Page 131 of The Heir's Bargain

Riley groaned, slumping back in his chair, his fingers digging into his short, tight black curls.

Lukas shot back the whiskey in his glass. With the back of his hand, he wiped the dribble of liquid dripping down the stubble of his brown chin.

Riley banged his glass against the table, his bright blue eyes locking onto Terin. "I call for a rematch!"

Terin chuckled and scratched the back of his neck as an amused grin stretched across his face from ear to ear.

A hint of bitterness pooled in my stomach, but I shoved it away.

A drunken, heartbroken fool or not—I would always be happy for Terin.

We really shouldn't. It's not fair, Terin thought.

An ounce of amusement flicked at the corner of my mouth.

Originally, Terin had wanted to go easy on his boyfriend and Lukas. Since I was not in the mood for a game of cards, I had not argued with him. The game felt frivolous in the grand scheme of things. But once we started losing, Terin's competitive nature—a side he usually kept masked behind his quiet demeanor—slipped out. Then, all bets were off.

I feigned a smirk and took a sip of my whiskey. "Are you sure about that, Riley?"

Lukas' gaze snapped to mine. "Has that crown of yours made you cockier, Fynnie?"

I scoffed.

"That's not possible," Terin said. "His ego was already too large for that crown to begin with."

Riley spat whiskey onto the table as he fell into a fit of laughter. Terin's cheeks reddened, and he tried to cover it with a small drink.

I gasped, stabbing an imaginary dagger into my chest and twisting it. "Wounded—and by my own brother, no less."

"So, another?" Riley asked once his laughter died down. He began gathering the cards into a pile.

"Are you a glutton for punishment or something, Riley?" Terin asked.

Leaning back with his arm hanging on the back of the chair, Riley cocked his head as he held out the shuffled deck to Terin. "Or something."

I glanced at Terin, but his mind was sealed shut as he grabbed the deck from Riley.

Soon, the cards were dealt, and the game began again.

However, despite the smile on my face and the laughter slipping from my tongue, my heart was still aching. And for once, I was thankful that Terin's shields remained up, his love-sick thoughts kept to himself.

Chapter 37

DANI

A blood-curdling scream ripped through the man's mouth as I ran my blade through his chest.

Everywhere I looked, men with unmarked clothes surrounded us. In the middle of the night, they had ambushed us, coming out of the woods and up the cliffside. And we were outnumbered three-to-one.

Somehow, we had been betrayed. Whether by our informant or by someone else. Either way, the traitor would die. I didn't care if it was by my hands or someone else's. Their death would come.

Once we made it through the night.

The lifeless body of my opponent dropped to the ground with a thud. Iron soaked the air as metal clashed and blood spilled onto the ground. The moon was just bright enough to distinguish friend from foe.

I pulled my blade from the enemy, preparing to identify my next victim?—

"Dani!" Sylvia shouted, calling my attention.

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