Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
Max had us return to the Final Wager to wait until the brink of curfew following the spat with Damien.
The Lower District flouted the Governor’s warnings, obvious by the whistles blowing in the streets, the lights from the cars glowing across the windows.
Downtown was alive with only moments until midnight.
“Elli wants to go out for a quick drink,” Max spoke through the crack in my door. “Get dressed.”
I had been a recluse in my bedroom all evening, resting so I could prepare for a long night.
I’d asked Elli to distract the group for the night, and she’d denied any association with my plans by not inquiring why.
Now that the group was leaving for the night, and curfew would keep them away until morning, I had a perfect opportunity to find the address on the card.
From the bed, I called back, “I’ve decided I’d rather not. Just go without me.”
He cracked the door wider, looking inside. “I’m not leaving you here alone all night.”
“Why not?”
He shuffled on his feet. “Because… What if Damien tracks you and takes you?”
“There are guards all over the property for the club. No one’s getting up here. Why are you so worried?”
“Nina—”
“I don’t want to go, alright? Just enjoy your night.”
My sharpness was out of character, and he knew it. Instead of leaving as I wished, he entered the room slowly, taking stock of his room. My suitcase on the armchair, the blinds drawn shut, a single gas lamp burning as the only source of light on the bedside table.
“A few days ago, you were all dressed up to go to a den. You couldn’t wait to see more of this part of the city. Now you’re hiding in bed. What’s wrong?”
I groaned, pulling the covers higher over my shoulder. “Nothing is wrong. You wore me out in the ring. I just want to stay in tonight.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at me. “Do you regret what happened? Because if you do, we can forget it—”
Pushing off my pillow, I sat up to grab his face in my hand and pulled him close. Max understood my request, meeting my lips in a quiet, simple kiss. He lingered as I drew back, as if waiting for more. “Wake me when you come back in the morning, and I’ll show you how much I don’t regret it.”
“Maybe I’ll stay here then.” He dragged a thumb over my bottom lip.
“I’m not going anywhere.” I nearly flinched at the lie. “Go enjoy yourself, and then come back and enjoy me.”
He smirked at the idea. “Alright. We’re going to head to Ronny’s before curfew starts.”
“Ronny’s, huh?” I arched a brow.
His lips split in a wide grin. It was such a rare sight, so strange on his sharp face. “Just for drinks and some meetings. Nothing else, I promise.”
I cocked my head. “Meetings with who?”
“Ronnette and her assistant, mostly.” He cleared his throat, looking away. “I need to start convincing the people to stay on my side. Even if I beat Damien tomorrow, some might not respect it. I need support. I also want to make sure Damien stays away from the brothel tonight.”
“Shouldn’t he be taking advantage of his training time? You think he’ll be out tonight?”
“If he’s smart, he’ll take advantage of it. But Damien isn’t known for making intelligent decisions. I’m sure he’ll be preparing in a different way for the fight tomorrow.”
I nodded. “It sounds like you’ll be very busy. It’s a good thing I’m not going.”
“You are very distracting.” His voice fell into a raspy growl, and his gaze found my lips again. I shoved him away before he enticed me. A clock nearby warned of the late hour, and the longer he stayed here, the less time I’d have for my own endeavors.
Before that, however, I wondered if there might be another way. “Max? Elli told me about the girls at Ronny’s and how they give blood to some of their Cursed patrons. Would you ever—”
“No,” he said quickly. “I don’t feed. You know this, Ace.”
I nodded. “I know. But I just thought, without the dice, perhaps you could take blood just this once. Protect yourself. You could…” I twirled the ends of my hair, unsure how to ask this. “You could take mine, for example.”
Max’s stare fell to my neck, and a surge of chills brushed the backs of my arms, prickling with excitement. To my surprise, his head dipped low to fill the space above my shoulder. I hadn’t expected him to pursue the idea, but my head fell to the side in reaction. Opening for him.
The barest brush of his lips against a bounding pulse was as close as he got. He whispered against my throat, “No, Nina. I’ll win this fight without blood or relics.” Max pulled away, his eyes soft on me.
That was it, then. He was forcing my hand. If he wouldn’t claim power from a bloodline, from me, then I had no choice other than to get those dice back for him.
“Just an offer.” My smile was small, but it still convinced him. “Now go, before the roads close. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He sighed, finally standing to leave. Each step was slower than the one before it as he left, and just as he reached the door, he stopped.
“Is there something else, Max?”
The words rushed out of him. “CanIcallyoumine?”
“Excuse me?”
He took a deep breath, turning halfway to face me. “Can I… call you mine, Nina?”
My heart sunk into my stomach. He was so sincere about it. This hard man I’d seen murder criminals and guards without blinking, who’d been ripped apart and stitched back together again, who didn’t know how to ask for forgiveness, much less ask for my heart.
I wasn’t sure what was happening between us, but I was powerless to resist it.
“Yes, Maxence. I’m your girl.”
He nodded once. “Just wanted to make sure, so I can threaten Damien properly next time.”
The smile he’d left on my face burned my cheeks long after he’d shut the door, and then I felt worse than I had all day—because I was lying to him. I waited until the front door opened and shut, waited a little longer after that, then I jumped out of bed and dressed for the night.
The guilt faded some when I found the die he’d left in my possession, the last line of power he had left without the other two Damien had stolen. I had to get them all back to ensure he’d win. Everything was on the line for this fight, Max’s life included.
After seeing them both side by side today—Damien drunk off Archetype blood with the strength of steel while Max was in clear denial about his disadvantages—I knew what had to be done.
I grabbed the card Damien had given me when we first met and the Vitalis die to defend myself should I need it. The blood he’d spilled across the stiff paper had revealed an address. I had to be careful, finding this place. If he was tricking me, I wouldn’t have much time to pivot my plans.
One of the guards for the Wager got me a carriage after I paid him off with some crowns Max had lying around in a drawer.
One of the last ones lingering around the pub, as curfew was beginning at any moment.
He drove us through thinning traffic toward the Upper District, to a posh neighborhood far from the bars and taverns and clubs associated with the rest of the Cursed.
Either the opium business was thriving, or Damien had higher connections.
These areas were known to be owned by the merchant families who voted on the Council, and it showed.
The cobblestones were evenly paved to keep the wheels steady and the ride calm, and the streets were cast in gold light from brilliant streetlamps.
He came to a stop a block from a gated community, opening the grate to speak to me. “The street is just ahead, but you’ve got constables guarding the gate. Would you like me to continue? They’re searching the cars…”
Coming from the Wager, he’d assumed my business wasn’t completely legitimate. I wasn’t going through the gate or being caught by a copper tonight. “Here is fine. I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
“Are you sure?” the driver asked through the grate. “Curfew is starting. You won’t be able to get a car back if I leave.”
“I’ll find my own way, thank you.”
Before he could warn me against this, I was out of the carriage and crossing the sidewalk toward the gated street, avoiding the attention of the constables checking the cars entering the neighborhood.
With the Vitalis die, everything sharpened.
My ability to see in the dark improved enough that I could cross an alley without worrying if someone was hiding in the shadows.
Every detail was crisp, outlined to reveal any secret.
My vision could see farther and clearer than ever before, including a darkened walkway leading behind the fence line of the gated community.
This die was really growing on me. I understood why Max had been hesitant to give it up.
The coppers didn’t patrol here, I noticed. There had been a pair watching the entrance to the strip, but none posted inside. I cleared a fence and a yard, temporarily using the other side of the strength bloodline to lift myself over the spearing fence posts.
The lawn was plush and well-manicured, silencing my steps. Golden light made spot beams across the grass, and I kept to the shadows against the house to avoid being noticed by anyone inside passing a window.
The multilevel mansions here were spaced apart, not stacked together like the tenements in the Fissures or even the townhouses of the Lower District.
Iron fences lined each property. The gate leading to the yard where I trespassed groaned as I passed through to the sidewalk, alerting a dog inside the house to bark relentlessly.
I sucked a deep breath and counted the numbers on the mailbox, keeping my hood over my face and my gun tucked behind me in my waistband. The address on the card led to the farthest end of the block, a stately estate that sprawled over several lots, crowding the cul-de-sac.