Eenta smiles a little when our gazes meet, a cold smile that makes goosebumps pop up all over my arms. It’s all I can do not to pull my eyes away. “Little niece,” she croons, sitting up straighter in her seat, “I’m so happy you could make it. You got my note, I expect?”
“Yes,” I reply bluntly, squeezing my hands into fists at my sides, my nails digging painfully into my palms. “It was a little hard to miss. What, is just coming and telling me in person suddenly beneath you?”
Eenta laughs, the sound like a tinkling bell. “And here I was thinking we were starting to get along, little Karma,” she says. “It was a courtesy. Surely you would rather that than have the guards carry you out here?”
The subtle threat isn’t lost on me, and I struggle to maintain my composure. “What I would rather,” I tell her slowly, “is that you stop using the people I love as leverage to get me to play your sick games.” My eyes flicker over first to Storm, and then to the justice twins, who are watching the exchange with unreadable expressions on their faces.
“And where would the fun be in that?” Eenta replies, and puts her hand on Storm’s arm. I see that she’s painted her nails the same blood red colour as her dress, and a fresh wave of rage threatens to hit me, making me grit my teeth. “Besides,” she continues, “it’s so… fascinating watching your interactions with the others. You seem quite taken with them. And if I didn’t know better…” Her voice trails off as her gaze sweeps over Storm, practically undressing him with her eyes just as a way to spite me. I wish Storm would say something, do something - anything to reassure me that her so-called charms aren’t working on him, but he remains silent, his grim gaze fixed forward.
She has him in a box, too, I realise with a start, my eyes going wide. She’s threatening me just as much as she’s threatening him… and he knows it. For someone who claims to have feelings for Storm, she sure has a strange way of showing it.
I open my mouth to throw a jab back at her, but Storm meets my eyes at that moment, and gives his head the tiniest shake. It’s enough to make me hold my tongue… if only barely.
“I’m so happy you could make it,” Eenta says, and I nearly jump as Xur walks past me, followed by Gestune. I eye the red suit he has on, which is a shade darker than his hair and eyes. Gestune isn’t matching her brother and sister, choosing to wear a black cloak over a black dress with gold star clips. They move to go and sit next to Storm, almost like his bodyguards, while Eenta walks over to me as I get to the justice twins.
“My dear brother said I could decide the next game, wasn’t that nice of him?” Eenta sweetly says. I almost don’t see her as anything but poison wrapped up in sweet to fool you. She goes to place her hand on my shoulder, but I step back into Killian, who wraps an arm around my waist in a protective way. My eyes drift to Storm, who is tensely watching Killian and me. I know he said he couldn’t see this, and I don’t want to push him too far, too quickly. It would break my heart.
“We don’t have all day. Get on with it,” Seth growls, moving close to me and Killian, his hand brushing against mine.
“Fine, fine,” Eenta says and turns around. She clicks her fingers, making a table and three chairs appear. The circular table is gold, and the chairs are just the same. “Go and sit, and I shall explain.” Not that we have any choice, we move to sit on the chairs. In front of each seat are two silver-backed cards the size of my hand. The cards have stars on the back of them, but there is nothing else.
“What is this?” I demand. I’ve had enough of all this now.
“Just a little game. If you win, that’s one down. If both the twins win, that’s another game won, and then there would only be one left for your freedom you so desire,” she says, almost singing her words. Dear god, if this game turns into a musical, I’m going to jump off the nearest feckin’ cliff.
“Fine. Get on with the explaining,” I tightly suggest.
“This is my favourite game. See, the cards are magical, almost like they have a mind of their own. They know your fears, your desires and your deepest secrets from only one touch. To play the game, you each have to pick up your pair, and do what it asks. It might be a truth, it might be a dare...or it could be nothing. If you refuse, the cards will take payment, and it is never nice,” she says, and I stare down at the silver cards. Friggin’ hell, this sounds like a shite game.
“Who goes first?” Killian asks, looking between me and Seth. It’s clear who doesn’t want to go first. I’m also one of those people.
“I will,” Seth says when Killian and I are silent.
“Good luck!” Eenta says, a childish giggle escaping her lips before she runs back to the higher gods and Storm, who looks more uncomfortable by the moment. Why would they want him here? It seems like it’s done on purpose. I shake my head, knowing I need to focus on the game. It’s the only important thing right now. Seth looks at me, and I try to be strong for just a second for him. He takes a deep breath before turning the card over. It’s blank to me, nothing more than a white card, but the look on Seth’s face suggests it isn’t.
“What does it say, Seth?” I ask, wanting to touch him to comfort him a little bit. A tear runs down his cheek, and before I think about it more, I place my hand on his arm.
“It says my long-dead wife was pregnant when she died of cancer. It says that’s the truth I have to speak out loud to the people who I’m closest to and who can see right through me.” He barely gets the sentence out when the card burns away into gold dust. I place my other hand on his cheek, turning his eyes to me. That’s a secret he wanted to take to his grave, and he hates that so many people now know the extent of how much he couldn’t save her. Or his child. My heart hurts for him, but this isn’t the moment to discuss it. I almost hate that I can read him so well, because it means other people can do so as well.
“She loved you, and I bet she never once blamed you for that. Your wife and baby are safe now, in the sky where the dead dance to another song we won’t hear until we die. Seth, that wasn’t your fault, and she would not want you to live in guilt. You didn’t choose to be a god, to be immortal. I didn’t choose it either, and one day, I will have to watch my family die and pass on. My best friend will be gone. It will be us and Storm, and that’s what I hold onto. Can you do that?” I whisper all this to him, not wanting the higher gods to hear a single word.
“Thank you,” he tells me, and it’s enough that he can straighten his back and look stronger than he did a second ago.
“I’m next,” Killian says, though he is watching his brother in a more than concerned way. I pull my shaky hands back to my lap and watch as Killian picks up a card, and again it looks white to me as Killian reads it.
“Dammit,” Killian mutters, and he looks at me as he places the card down. “I’m in love with you, Karma Kismet. I didn’t want to tell you right now; I’d hoped for a more romantic place with fewer people around, but these cards are shit. Don’t you dare say it back or anything right now. Not like this.” I gulp as the skies suddenly get a little darker, and the wind gets colder than it ever was. There is no way Storm didn’t hear that. My heart beats faster as I smile at Killian, and the card in his hand burns away.
“Your turn, Karma,” Seth says, though he is tense. Everything is more tense than I wanted to deal with. I pick the card up, and instead of a blank white card, there is black writing on mine.
“You must choose the one you love the most and stab their hand with the dagger on your lap,” the card says, and I look down, seeing a gold dagger on my lap. Feckin’ hell, this game is crazy. I gulp, putting the card down and picking up the dagger. Before I think about it anymore, I flatten my hand on the table and slam the dagger through it. I scream from the pain, hearing the twins and Storm’s shouts. I cry out as the dagger and the card disappear into dust, and I look back to see Xur holding his hand, and Eenta is stopping Storm from coming closer. The pain doesn’t go as Killian picks up my hand, putting pressure on the wound.
“Did it seriously just tell you to stab yourself?” Seth demands, pulling his blue tie off and handing it to Killian. He wraps it tightly around my hand, and I bite down on my lip to stop myself crying out when it hurts like nothing else.
“It told me to stab the one I love the most. Clearly, I love myself the most, so...” I say, and they both laugh, though they don’t sound all too happy. “Come on, we need to keep playing.”
Killian picks up his last card and looks annoyed as he reads it. Killian quickly gets out of his seat, and his hands start glowing with swirling gold magic as he looks around us.
“Killian, on your left!” I shout when I see the black ghost-like energy rushing at Killian.
“A nightmare. One from a nightmare god that got free. Killian is scared of them.” Seth’s voice is nervous too. The nightmare thing scares him just as much. I’m speechless to say anything as I stare wide-eyed at Killian. We can’t help him; the game will never let us.
“Not helping my macho look, brother,” Killian shouts as he runs, jumping over our table and landing on the creature. He slams his hands into the stomach of the creature, and it makes a high-pitched scream as it struggles, fighting its way out of Killian’s grip. Finally, it bursts into black dust, and Killian falls to the floor. I itch to get up and go to him, but I have a feeling I’m not allowed to leave the table until the game is over. Killian picks himself up off the floor and comes back to his seat, looking worn out.
“You okay?” I gently ask him, seeing all the tiny cuts all over his arms. His eyes are wide, and he looks exhausted. I want to do nothing more than hug him.
“Yeah, I’m going to be fine,” he tells me. “Nothing like seeing your worst nightmare over and over inside that monster.”
“Killian—”
“Honestly, I just want the game over. I’m okay,” Killian tells me, and I know he means it. I want this game over just as much. There are only two more cards now; how badly could it go?
“I’m going next,” I tell Seth before he can pick the card up. It’s making me nervous to wait any longer.
“Nothing in the rules said we couldn’t pick them up at the same time. She just said we couldn’t turn both our own cards over at once. Hold my hand, we will do it together,” he suggests. Smart man.
“Didn’t have you down as a rulebreaker, brother,” Killian teases with a tired smile.
“Maybe some things change,” Seth replies, though he looks at me as he says it. I hope I bring out more of Seth’s wild side and less of the control freak I’ve grown to love. We pick the cards up at the same time, and I only look away from Seth to read it.
