Chapter 8 #2
I tried and failed not to shiver from the heat radiating off his skin. From this close, I could see the lines and shapes of every Skinscript symbol on his nearest arm, all the way to where they reached his neck. Looking at the lines that curved under his shirt I wondered how far down—
Nope. I didn't let that thought stray further.
“Six rounds,” Zevrial declared, scooping up the cards and shuffling them. “We’ll play one round for every person here to be the dealer.”
“Seven,” I argued, not at all repentant as his gaze snapped to mine with narrowed eyes. “Some of us need a warm up round to remember the rules.”
“Seven then,” he amended, giving me an indulging look. Watching the ease with which he shuffled the cards was making my nerves tingle. He was way too comfortable manipulating them to be a novice. “But I deal twice.”
Unease kicked to life in my stomach but I squashed it down. “Once for the practice round. Agreed.”
“Does everyone have at least seven coins?” Orin asked. There was a murmur of agreement.
“Let's go, then.” Zevrial dealt, again with a discomforting amount of ease.
We went through the warmup round far too quickly. And the three that followed that, with the pile of coins in front of Zevrial only growing.
Henrik was dealing this round, and the sour tilt of his frown told me that he wasn't pleased at how things were playing out.
He had been a real card shark back in the Reformatory, constantly hustling everyone.
I couldn't blame him for feeling surly, I didn't love the direction things were heading tonight, either.
Because Zevrial was cheating, even worse than Henrik. Zevrial had to be cheating, because he was barely paying anyone but me attention, and he was still winning every round.
After the first few rounds it was apparent that Orin and Benji were open books. Both of them had obvious tells, which was unfortunate for the rest of us. Orin scratched his ear whenever he lied, and Benji became a little louder, more confident. They were unlikely to win any rounds.
Our best hope lay with me or Henrik, and Henrik's odds were the best this round since he was dealing.
I schooled my expression before tilting my cards up enough to barely see them, letting them lie flat again immediately after. Two magicians, one tower, one sun and one queen. It wasn't a great hand.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I caught Zevrial staring directly at me again. Not my cards, me.
Keeping my expression blank, I blinked at him. He rubbed his chin with his fist, lost in thought. “You trimmed your nails,” he commented.
I frowned, disoriented. “What?”
“They’re shorter.”
It was both flattering and unsettling that he’d noticed such a small detail. If he paid such close attention to me, bluffing him would be impossible.
“And you shaved,” I fired back, feeling foolish as soon as the words left my lips.
Way to eliminate all doubt that you’re just as focused on him.
He tilted his head to the side, watching me with silent intensity. “I thought we were stating the obvious,” I lied.
Yeah, real smooth cover up.
His smile was slow and deliberate. He reached out, letting his fingertips dance against the backside of my cards, caressing them. My mind took the visual and ran away with it.
“Hands off the goods,” I growled. “Unless you want to be disqualified for cheating.”
He continued tracing my card stack, not moving his hand. “Are you even trying?”
No, I’ve decided to lose on purpose. I’m just here to look pretty.
“Yes,” I gritted, glaring pointedly at his fingers.
He pulled his hand back. “Careful, your eyes are almost completely black,” he whispered low enough for only me to hear. I dragged my gaze away from him and back to the game, cheeks burning.
We went around, taking turns swapping cards or keeping our current hand for three cycles before I called it. Zevrial won, yet again.
“Shit,” Henrik swore, pushing the pot of coins to the small mound building up in front of Zevrial. “How?” He glared at Zevrial who shrugged back at him.
I was dealing next. Scooping up the cards I shuffled them, taking my sweet time.
“You could let us win one, ya know,” I offered lamely.
“No can do.” Zevrial stacked his coins into small pillars. He had enough winnings to buy a week's worth of food. “I'm a man of my word. We're in this together.”
Sweat chilled along my brow. Not from the heat of him beside me, although that was also a factor. Sarina and I were dealing the last two rounds. The only two chances left.
I didn't have high hopes for our odds.
And things were looking less and less hopeful by the minute.
Should I try to tip things in our favor? I wasn't sure I would even be capable of doing something dishonest, not because of my steadfast morals but because of sheer lack of skill. I'd never learned how to cheat at cards like Henrik.
I passed the cards out, fighting not to nibble on my bottom lip. Even knowing Haburi tilted in favor of the dealer, one bishop, one magician, two swords and a king was a terrible hand.
I didn't let it show on my face, tipping my cards back down.
“Is it too late to surrender and avoid punishment?” Sarina asked in a thin voice.
Zevrial spared her a dry look.
Anxiety had Orin squirming where he sat.
Dread crept up into my throat when we lost the round to Zevrial as well. Henrik had stiffened, balling and un-balling his hands.
This was the final round.
I watched, dazed, as Sarina shuffled and dealt out the cards. Was this real? Were we all going to be kicked out of the outpost tomorrow morning due to our own recklessness? I squashed down the rising panic.
Sarina's fingers were visibly shaking as she looked at her cards.
Rosa held her cards up to her face and let out a delicate cough. Was she trying to pull off a subtle cheating maneuver?
Zevrial glimpsed down at a flick of his cards, face inscrutable.
Taking a calming breath, I held the air and willed my face to relax as I looked at my hand.
Three magicians, two bishops.
I held the breath a few seconds longer than needed after dropping the cards, the faint ringing in my ears receding.
This was a strong hand. Good enough to win.
I couldn't let relief show, especially before seeing how everyone else was reacting. Twisting in my seat, I feigned anxiety and peered around at everyone else.
Zevrial was staring straight at me.
“Eyes on your own paper,” I said. It won me another devastating smirk.