Page 94 of Fortune's Kiss
Lo pointed at Mayté.
“Me?”Mayté asked in disbelief.“Why me?”
Misterioso eyed Lo suspiciously.“In order to keep your soul, you must answer Lorena’s questions truthfully.”
The room spun.Why would Lo do this?
No one had actually lost their soul in sudden death, but Mayté was almost certain what losing meant: sharing the same fate as Senor Vasquez, if not something much worse.
The card flashed and a parakeet flew out of it.Its colorful tail feathers trailed behind it like elegant ribbons as it landed on Lo’s shoulder.
“Ask as many questions as you wish until El Cotorro stops you.”
Lo gently stroked her finger under the bird’s chin.“Mayté, are you jealous of me?”
Mayté’s heart stopped.
Lo simply stared inquisitively with a knowing smile.
Mayté’s face burned.She became hyperaware of all the eyes on her.The gazes from the other croupiers, the other contestants.But most of all, she felt Lo’s eyes.
“I—I—yes.”Mayté couldn’t lie.“I have been jealous of you.”She looked down.
“Truth,” El Cotorro squawked.
“Why?”Lo asked.
Mayté’s head shot back up.Lo still smiled, brown eyes cold.Mayté clenched her fist, nails digging into her palms.“B—because all the boys adore you.They’ve always paid more attention to you and not me.”Her voice cracked.Vocalizing her darkest feelings—everything she despised about herself—hurt.“You’re the prettier one.And you’ve never had to worry about money.”She sucked in her cheeks, willing herself not to cry.
“Truth,” El Cotorro squawked again.
That wasn’t the full story.The truth was that it wasn’t Lo’s fault, and Mayté never held it against her.“But, Lo, I—”
“What about the croupier, Alejandro?”
Mayté’s heart stopped.
“What do you think of him?”
“H—he’s handsome.And kind.And … he makes me feel safe,” she rasped.
“Truth.”
“Please, no more,” Mayté whispered.
But Lo ignored her.“Do you want to save him?”
The uncomfortable, slimy humiliation hardened into piercing thorns.How did Lo know about that?“Y—yes.”
The room spun.If Lo kept prodding, would she make Mayté reveal the plan about El Beso de la Fortuna?Misterioso circled the table like a hungry shark, glaring eyes trained on her.
“Truth.”El Cotorro flew from Lo’s shoulder and headed for Mayté.“Reversal, reversal,” it squawked and landed on her shoulders.It dug its talons in, but she barely felt it.Her entire body was a mixture of terror and fury.
No one said anything.Not even Misterioso.Not until the Banker cleared his throat.
“A reversal,” Misterioso said quietly.He didn’t smile.“María Teresa, you may ask Lorena a question, which she must truthfully answer.”
“What?Why?”Lo demanded.
