Page 17 of Queen of Spades

“We were sharing things,” I muttered, shoving past him to head down the hall. Anders grabbed me and pushed me into the wall, keeping his hand fisted in my shirt as I faded out of view. This was the closest he’d been to me in ages, and the tension between us was palpable, shimmering with barely contained hostility.

“You told her?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I did,” I replied, but he didn’t let go, holding me still as he stared at the space where he figured my eyes would be.

“All of it?” he asked, and I noticed a barely perceptible change in his tone. It was… softer? I frowned, unsettled by his tone.

“No, not all of it. She doesn’t need that right now. Just knowing… it upset her. She needed to lie down,” I muttered, dropping my eyes to where he was gripping my shirt.

“She needs to know, to understand,” he pressed, his face hardening.

“What does it matter?!” I snapped. “That’s not even on my fucking list of concerns right now! She just told me…” I sighed, wrenching myself out of his grasp. “She told me that her power isn’t working anymore. She said that it’s gone.”

Anders stilled in front of me, his face blank as he processed what I’d just said. I left him to it, continuing downstairs to Erik’s office. Jesse was with him when I walked inside, and they both looked up at me nervously.Jesus, word travels fast in this damn house.

“Grace’s powers are gone,” I announced, avoiding the preamble. I was signing for Jesse’s sake, but realized he couldn’t see me anyway, so Erik filled him in. I heard the door open behind me as Anders joined us, and I shifted to give him some space in the now slightly cramped office.

“I don’t understand. How can they be gone?” Jesse signed, his eyes wide.

“No idea. Maybe the drugs did something to her? Or the trauma?” I replied, rubbing a hand over my face.

“It’s just a day for fucking problems, I guess,” Erik muttered. “Doug is on a rampage. Three of Hasting’s crew were jumped outside Dante’s last night. All three of them were tortured and dumped in the alley,” he explained.

“What’s the message? Oh wait, let me guess ‘Give me back my sister’.” I rolled my eyes, my hands clenching into fists as I tried to calm down.

“Not quite.” He grimaced and held out his phone. I winced at the sheer brutality that had been inflicted on the three men, their bodies so badly mangled only one was stillmostly intact. Someone had ripped off his shirt and taken what I could only assume was a sharpie to his chest.

“All the King’s horses

And all the King’s Men

Couldn’t put Gracie

Back together again.”

Chapter twelve

Grace

“Gracie, take your medicine.”

“Just relax now, let it out, don’t you want us to feel good?”

I struggled, breaking free of the hold on my arms. I buried my light deep into my chest, curling around it protectively. They couldn’t take it, it was mine! The floor was cool against my skin, and I crawled toward the door, my vision blurring as I fought against the drugs and the exhaustion in my bones.

A foot landed on my back, pushing me down and making me cry out. Hands gripped my ankles, tugging me back as I screamed, kicking and twisting.

The scene morphed around me, rippling and fading abruptly, the hands on me disappearing into smoke. Sitting up, I recognized the blue walls, the surfboard propped up in the corner.What’s happening? Is this a trick?Rolling over, I found Jesse laying next to me, smiling at me with his blue piercings flashing.

I woke with a strangled sob, relief flooding my chest as I looked around and saw the familiar green walls of Erik’s bedroom, where I remembered falling asleep. The bed dipped slightly, and the blood froze in my veins. It was déjà vu when I rolled and found Jesse next to me. A sense of calm washed over me, and I nearly burst into tears as I tried to consolidate all of the emotions pulsing through me.

“You did that,” I murmured, tapping my temple. Nodding, his smile never wavered, even as he reached out and wiped a stray tear off my cheek. I shifted closer, tucking myself into his warm frame as he molded himself around me, his hand sliding over my waist to press against my lower back, drawing me flush against him. I had questions, likewhat time is it? Did I sleep another day away? Is everyone safe?But they stayed inside as I nuzzled my cheek into the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of ocean and pineapples—the smell of the wax he used on his surfboard, apparently. The smallest ember of heat flickered to life in my core, warming my limbs as I pressed into him, my lips grazing over the tattoo under his ear.

A soft grumble escaped Jesse’s chest, and he shifted, rolling onto his back and leaving me bereft of his warmth. I sat up, propping myself up on my elbow and frowning at him. He was watching me sheepishly, a rosy blush blooming over his cheeks, making him look absolutely adorable. “Sorry,” he signed at me. I was confused, my sleep-addled brain trying to catch up, until his hand dropped down to adjust himself in his board shorts.

Oh… humiliation washed over me like a cold shower, and I sat up quickly, moving down to the end of the bed, my legs unsteady as I got to my feet. Jesse scrambled up afterme, signing too fast for my poor brain to interpret. “Sorry,” I signed back, retreating away from him as he approached. I was close enough to the bathroom, so I turned and fled inside, closing the door behind me and breathing a shuddering sigh as I backed away from it. Jesse’s footsteps retreated quickly, and I closed my eyes, pressing the heels of my palms against them as I struggled to get a grip on my fucking emotions.

Wren had warned me about this. The pill they’d given me had thrown my hormones out of whack, so I’d feel out of sorts for a week or more at least. But that didn’t explain Jesse’s reaction to me.Had it all been a lie, like Douglas said?They wanted me for what I could do, and they’d used my naïveté to get it? Or was I too broken now, damaged goods?My stomach rolled as hot white rage flooded through me.

---