Within three hands the portly player had lost everything. Pinky Finger was quick to follow, but Kalen couldn’t seem to get ahead. Every time he nudged the bet higher, the twins would either fold or bet so high he knew his hand wasn’t a winner. There had to be something going on. He felt movement at his back.
“They have a mind link.” Luna’s words were a mere whisper. “I can hear them speaking. Between their two hands, they can figure out much of the table.”
He contemplated Luna’s words, wondering if he should bring it up to the dealer or use it to his advantage. The dealer had to figure the twins were in communication.
Kalen only needed to get one of them out. Without the knowledge of a second hand, the other twin would be playing on an even field. Twenty minutes later he had his chance. He had been dealt four royal clovers and a sword. He bet before the discard, one twin folded, and the other twin stayed in but only discarded one card. He figured she didn’t have a great hand or she would have raised the bet, and he would beat her if he got another clover.
The single card was dealt to him, but Kalen didn’t even bother to glance at it. He needed to win this hand. He cast his glance toward Reiland, all while counting the amount of coins in the twin’s pile. When his time came, he bet just enough coins that she would have to go all in. It left him with little remaining, but not so little as to be put out of the game. Reiland had folded at the first increased bet, leaving Kalen and the twin. She glanced at his card, paused as if in communication with her sister, and gently nudged her stack of coins forward.
He exhaled hard and flipped over the card. Another clover.
The twin expressed no emotion as she turned over her hand. A five-card run.
He had beat her, but the game wasn’t over yet.
“Good game,” Kalen said in her direction as she stood.
She tipped her head to him and drifted away. Without an advantage, the second twin was easily knocked out. Reiland had a slightly larger stack of chips, but Kalen wasn’t concerned. He’d finally worked out the man’s tell. It was in the space in his movements. The length of time it took him to discard and pick up his new cards directly correlated to the strength of his hand. Within four more deals, Kalen had won.
Reiland rose from the table and walked out of the inn without a word. Kalen was used to all types of losers. This was honestly the best kind as it didn’t result in a physical altercation.
Adelaide appeared and thrust a large coin into his hand. “This is for entry t’morrow. Congrat’lations on your win.” Kalen thanked her and nodded his acknowledgment to the remaining patrons.
A shadow slipped out of the room, and Kalen knew it was time to follow. The hour was well after midnight, and his eyelids kept closing of their own volition.
When he reached their room, he noticed Luna was checking for exits, an obsession of hers. She pulled her head out from underneath the bed and sat on the thin mattress. She yanked off her boots and dumped them on the floor.
“Good job.”
“Thanks. And thanks for tipping me off,” he said. Luna’s ability had many uses, like uncovering the deceptions of eerie card-playing twins.
“I figured you all couldn’t hear their chatter, especially since it was so blatantly about the game.” She rubbed at her tattoos. “They were odd.”
Kalen removed his gloves and splashed cold water from the basin on his face. He took off his too-bright shirt and his boots, tucked his gloves beneath the pillow, and then collapsed onto the vacant bed. He rolled onto his side to face Luna. “So what did you learn?”
She settled with her back against the wall.
“I headed to the opposite end of the harbor. There’s a lighthouse and lookout post there, and I eavesdropped to see if there was any word about us having landed or news of the Impérial.”
“Any word of foreigners disembarking?”
She shook her head. “Nothing of the sort.”
“And the Impérial?”
“It arrived just as Milo predicted. The Antioegens obviously weren’t expecting the ship, as they used some sort of light system to send word down to the wharf. I made my way to the harbor, even passed Belrose’s office tucked to the side. He and Jasper were settling in.”
“Did they see you?”
“No, I stuck to the rooftops.” She lifted her hand to cover a yawn.
“You can skip to the good part. We can talk logistics in the morning.”
“Only two people came onshore.”
“Admiral Richard?”
She shook her head.
He paused. “Anyone you recognized?”
She shook her head again. “They weren’t dressed in royal colors. One of them was tall and thin. Huge black pupils. I couldn’t see any white in his eyes.”
Ryndel’s henchmen most likely. Kalen gripped the key around his neck. The question was were they after Belrose, or had Ryndel sent them after Kalen and the prince, too? “What happened when they disembarked?”
“A group of Antioegens met them as soon as they stepped on the pier, and asked them to state their business. I couldn’t hear what they said, as they spoke into the wind. They produced a sealed scroll, which the patrol quickly glanced at and returned, and then wished them a pleasant stay.”
“Did they come into town?”
“No, they rowed to the Impérial, but it’s still anchored offshore. I’m sure they’ve slipped back onto land by now. We need to be extra careful.”
Kalen sighed. “Yes. But first sleep.” He threw a couple of blankets on the floor near the door in case Cirrus wandered in at some point, but for now he suffered no guilt in taking the bed.
The moonlight still lit the room after Luna turned down the oil lantern sitting on the night table next to her head. She tugged the blanket to her neck. “Good night, Kalen.”
“Good night.”
THE INNKEEPER WAS still in the dining hall when Kalen snuck downstairs early the next morning. Cirrus had tripped in as the sun rose and fallen asleep among the blankets. After an hour of listening to his snoring, Kalen knew he wouldn’t fall asleep again and decided to venture to the main floor.
A broom grasped in both hands, Adelaide swept the crumbs and bits of trash dotting the distressed wooden flooring.
She glanced up. “Good morning. What can I get ya?”
“Tea and pastries to take upstairs?”
She bustled off to the kitchen, returning a few moments later carrying a tray laden with ceramic dishes of all sizes—a steaming pitcher, cups and saucers, a container for cream and one for sugar—and several pastries filled with almond paste.
“You did well last evenin’,” she said as he traded her with coins from his pocket.
“Tell me more about the tournament,” he asked.
“Starts seven o’clock sharp at the royal amphitheater. You’ll give ’em your coin, and they will tell you which table. There’s fifty of ya playin’.”
“And the entire town attends?”
“Most folks who isn’t workin’.”
Kalen thanked her and maneuvered his way up the stairs. He shoved open the door with his boot to find Luna braiding her hair into an intricate plait. Her cheeks were red from the icy water she must have used to wash her face.
“That one won’t wake up.” In the time Kalen had been gone, Cirrus had climbed into the bed closest the window and lain on his side, trying to curl into what little sunlight made its way through the dirty glass.
“Rise and shine.” Kalen’s voice boomed purposefully in the small space.
Cirrus groaned and yanked the quilt over his head. “What time is it?” he mumbled.
“Time for your nap to be over. We have a task to accomplish. Seriously, is this what you do at the castle every day?”
Cirrus lowered the quilt and squinted at him. “You haven’t earned the right to question what I do or don’t do with my time.”
“Enjoy your nap then. I plan on finding your sister.”
Cirrus sat up and reached to pull on his boots, only to find them still on his feet. He frowned and then shrugged. Kalen handed him a pastry, and he nodded in thanks. He took a huge bite, and crumbs drifted to the floor.
“Chew with your mouth closed.” Luna looked nauseous. “Didn’t anyone teach you manners?”
“I thought we were going incognito here?”
“Speaking of going…” Kalen leaned against the door. “I’m curious about your ventures last night. But first…” He shared the information he’d obtained about the tournament and how he’d won an entry. Luna revealed everything she’d learned about the Impérial.
“And you?” Luna asked Cirrus. “What do you have to contribute to this journey?”
The prince took another bite, making sure to chew and talk at the same time. “The girls really didn’t have much to say.”
“Oh, were their mouths too busy?” Luna sprang to her feet. “Let’s get out of here.”
“No, their mouths weren’t too busy.” Cirrus held up his hand. “They told me that the fortune-teller at the edge of the marketplace could fill us in on all kinds of information. She’s a token reader.”
“Lead the way.”
THEY STEPPED OUTSIDE into an overcast morning. The city looked duller as it reflected the gray of the sea and clouded sky.
They reached the shoreline and made their way through the stalls. Luna drew a good amount of attention, even with her hair wrapped in the Antioegen scarf again. Kalen kept watch for the black-eyed man from the Impérial but instead locked eyes with one of the eerie twins from the card game. She was purchasing herbs from a merchant, but her gaze followed them as Kalen urged the trio quickly past.
Farther down the lane, a merchant crooned to Luna. “Polished stones for the silvered jewel?” Kalen paused to glance at the rocks, wondering if anything would have been used for magick or a pendant, but they were mostly opaque, tumbled stones. The merchant followed him for several yards, trying to convince him to buy some for the lady.
A cluster of silk-clad women swept down the aisle, taking up nearly the entire width of the street. Their array of patterns and colors could have been the jewels on a crown, a bit ostentatious for daylight hours. One woman knocked into Luna as she brushed past.
Luna blinked twice and watched as the girls continued along the walkway to stop in front of a booth selling perfumed oils and cosmetics.
Kalen asked if she was okay, but Luna’s attention had already moved to a miniature yellow rabbit hopping around on a table just ahead. The lifelike animal was no bigger than a coin. Kalen suspected magick, until the merchant flipped it over and showed them a windup device located beneath its tail. From under the table, he lifted a basket with a variety of animals. Luna picked out a small songbird and gave the merchant some coins.
“I’m surprised you didn’t just steal one,” Kalen muttered. “You don’t have a lot of coin to waste.”
“It’s a gift for Amya. And don’t worry. It wasn’t my coin.” Luna raised an eyebrow and turned to look in the direction of the woman who had jostled her. A glimpse of fabric appeared at the bottom of Luna’s sleeve and then snaked back up her arm. She’d relieved one of the peacock women of her purse.
Cirrus urged them onward. “This way.” He wound through the crowd, growing in numbers as the morning began edging toward noonday. At the main walkway he turned right and then made another right down the next path. They finally stopped a few stalls away, and Kalen stared at the woman out front. She was dressed in fluttering silks, her hair braided with colorful ribbons. She called to the crowd, “Embrace your future. Renounce the past. Uncover the answers to even the smallest of questions.”
Cirrus waved them toward the token reader’s tent. He ducked inside, and Kalen followed through the slitted fabric.
Luna stood inside the curtain, her eyes flitting around the room from one odd object to the next. Finally, she plopped down on a brightly embroidered silk pillow resting near the exit.
“My name is Genevieve.” The woman looked at each of them in turn. “Do you have an object you’d like me to examine, or would you rather I read your cards?”
“Actually, we had a couple of questions to ask you,” Kalen started. “About magicked items.”
“First, I read cards.” She handed a deck to Cirrus, asking him to make several cuts before nudging them together in a single pile. Genevieve spread the cards on the low table sitting between her and Cirrus. She reached out her hand and seemed to debate between two cards lying side by side. Finally, she chose one and turned it faceup. She selected another two and turned them up as well. After a moment of brief evaluation, she gathered the remaining cards and piled them at her side.
“The queen of suns.” She pointed to the first card, which showed a queen resting on a chaise longue, her hand lifted high as her palm cupped a sun. “In this first position, this card speaks to your history. The queen is offering you clarity in the form of energy and heat. You have recently discovered something new, but, like the sunrise each day, it’s always been there, hovering off the horizon.”
That certainly sounded familiar. Kalen wondered what exactly the sorcier could see.
“The three of daggers.” Genevieve pointed at the second card. It showed three men in a circle, with daggers thrust upward to meet in the middle. “In this second position, the card speaks to where you are today, at this moment. The daggers are a volatile suit, but the three is one that speaks to harmony and a unity of opposites. A compromise of sorts.”
That was vague enough. Kalen tuned her out and turned his attention to the objects in the room. A painting sat propped against the tent wall, its gilded-frame corners causing dents in the fabric. A lidded vase rested on a small shelf stretching across the back wall. And next to it was a small chest.
An ornate chest.
A small, ornate chest that looked distinctly like the one they’d seen on the island.