Page 96 of The Grandest Game

Rohan allowed himself to lean forward and whisper in her ear. “Everything matters, Savvy—until nothing does.”

That was the truth. It was also a warning. And a promise.I will betray you. You will betray me.Winning was the only thing that would matter in the end.

“I’m keeping the sword,” Rohan said. “And you’re going to work with me anyway.”

He counted three seconds of silence before she spoke again. “Lift the blade,” Savannah said. “Now.”

Another tell.Rohan pulled the sword and, with a counterclockwise turn of his wrist, brought it vertical in an instant. He felt the exact moment that Savannah pressed the silk fan into the blade. The fabric began to tear.

“Rohan?” Savannah sundered the fan. “We have a deal.”

Chapter 69

LYRA

Idon’t like this,” Grayson said darkly. “They should have the power back up by now.”

“Thinking of breaking a window, Mr. Hawthorne?” Odette’s voice was dry.

No, Lyra thought reflexively.He’s not.

“If there’s a threat out there,” Grayson said, “we’re safer in here. This house is highly secure.”

Secure.Lyra’s heart rate ticked up.A threat.

Odette was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “We aren’t safer locked in if there’s a fire.”

Another fire.Lyra thought about her first impression of Hawthorne Island—the charred trees, the ghosts of the past.

“Do you have reason to believe that there is going to be a fire?” Grayson demanded.

“Perhaps old age is making me paranoid.” Odette paused. “Or perhaps it’s what I see when I look at the two of you. The right kindof disaster just waiting to happen. A Hawthorne and a girl who has every reason to stay away from Hawthornes.”

She’s talking about omega.Lyra felt that in the pit of her stomach.About my father’s death. About Tobias Hawthorne.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t mind elaborating,” Grayson said, his tone pure steel.

Odette chose utter silence instead.

“A Hawthorne did this,” Lyra said hoarsely. “That’s what she’s talking about. That’s what my father said, right before the riddle, right before he killed himself. That’s why I have every reason to stay away from Hawthornes.”

“A Hawthorne did this,” Odette repeated. “Lyra, your father—he said those exact words?”

“He did.”

“I know,” Grayson said, “that my grandfather could very easily cross the line into viewing people as cogs in a machine, as levers to be pulled, a means to his ends.”

“Neither one of you knows what you think you know.” Odette’s voice was sharp. “The tr—” Her voice cut off mid-word. There was a thud—a loud one.Her body, hitting the floor.

Lyra bolted forward, heedless of the dark, but somehow, Grayson made it to Odette first. “She’s having a seizure.” Grayson’s voice sliced through the dark. “I’m turning her on her side. I’ve got you, Ms. Morales.”

The sound of the old woman’s body jerking against the floor suddenly ceased. There was total,awfulsilence. A breath caught in Lyra’s throat.

“I’ve got you,” Grayson repeated.

“You would think so, Mr. Hawthorne.” Odette’s voice was hoarse. Relief shot through Lyra.

And an instant later, the lights came on.