Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1)(113)

They hurried out of the alley, away from the direction of the sirens. Enne pointed ahead, where a yellow phone booth stood below a streetlamp. They raced toward it.

“Do you have volts?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She rooted around her pocket, pulling out a tube of lipstick, the gun and the silk mask. All the girlie necessities, apparently.

Finally, she pulled out a small orb, bright with volts.

They slid into the phone booth. Enne held the orb up to the meter, and Levi stood behind her. There wasn’t much space, so his chest was pressed against her back. He coughed awkwardly and drummed his fingers against the metal counter, waiting for her to suggest he wait outside. She never did.

Outside, the distant sirens approached. They didn’t have much time.

“Is it safe to call the phone operator?” she asked hurriedly.

He reached over her to the number pad. “Vianca has a private line.”

After he dialed the numbers, Enne held the phone up to both their ears. He held his breath, listening to the ringing. Enne’s face was only inches from his. He stared at all the strands of hair that had fallen from her bun and now draped across the slopes of her neck and shoulders. She had goose bumps, he noticed.

“This is St. Morse Casino, Vianca Augustine’s office,” the secretary answered.

“We need a motorcar,” Enne said frantically. “At the...” She squinted at the Mole station outside. “At the Paidalle station.”

“Who is this?”

“It’s us,” Levi growled. “We need a car.”

“Oh. Oh. Yes. I’ll tell her—”

“And send another car to Luckluster Casino,” Enne told her. “There’ll be a girl there. Tall. Fair skin. Top hat. Black laced boots. She’ll be looking for us.”

“Yes. I’ll let her know.”

Enne hung up. “I hope Lola’s still there, but it’s been hours.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, even if she’s gone.” Levi held his breath. Bent over like he was, his mouth was awfully close to her neck. He cleared his throat. “We need to find somewhere to wait.” A place where there wasn’t negative space between them, and where they wouldn’t be so exposed.

Levi opened the glass door and stumbled out. They stood on a strip of sidewalk that cut down the middle of a street, forking it on either side. The shops around them were closed, metal security doors down and locked. With nowhere else to wait, they climbed down the steps of the adjacent Mole station and collapsed in a corner—close enough to the exit to still hear the sirens and faint noise of the city, but deep enough inside to remain out of sight.

Both of them panted.

“How long will we wait, do you think?” she asked.

“Maybe thirty minutes. We’re a long way from St. Morse.”

She cringed, and their eyes met. Anything could happen in thirty minutes. They could be dead in thirty minutes.

Swallowing down his panic, Levi stretched out his legs and winced at the burning in his muscles. They sat shoulder-to-shoulder, legs out. Enne, he realized, was barefoot except for the socks. Her hand was outstretched beside him.

We will survive this together, he thought, sliding his hand toward hers. But taking it would be as much for comfort as it was for desire. They were on a run for their lives—temptation never came at the proper time.

A rumbling filled the halls as a train sped through the tunnels below.

“My eyes,” she whispered. “How am I supposed to hide them?”

She locked her gaze with his, and, again, he was taken aback by how changed her face looked. How her aura had once smelled of a Gambler’s Ruin, but now also smelled of smoke.

How very difficult it was not to kiss her.

“You’re in luck,” he said, shifting nervously, knowing he should put more distance between them. He didn’t. “Because it so happens that I have the world’s most uncomfortable pair of blue contacts in my pocket this very moment. Perfect for concealing royal lineages and cheating during card games.”

“You’re mucking with me,” she said, eyes narrowed. “You’re doing that face.”

“What face?”

“That smirk of yours.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the case of contacts. “I can make you better ones, at some point. These will do for now.”

“Why do you have these?”

“A series of very poor decisions. Just put them on.”

She walked to the nearest advertisement on the wall and studied her reflection in the tarnished glass. “I don’t even look like me.” Her voice was a mix of both wonder and bitterness.

As Enne struggled to put on the contacts, Levi once again contemplated whether this was his last chance. The sirens outside echoed into the night, and when Levi closed his eyes, he still heard the sound of the gunfire that had ended the Shadow Game.

It would be easy. He would beckon her closer, grab her hands and close the distance between them. If not for her, he would’ve died tonight, and he would’ve died alone. If death was still their fate, then why shouldn’t he kiss her just like he wanted? Just like he knew she wanted, too? In Luckluster, he’d seen his desire reflected in her eyes. They might have survived the Game, but who was to say they would survive the night?