Page 116 of Vicious Princess
Well, except for the giant, who’s been glaring at me from across the table all damn night. I’m not surprised, considering he was close with Kata. What does surprise me is that Bloom, Kata’s second lackey, doesn’t share the same hostility.
Fae politics are too complicated for me to untangle. At least tonight.
Without even glancing at his cards, Roman says, “I’m raising my bet by fifty frade.”
“You’re so full of shit, Roman,” Fern says, but raises her bet to match his.
I don’t have much spending money, but I also don’t have any expenses while I’m at the academy either. So, after a quick glance at my cards, I match their bet and wait for the rest to decide what they’ll do.
Bloom takes a generous swig of her fermented blackberry ale, wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, and tosses her cards towards Fern. “Fuck it. I’m out.”
The giant also raises his bet, and so do another two fae—Catalina and Julian. The rest join Bloom and toss their cards back to Fern.
After a few rounds, I can tell who comes from wealth by the way they play Bloodiamond. Fern, Catalina, Julian, and the giant play as if their pockets are bottomless despite Roman clearly winning most of the damn hands.
He’s definitely cheating.
I don’t believe for a second someone can be this good at this godsforsaken game of cards.
Fane was, and while she never admitted it to me, I know in my gut that she was a cheat, too.
My stomach sours at the memory of my family playing Bloodiamond after dinner, Fane always baiting us into increasing our bets right before revealing her cards.Oh, how much I miss those moments.
Fern pulls out the first card—Nine of Bones. Roman’s the first to go. Quietly, I watch everyone’s faces as they scan their cards. Marin pulls out the next one.
Six of Dragons.
Catalina slightly narrows her almond-shaped purple eyes. It’s such a small gesture, it’s easy to miss. But I don’t. She has been narrowing her eyes this way every single time she has a bad hand.
Next to her, Julian runs a hand over his lush blond hair before setting his card down with a neutral face. He’s been doing that every single time he has a bad hand, too.
The giant also has a tell—his nostrils flare slightly before he sets the cards down, leans back in his chair, and folds his arms, exerting all the dominance and intimidation he can.
It’s like a shield.
Fern was harder to figure out. She’s so…unbothered.
A light sneer always graces her purple lips, and she looks bored out of her damn mind at all times. However, when she inspects her cards and isn’t happy with what she’s seeing, one of her well-manicured purple eyebrows tweaks upwards ever so slightly.
Another card is pulled.
Twelve of Bones. Then Six of Dragons. I don’t have to look at my cards again to know I’m not winning shit this round.
“I raise a hundred more,” Roman says, tossing the heavy gold coins into the pile in the middle of the table.
The smug smirk he wears pisses me off. This bastard. I haven’t found a single tell so far. He’s absolutely unreadable. When he notices me starting at him, he winks again.
I toss my cards to Fern. “I’m out.”
I may have grown up wealthy, but after my family’s death, I have almost nothing. I don’t have the luxury to be reckless with my money.
“Giving up so soon, princess?” Roman purses his lips, eyes sparkling. “Where’s the fun in that?”
I scoff. “Giving away my money to you is not the sort of thing I find fun.”
“A pity.”
Fern and Catalina both snort a laugh.
