Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1)(110)

Then she looked at the dice. A nine. She’d lost. His smile had been for comfort.

Soon she’d lose the entire Game, and it would be her fault both of them would die. Had she not been here, Levi could’ve played himself, and then he would have stood a fighting chance. All that bravado about trying to save him the way she should’ve saved Lourdes...she’d only made everything worse.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Fifty minutes left.

She refused to let them die because the timer ran out. If this was their end, it would be only after she took a chance and bet everything she had and never stopped trying.

Semper turned over the next card.

The World.

She was the first to place in her orb. Semper was second. She looked around and realized that there were three people already out of orbs, and the rest were observing indifferently. Their lives weren’t on the line. They already knew that she’d lose.

Only two players remained in the round. Semper played a four of hearts, and she played her three. All she had was the ace of spades, which meant if he played any spade, she’d lose because she’d have the highest card and would be forced to take them both.

He played the six of diamonds. Then he took her ace of spades, and she took the World.

Upon touching the card, the sensation came suddenly, inexplicably, and all at once. A pain radiated across her chest, starting at her heart and seeping through her veins. She felt feverish, hyperaware of ever pulse of her blood, every churn of her insides. When she closed her eyes and tried to determine the pain’s source, she had the eerie feeling that there was another presence inside her. A silhouette lurking inside the edges of her mind. Something that hadn’t been there before.

As the pain gradually faded, she became aware of a change in the room. Nearly everyone present was still and lifeless, yet she felt a cold energy in the air. There were threads everywhere. They weren’t something she could feel or see in a literal sense, but something she still understood was there. They hummed against the Shadow Cards, against the black orbs, against the timer. They circled around each of the players’ wrists, binding them—all of them but her. Even though the threads weren’t connected, they all felt as though they were part of the same fabric: different strings of the same piano. And the Game, she realized, was the song.

She nervously placed the World with the other Shadow Cards she’d won. Whatever had happened, whatever she’d thought she could sense—she must have been imagining it. She was at a breaking point of fear and nerves. For a moment, she’d cracked.

In forty-eight minutes, when the timer rang, Levi would die, and so would she. She needed to hold herself together. She ignored the strange sensation and returned her focus to the Game.

Levi blinked a few times, and by the way he did it, Enne thought he was trying to tell her something. A signal. He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, but she’d stopped paying attention. Semper had flipped over the next card, and she was determined to win it. Much of her panic from earlier was gone, replaced solely with resolution.

She won the next six Shadow Cards.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Twenty-eight minutes left.

More people joined in, but only a few. Most were out of orbs. They must have all started out with different amounts.

Enne had sixteen orbs left, and even in the near darkness of the room, she could tell Levi looked within inches of death. His skin reminded her of wax paper, and all his veins showed through, particularly around his eyes.

The next round went by, and she was the only player to bet—Semper already owned that Shadow Card. It automatically went to her.

Then three people bet. Enne won again.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

She lost the next.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

And won the one after.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Twenty minutes. She still needed four cards.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

But she was almost there. She was almost there.

There were five players left, including Semper and her. The other three played every single hand. They must have believed that there was a chance that Enne would win.

She won the next card. Fifteen minutes left.

And the next. Twelve minutes left.

Then she lost. Eight minutes left.

She won. Three minutes left.

Only Enne and Semper still had orbs to bet. He flipped the Hanged Man, but they both already owned that, so he flipped another. They both owned that one, too. And another. And another. It seemed that they were after the same card.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The Devil. When he reached it, there was only one minute left.

She couldn’t lose. The presence in her mind—the one she’d imagined—felt larger and more imposing. All the threads in the room hummed. The song was reaching its final movement.

Semper dealt them each two cards, moving slowly, so slowly, and she wanted to strangle him, she was so anxious and frustrated. He was trying to stall.

He played his first card. A four of spades. She had to follow suit, and the only spade she had was the jack.

Which meant she’d lost. She’d lost, and now they would both die.

Because not only would Semper have all the cards and win the Game, but the timer would inevitably run out. Only twenty-eight seconds left.

If she played her card, she’d watch Levi die. If she did nothing and waited, she’d still watch Levi die.

Twenty-four seconds left.