Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)(73)
Zariza realized what was going on and gave me a speculative look. Driscol blundered along just like he had through the rest of the game.
Zariza managed to win the next round with a jack of crowns, and I tossed her a ten of hearts, the highest card I had left besides the silberkling. Every point that Maximus didn’t get furthered my own goal.
Maximus’s lips pinched together, and his smug eagerness flared up into annoyance again. He won the next round, then took control of the game once more, using a combination of trumps and high cards to win those points. But with each round, the tension around the table grew and grew, and the smell of the crowd’s collective curiosity filled my nose. They were all wondering why I hadn’t played the silberkling yet.
Everyone except Cho.
I glanced over at the ringmaster. He’d taught me the strategy, so he knew exactly what I was doing, and the dragon on his neck winked at me in approval. I hid a grin and turned my attention back to my cards.
On the very last round, Maximus played the five of swords, his final trump. Zariza laid down a queen of coins, while Driscol offered up a ten of crowns. I leaned forward and laid my final card—the silberkling—on top of the others.
“Why, look at that,” I purred. “I had a trump card left too. And since my trump is higher than yours, then all the cards in the armory are mine too. Let’s see how many points you left in there for me to steal.”
Maximus’s lips pinched together a little tighter than before, and his nostrils flared in anger. I gestured at the dealer, who flipped the armory cards over and started calling out the points.
Maximus might have had a strong hand, but he’d still had to put four cards back into the armory. They were mostly low cards, but they slowly added up. That number, combined with my silberkling and the points Zariza had thrown me in the final hand, was just enough to ruin the Mortan king.
The dealer looked at Maximus. “I’m sorry, sir, but you didn’t make your bid. That means you lose those points, and that our winner is Queen Everleigh.”
The dealer cringed as he said the last few words, obviously afraid of what the king might do, but Maximus just sat there and stared at the cards as if he couldn’t believe what had happened.
Surprised gasps rippled through the ballroom, but they were quickly drowned out by my friends, who started clapping and cheering.
“Yeah! Way to go, Evie!” Paloma yelled.
“Fantastic game, highness!” Sullivan chimed in.
“Well done, my queen!” Auster added. “Well done!”
Serilda and Xenia were also grinning and clapping, while Cho let out a loud, earsplitting whistle.
Smiling wide, I got to my feet and shook hands with Zariza. “Good game. And thanks for throwing me those last few points,” I murmured. “That helped put me over the top.”
Her amber eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “I’m just glad one of us beat that bastard at his own game.”
I turned and shook Driscol’s hand as well, but he was utterly deflated, and his fingers felt as cold and limp as a dead fish against mine. Finally, I faced Maximus, who was still seated.
“You shouldn’t bid if you’re not absolutely certain you can win,” I said.
He didn’t respond, but anger sparked in his eyes, and he smelled of rage. Most people probably would have taken their victory and left it at that, but I decided to rub his face in it some more.
“Well, it looks like I am now the proud owner of a strix,” I drawled. “Tell me, does it have a name? Or do you just give them all numbers?”
Maximus slowly pushed back from the gaming table and stood up. His nostrils flared, a muscle ticked in his jaw, and the scent of his hot jalape?o rage blasted over me again, even stronger than before. Mercer, Nox, Leonidas, and Maeven all tensed, as did the other Mortans gathered around them.
For a moment, I thought Maximus was going to renege, but he jerked his head, and one of the Mortan servants pushed the cart over to my side of the table.
I leaned down and stared into the cage. Lyra stared back at me and quirked her head from side to side, as if she weren’t quite sure what had just happened—and why she wasn’t being butchered.
Maximus turned his angry glare to Zariza. “This is your fault. You deliberately gave her those points at the end.”
“Of course I did.” Zariza proudly tossed her long red hair over her shoulder again. “I got the idea from Driscol. Perhaps he’s not such an idiot after all. And perhaps you should have played a better hand, Maximus, and not relied on your lead to see you through to the end.”
His face darkened with even more anger, but she calmly took another sip of her brandy, then smirked at him over the rim of her glass.
Maximus’s fingers twitched, as though he wanted to blast her with his magic, but he faced me again. He didn’t so much as glance at Driscol, who let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Enjoy your new pet, Everleigh,” Maximus muttered. “For as long as you can.”
Just like Zariza, I smiled in the face of his obvious threat. “Oh, I intend to.”
The Mortan king stared at me a moment longer, then whirled around and stormed out of the ballroom.
Maximus disappeared through an archway, heading deeper into the castle. Mercer shot me a nasty look, as did Nox, and the two of them hurried after their king. Leonidas hesitated, clearly wondering what I was going to do with his beloved strix, but Maeven clamped her hand on her son’s shoulder again and steered him after the others.