Crown of Iron (Book 1 of the Crown Trilogy)

Twenty

"Tough luck, Elle," Greer says, pulling the coins in the center of the table to her side.

"You're a bit too excited to be taking the money of a man who isn't here to defend it," Ulric says, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

Greer turns to me and asks, "Are you playing to the best of your ability?"

"Sure." Kyron's satchel—which started as the largest pile of coins—is substantially smaller. And truth be told, I played the card game to the best of my ability. But I also don't feel bad about losing his money. Like Ulric said, he should be here.

"Then I'm not taking it." She shifts the coins around to make neat stacks. "I'm earning back every dime that rotten cheater took from me."

"He's told you he doesn't read your feelings during cards; you just can't keep a straight face. Notice how you have only won against Elle. She doesn't know how your lip twitches when you have a good hand." Terro lifts a brow and smirks.

"I'll show you a twitch," she says, aiming her fist toward his dark-brown bicep.

He jumps from his seat yelling, "Mercy, I claim mercy!"

The laid-back way the three of them banter reminds me of my siblings, and it makes me a little homesick. They are so carefree when they're not restricted by their duties, and I wonder how Kyron fits into their dynamic. Is he the friend who remains quiet and shakes his head at their immaturity? No, I bet he brings an endless supply of brooding sarcasm.

"Pathetic," Greer sneers, but her eyes reflect the truth—she adores her friends. "Sit down and let me prove you wrong."

She shuffles the deck and divvies out the cards face down.

"Remember that time Ky played cards with the West Camp's commander and cheated him out of his horse?" Terro asks, taking his seat and watching Greer from the corner of his eye.

Ulric laughs. "And his officer's jacket. I'll never forget the next morning; he strutted right across the training field with it on, and Abrum lost it."

I sit up straight at the mention of my father. It's the first time I've heard anyone speak of him since I arrived, and I want to absorb every word.

Greer kicks back her whiskey and says, "Abrum made him wear it for two weeks straight; told him if he so much as caught him bathing without it on, he would have his hide."

"And he wore it for those two weeks and then returned it to the commander without washing it," Ulric adds.

"Oh, he smelled so bad." Terro waves his hand in front of his nose. "I swear he did some nasty shit in that jacket just to pay Abrum back. But we all suffered from his stench."

"Abrum rode his ass hard, but there was never a doubt that he loved Kyron," Greer says, her rich voice losing some of its luster.

The knot squeezing my heart is on the verge of unbearable. I don't understand how the young Stigian leader came into power, but I know the most intelligent and selfless person I've ever met chose him. If he won the respect of my father, then I must trust he is doing the right thing.

"He would be proud of Ky. He'd be proud of our entire band of misfits," Terro says.

"That he would." Ulric raises his glass and the rest of us follow suit. "To Abrum, may the Statera watch over him until we can drag his ass home."

"To Abrum," we repeat, clinking our glasses.

I welcome the sting of the spicy whiskey flowing down my throat, dulling the ache of my broken heart. My father is loved and missed, and his rescue is still important to his soldiers. A flicker of hope burns within me. I'm not alone in my fight; they will help me bring him home.