Page 60 of Voice of the Ocean

“Would you like to play a game?” he asked.

Celeste tilted her head to the side, questioning.

“War and Bones? Have you played before?”

She shook her head, unable to contain a smirk. Of course humans had a game called “war.” When her eyes fell back onto him, her breath caught. The soft light of the lamps shadowed the contours of his face, emphasizing the cut of his cheekbones and his jaw. Raiden wore an unreadable expression as he looked down at her. He was unavoidably beautiful. Dangerously so.

“It’s a simple enough game. Best hand wins. I normally play with a wager, but since you’re new, I’ll spare you the humiliation for the time being,” he said with a grin.

She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Oh, feeling confident, hero?” He lifted an eyebrow. “Why don’t I teach you, and we’ll make a wager.”

Appeased, the two sat down on the deck as he shuffled the cards. Celeste was rather good at games from playing with her sisters when they were children and confined to the palace, although they played with shells or other tokens. Still, despite Raiden’s warnings, she liked her chances. He carefully explained the rules as he shuffled, but most of the words fell through her as she focused on his hands. They flexed and moved with the cards, shifting them deftly, splitting them, then sliding them back together again. Finished, he placed ten cards down, alternating between them so that each had five.

Raiden took another sip of wine.

“Any questions?” he asked, his eyes boring into hers.

She shook her head, but it was a lie. Celeste always had questions. Just none about the game. She recalled he said something about matching the colors. A groan escaped her lips as she looked at the cards. They were either red or black, but there were also little symbols and numbers on them. Some even had pictures. At least she knew some of the numbers now. But what was she supposed to do?

Celeste’s brow furrowed as she rearranged her cards, placing ones with similarities together and discarding ones she couldn’t match. Once both were finished, Raiden dealt new cards to replace the old ones. These, too, were organized based on her invented system.

“Still wish to continue?” he asked with a smirk. “You don’t look confident in your hand.”

Celeste stuck out her chin and nodded.

“Fine, show me your cards,” he said.

Running her left hand down her skirt, she placed the cards from her right hand upon the table. Raiden appraised them and let out a low whistle.

“And you said you never played.” He chuckled. “Now let’s make things interesting.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

It may have been the exuberance of victory, but she smiled at him. A true, honest smile. Raiden’s expression slid off his face as he looked at her, and Celeste’s grin faltered. Had she done something wrong? He looked to the cards, sweeping them back into his hands.

“What shall we wager?”

Celeste stilled. She had nothing to bet. Even the clothes on her back were borrowed.

“It can be anything. A truth?—”

Celeste’s lips pressed into a hard line.

“A cookie?—”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he laughed. Although she had nothing to offer, she wasn’t about to play this game for cookies like afry.

“All right. How about whoever loses must grant the winner one wish. Anything that is within their power to give.”

A wish? It sounded a lot like her deal with the Sea Witch. But this wasn’t a siren deal. It wasn’t bound in blood and magic. It was only a game. What exactly could he ask her for anyway? Surely he knew she had little to give. Perhaps he would ask for her share of the treasure. Whatever it was, he likely wouldn’t live long enough to receive it—although she didn’t much want to think about that right now, not when she was enjoying his company. Anyway, shehadwon last time. Even if he was going easy on her before, she felt confident in her cleverness. So Celeste reached out her hand toward him, in the human way she now knew. When Raiden took it, his touch made her heart hammer.

“Deal,” he said, eyes flashing.

And somehow she wondered if she’d come to regret this. She took her five cards, her assurance growing with each move she made. Although the cards did not form as many patterns as they had before, Raiden’s expression looked downright murderous. He moved the cards back and forth through his hand, a wrinkle forming between his brows. It was terribly amusing watching him squirm. The prince clearly wanted to win. Raiden dealt more cards, and his mood only worsened. With a smirk, Celeste tapped him on his foot with her shoe. Teasing.

“Stop,” he grunted, not looking up from his cards.

---