Chapter 31 · Her Chips

“Put the card down, Cole.”

Silas Quinn pressed two fingers against the black table, and every card on it snapped faceup at once.

Eve’s card showed a single red line through the center.

Cole’s showed his sister’s name.

He shoved his chair back. “You cheated.”

“Of course I cheated.” Eve stood across the table with one hand braced on the felt. Her knuckles were split. Blood ran over the silver rings on her fingers. “That was the point.”

Silas smiled at her. “You lost on purpose.”

“I lost exactly the amount I needed.”

The room shook.

Not from an explosion. From the Council seal burning itself into the walls.

Black lines crawled over the stone, boxing them in. The doors vanished under a sheet of dark glass. Three Council guards stepped through the card table like it wasn’t there, their coats dry, their faces blank.

Cole reached for Eve.

Silas lifted one hand.

Cole’s arm locked in place.

“Don’t touch my broker,” Silas said.

“Then stop freezing me.”

“You don’t get to make demands.”

Silas looked at the card under Cole’s palm. “You wagered your sister’s remaining years. Eve wagered her contract. The table accepted both stakes.”

Eve’s jaw tightened.