Page 142 of Neon Flux

Mercy flipped over the next card and laid it down with a flourish. “Five of Swords.”

“Meaning?” Maddox’s expression was a mix of disbelief and irritation.

Mercy smiled gently. “Five of Swords asks us to look long and hard at what we’re fighting for. Is it worth it?”

Maddox and I locked eyes, tension thickening the air, until Vesper butted in. “That’s not fun Mercy. Do another.” She grabbed the next card and flipped it over, then grinned. “That seems more fitting.”

Maddox’s eyes dropped. “The Fool? Are you calling me an idiot?”

Mercy’s plump red lips curled again. “No, don’t worry, handsome. The Fool is all about new beginnings. Trying out newthings.” She exchanged glances with Vesper and Akiko, and they all grinned. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Maddox just grunted. “Thanks for the unsolicited fortune-telling.”

“You’re welcome,” Mercy replied, grinning as she gathered the cards back up. “And hey, if you ever want a follow-up session, you know where to find me.”

“I’d rather not,” Maddox muttered.

“Aw, don’t be like that.” Mercy shifted in his lap, and I knew the big guy was never going to win this.

Eon chuckled, her gaze still on the living room as Maddox fell further and further into the clutches of her friends.

“Well, that was entertaining,” she said, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter again.

“Entertaining?” I echoed. “You mean watching Maddox get roasted alive by your friend wasn’t the highlight of your evening?”

“Hmm.” She tilted her head, pretending to consider. “Night’s still young.”

I smirked. “Lot of time to do something stupid, huh?”

“Don’t push your luck.” Her tone was light, but there was something warm in her eyes, something she couldn’t quite hide.

I leaned in just enough to make her breath hitch. “Who’s pushing?”

Eon rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched like she was fighting a smile. “Careful, or I’ll have Mercy read your cards. She’d have a field day.”

“Doubt it,” I replied. “She’d just pull the Tower and call me a disaster.”

Eon laughed, the sound light and genuine.

“Maybe,” she said, her smile lingering as she looked at me. “But I think you’d surprise her.”

And just like that, the air shifted again—something sparking between us. Whatever it was, it was more addicting than anything I’d ever felt. Her eyes swirled as her Flux rose under her skin, and mine did the same without me even realizing. It would’ve been so easy to reach out and touch her, to pull her to me, to give in to this thing we’d been fighting for so long. I wanted to taste her. I wanted to feel her come apart around me. I wanted her to look at me and see every part of me—and not look away.

Light shone on her Vysor, and her face dropped immediately. “Sorry, I’ve got to—” She fled to Maddox’s bedroom to take the call, and I was the one who nearly came apart.

CHAPTER 51

EON

Cy’s eyes were dangerous. They were pulling me in with a force I couldn’t escape. That I didn’t want to escape.

Then, a notification for a call rang on my Vysor.

Taos.

What the fuck?

I fled from Cy’s magnetic gaze and answered the call in Maddox’s room.