Page 26 of Champion of Cards

Now she hesitated before she matched my chips.

I wanted to be greedy and add more, but if I pushed her too much, she would fold. I knew she had a good hand, but I had an exceptional one. “Ladies first.”

She put down her cards. It was a good hand, a hand that would win another round.

But mine was better. The second my cards hit the table, her eyes turned guarded in disappointment.

The dealer pushed the chips toward me.

Now she grew flustered because she only had three chips left. Compared to my enormous pile, it was nothing. There was no chance she could come back from this. She might as well fold the entire match.

But she continued to play, using the same strategy, doing whatever she could to stay in the game, winning some chips, losing some chips. It was obvious the audience grew bored because we all knew she was just avoiding the inevitable.

I raised my bet.

And to my surprise, she did the same. She put all of her chips in the middle, either because she’d given up or because she believed she could take it all.

She put down her cards.

I put down mine.

And won.

She sat back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

The dealer pushed the chips to me. “Lana has been eliminated. And Fang is the winner of the Champion of Cards tournament.” A loud round of applause erupted from everyone in the audience.

My eyes moved to Kingsnake and Larisa. They clapped harder than everyone else, their smiles infectious.

I felt my mouth stretch wide, an indescribable warmth inside my chest, a numbness in my fingertips. All I’d ever wanted was to be the best card player in the Kingdoms…and now I was. Every year, I’d had to read about the winners in the newspaper, knowing I would be able to beat them all if I just had the chance. Now I’d finally had my chance…and I won.

The dealer brought the winnings. The silver trophy, the Golden Card on a chain, and the bag full of coins.

My fingers touched the necklace, and I examined the Golden Card. Inside the material was an engraving.

Champion of Cards

Year 9220

My finger brushed over it as I continued to smile. “I did it…”

Kingsnake and Larisa came to me.

Kingsnake clapped me on the shoulder. “Congratulations, Fang.”

“You did it!” Larisa hugged me, falling into my lap slightly because she was so much smaller than I was. “I knew you could.” She cupped my face and kissed me on the cheek. “I love seeing your smile.”

“Come on, let’s put it on.” Kingsnake took the necklace out of my hand and placed it over my neck.

The metal plate rested against my chest on top of the fabric of my shirt.

I looked down at it as my fingers touched the cold metal. “Thank you, guys. It’s a dream come true…”

* * *

We sat at a table together at the pub across the street.

The necklace was in my hands again so I could stare at the Golden Card, to appreciate the fact that it was truly mine…that I’d earned it.

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