Page 47 of Vicious Princess (The Trials of Death and Honor #1)

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

T he next evening, I’m too tired to train after studying at the library. I need at least one night with eight hours of uninterrupted, sweet sleep.

I’d kill for one night in my plush bed back in Wetra. I’d even take the bed in Vasquez’s quarters. Oh, Vasquez.

It feels like it’s been years since I last saw him, since he handed me the package with food and sent me off into the unknown. Maybe if I had agreed to join Kazh, things would have turned out differently between us.

Things would have definitely turned out differently for me and Daegel. There would be no us. If my suspicions are correct about why Vasquez sent me to Kazh’s inn, it would be me and Vasquez.

No point in thinking about what-ifs.

With a sigh, I plop my ass down on the corner of Roman’s bunk and lean forwards to unlace my boots.

“Spirits of the gods, that sigh sounded like you’re a hundred and eighty years old.” Roman looks at me over the top of the book he’s reading. “You alright there, princess?”

“Yeah,” I murmur, removing the first boot and wiggling my toes. It’s such a relief. “I sure as fuck feel tired enough to be that old.”

Roman chuckles. “Someone’s keeping you up all night long?”

I shoot him a glare over my shoulder, but offer no response to that.

After the last mission, the barracks are emptier. Whoever is left is getting ready to leave. It’s the weekly Bloodiamond game night at Fern’s. The one to which I’m never invited?—

“Wildarrow, you coming?”

I lift my eyes from my boot to see Fern standing over me. Yeah. She’s definitely looking at me, waiting for my answer.

“Ah—I’m not?—”

“Sure as fuck she is.” Roman rolls out of his bunk with grace. He jerks his chin at Fern. “We’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

She nods and walks away with Bloom and the giant in her wake, the rest of the cadets following them.

I blink at Roman. “Did she just invite me to the game night at her parents’ estate?”

“Yes, she did. You better put that boot back on. Let’s go.”

I frown. “Why? She never did before.”

Roman shrugs. “The winds have shifted, the tide has changed, blah, blah, whatever blah. Who cares, princess?”

Quickly, I lace my boot back up and stuff my feet into the other.

“Are they going to try to kill me?”

“Not that I’m aware.”

I push to my feet. “But you’d tell me if you were aware this time around?”

Roman purses his lips. “Probably.”

Not very assuring, but I guess I’ll take it.

Roman drops a hand over my shoulders and walks us towards the door. “Come on, princess. You definitely earned one night of fun.”

“You’re fucking cheating!” Bloom points an accusing finger at Roman, who’s sweeping all the money in the middle of the round table towards the pile next to him while he cackles.

Roman sends her an air kiss, then chirps, “Just because you can’t play cards for shit, it doesn’t mean I’m a cheat, sweet flower.”

Everyone at the table bursts into laughter. Bloom snarls at Roman, but lets it go. Fern is already dealing another round.

“I had no clue you’re good at cards,” I tell Roman.

He sends me a flirtatious wink. “I’m good at many things, princess.”

I roll my eyes.

Fern Silva’s family estate is in Yursus, and it’s gorgeous. Reminds me of my family home in Wetra, with tall white columns lining the entrance and large windows all over the place that create that calming indoor-outdoor feel.

The table we sit at is made from heavy cream marble, and the chairs are upholstered with the softest velvet. I can’t stop running my hands over the arms of my chair.

I feel extremely out of place here tonight, but so far nobody has tried to drown me in the large fountain by the entrance. Everyone acts as if this isn’t my first time being invited.

As if all these motherfuckers haven’t been ignoring my presence and snickering at all the wild rumors circulating.

I knew Nightingale was influential, but I had no clue she dictated all the social rules for our group. Now that she’s gone, everyone’s hate for me seems to be gone, too.

Well, except for the giant, who’s been glaring at me from across the table all damn night. I’m not surprised, considering he was close with Kata. What does surprise me is that Bloom, Kata’s second lackey, doesn’t share the same hostility.

Fae politics are too complicated for me to untangle. At least tonight.

Without even glancing at his cards, Roman says, “I’m raising my bet by fifty frade.”

“You’re so full of shit, Roman,” Fern says, but raises her bet to match his.

I don’t have much spending money, but I also don’t have any expenses while I’m at the academy either. So, after a quick glance at my cards, I match their bet and wait for the rest to decide what they’ll do.

Bloom takes a generous swig of her fermented blackberry ale, wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, and tosses her cards towards Fern. “Fuck it. I’m out.”

The giant also raises his bet, and so do another two fae—Catalina and Julian. The rest join Bloom and toss their cards back to Fern.

After a few rounds, I can tell who comes from wealth by the way they play Bloodiamond. Fern, Catalina, Julian, and the giant play as if their pockets are bottomless despite Roman clearly winning most of the damn hands.

He’s definitely cheating.

I don’t believe for a second someone can be this good at this godsforsaken game of cards.

Fane was, and while she never admitted it to me, I know in my gut that she was a cheat, too.

My stomach sours at the memory of my family playing Bloodiamond after dinner, Fane always baiting us into increasing our bets right before revealing her cards. Oh, how much I miss those moments.

Fern pulls out the first card—Nine of Bones. Roman’s the first to go. Quietly, I watch everyone’s faces as they scan their cards. Marin pulls out the next one.

Six of Dragons.

Catalina slightly narrows her almond-shaped purple eyes. It’s such a small gesture, it’s easy to miss. But I don’t. She has been narrowing her eyes this way every single time she has a bad hand.

Next to her, Julian runs a hand over his lush blond hair before setting his card down with a neutral face. He’s been doing that every single time he has a bad hand, too.

The giant also has a tell—his nostrils flare slightly before he sets the cards down, leans back in his chair, and folds his arms, exerting all the dominance and intimidation he can.

It’s like a shield.

Fern was harder to figure out. She’s so…unbothered.

A light sneer always graces her purple lips, and she looks bored out of her damn mind at all times. However, when she inspects her cards and isn’t happy with what she’s seeing, one of her well-manicured purple eyebrows tweaks upwards ever so slightly.

Another card is pulled.

Twelve of Bones. Then Six of Dragons. I don’t have to look at my cards again to know I’m not winning shit this round.

“I raise a hundred more,” Roman says, tossing the heavy gold coins into the pile in the middle of the table.

The smug smirk he wears pisses me off. This bastard. I haven’t found a single tell so far. He’s absolutely unreadable. When he notices me starting at him, he winks again.

I toss my cards to Fern. “I’m out.”

I may have grown up wealthy, but after my family’s death, I have almost nothing. I don’t have the luxury to be reckless with my money.

“Giving up so soon, princess?” Roman purses his lips, eyes sparkling. “Where’s the fun in that?”

I scoff. “Giving away my money to you is not the sort of thing I find fun.”

“A pity.”

Fern and Catalina both snort a laugh.

“What? The royal coffers are empty?” the giant says, a mocking smirk curling his mouth. “Wetra isn’t doing as well as they want us to believe, huh?”

“I wouldn’t know anything about the royal coffers of Wetra, considering I’m not a damn royal,” I shoot back. Everyone’s looking at me now. “And I do not fuck my brother. In fact, I don’t have a brother.”

They’re silent.

I lean back into my chair, then cross my arms over my chest. “Any more rumors you have that you would like me to address?”

“Nah, I think that pretty much covers it,” Julian says and returns his attention to the cards.

“Did you make Kata disappear?” Fern pins me with her gaze.

It’s not accusing, nor it is hateful. It’s simply…full of cautious curiosity.

Before I say the words, I make sure I meet every pair of eyes around the table. “I had nothing to do with her disappearance.”

Fern shrugs. “Had to ask. After you almost drowned her in the flaming honey…it made us wonder.”

“Well, you don’t have to wonder anymore. I didn’t do anything to her. I’m as much in the dark as any of you are.” The lie slips smoothly from my tongue. “Anything else?”

“That’s boring,” Bloom says. “I hear so many wild stories about Wetrans. None of them seem to be true.”

I arch an eyebrow. “Stories like what? Incest?”

She cackles. “Not only. My grandma told me about the humans who live in the dry mountains of Wetra, who hunt other humans and then bathe in their blood. Afterwards, they skin their victims, break their skulls, and eat their brains because they believe that by eating their brains, they can steal their wisdom.”

A laugh bubbles out of me. “I’ve never heard anything more morbid and absurd than that.”

Bloom shakes her head. “As I said, disappointing.”

“My grandma told me stories of a human clan living somewhere deep in the woods who perform wicked full moon rituals that involve orgies and drinking sperm for longevity and vitality,” Catalina says.

Marin pulls out another card and sets it on the table. Seven of Cups.

“It’s not humans who do it. It used to be a practice forest fae clans engaged in,” Fern says.

Catalina purses her lips. “Ah, really? My grandma has a drinking problem, so she sometimes mixes up her facts, especially at her age. Now that I think about it, it sounds exactly like something fae would do.”

Everyone at the table laughs. I laugh, too. For a moment, my heart is light. I forget why I’m here, in Ekios, fighting for my place in the Order of Ezkai. I forget Daegel and the tear his betrayal left in my heart.

Just for a moment, I let myself enjoy the present and what life could look like, if only I let myself be.