Chapter 29 · Every Table Lit

"Put the card down, Cole, or your sister loses another year." Eve's fingers locked around my wrist before I could slap the black card off the table.

The card burned under my palm. Not hot like fire. Hot like a brand pressed into bone.

I looked at her hand, then at her face. She stood close enough that her coat brushed my knee. Her breath touched my cheek, cool and sharp with mint. She had one hand on my wrist and the other resting beside the deck, where three masked dealers watched us without blinking.

"She isn't even here," I said.

"No."

"Then stop pretending this table is hers."

Eve leaned closer. "You want her back? You play for her debt. You want to walk away? You leave her soul in the Council vault. Pick one."

The room had gone quiet around us. Not empty quiet. Waiting quiet. Every table in the underground casino had a game running, but every player had turned just enough to watch me fail.

The black card pulsed beneath my hand.

A thin line of red ink crawled across its face.

SARAH MERCER — COLLATERAL.

My teeth clenched. "You said the debt was frozen.