotten he was just as dangerous as the rest of them?

“Care to play?” Nemin asked, not looking up from his cards. His hand gripped my waist uncomfortably, causing me to shift. Bowen’s eyes moved to his hold on me.

His jaw clenched, a tick jumping in his cheek as his upper arm muscles bulged when he tightened his stance. His gaze burned into me like a flame—one I welcomed. “I don’t gamble.”

“Too bad,” Nemin tsked. “Some good stakes being thrown about today.”

Perkins set another card in the center, then sat back in his chair as he puffed on his cigar, tearing my gaze away from Bowen to inspect the card. Jack of spades. Maybe I wouldn’t lose my clothing after all. If the least I had to do was sit on a stranger’s lap, I’d call it a win.

“Call.” Crass added his bet.

Lander slid another two vials to the center, eliciting a grin from Perkins.

“What about you?” Crass asked, turning those drunken eyes on me.

I wouldn’t back out now. My hand had to be good, and I was tired of being weak. I wanted to take chances, and this could be one of them. “I’ll call.”

Lander swallowed audibly. A sheen of sweat coated his forehead, glistening in the light. Why hadn’t he folded if he was worried?

Crass’s smirk turned into a full-blown wicked grin. “What else could you possibly give?”

I schooled my features, needing to act confident in my offering. I would win. “My corset.”