Iris~~
"The game is called Tela," Bently said shuffling the deck of cards he'd made. I truly didn't know he had any arts and crafts skills before then. Neither of us had seen Colton in hours since he had left us to chase Vienna around Abella's and Alix's palace.
"If it's a card game"—I took a sip of the whiskey and soda he had mixed me—"why are there knives?"
*****
Bently and I had a lot of free time in France—it wasn't as if we knew about the murders the entire time that we were there—and he might have taught me some games that people would say he shouldn't have.
"But you're supposed to be his second," Aries protests across the table from me, his voice grating my ears. As far as I know, Jonas has never played Tela.
"I wouldn't be much of an opponent, I'm sure, but you can indulge me, can't you? Call it a wedding present."
The Tresais opens his mouth, but Tomen cuts him off, "Let her play."
"I'm happy to be her second," Jonas says, and based on the innocence of his tone, he has no idea what being a second entails.
Two more servants appear with covered trays. They remove the lids before pouring what's underneath onto the center of the table. The knives clatter against the marble as another servant passes a deck of cards to each player.
I hope the wide eyes I raise to meet the Beta's are enough to convince him that I'm confused. He raises his eyebrows, a challenge, offering me the chance to back out. Instead, I look at Jonas nervously.
"I don't remember you mentioning knives, Beta," he says.
"Didn't I?"
Jonas turns to TomenONLYONWATTPADBENDERwho sighs, casting a glare at the Beta.
"Once you have a set or six ascending cards, you grab a knife, and everyone else tries to as well."
"It makes it exciting," another Order member offers as he spreads out the knives.
"You're sure about this?" Jonas looks at me, and when I nod, he presses a kiss to my forehead.
As the Tresais arranges his cards, Brielle's lips curl to the side. "Might I make a request?"
Aries pauses dealing. "Yes?"
"Since we're already changing our normal routine, why not have the players take the dares? It's not against the rules."
The Beta looks as if he's been scandalized, even halting in the middle of scooping up his cards. "But it's what we do."
Brielle shrugs, sweeping her eyes over the rest of the table. "I believe your partners and wives are tired from traveling and would like to rest. You are the ones who wished to play."
"She has a point, Alee," Tomen says, and maybe it's because the has Preeminence spoken, but the Order agrees—albeit reluctantly.
Brielle turns around in her chair, signaling to a waiter for a glass of champagne. As she does, she dips her chin to me—I think wishing me luck. It was she who told me—or perhaps warned me—that the way to win the respect of her husband's Order was through Tela.
*****
Bently, Percy, and Enzo all held a knife, and I was the one who was empty handed. From the other side of his desk he had cleared off, Bently looked positively wicked. Yet again, he had won the round. He was concerningly good at taking a knife without anyone noticing. Attempting to pay attention to not only him but Sebastian and Percy and my own cards had been stretching my focus and eyes. Every time I came away from a game of Tela my eyes felt like I had stared at a screen all day.
I waited for Bently to deliver his dare. Jonas had left with Colton on a business trip that morning, and without the Preeminence around, Bently could issue almost any dare without the fear of being reprimanded.
Not that either of the brothers would have had any idea what we were doing. Bently refused to invite Colton to our soirees, and Jonas didn't really enjoy cards games.
Bently pointed the tip of the knife into the table. It wouldn't do anything to the wood. We only ever used rubber practice knives. "Go into Colton's office and move stuff around, just enough that he knows something's off but doesn't know what."
*****
Aries announces the round has begun, and I sort through my stack, quickly discarding cards to be able to replace them from my draw pile. When I collect two eights in separate suits, I flick my eyes up. No one has grabbed a knife.
After four more cards, I pick up the one I need. I don't hesitate to grab for the hilt of the closest knife, and once my fingers are securely wrapped around it, I yank it toward me. These are real knives. Even a slightly wrong move could have me bleeding. Bently had wanted to move on from the practice ones, but Percy and I refused. Tobias, though, whenever he'd join us, would push for them.
Grabbing the knife triggers a flurry of hands in the center of the table. The knives glint in the lights set up around us as they're scraped against the marble, creating sparks.
In the end, it's Aries who is without one.
He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. "Who won?"
Silently, I lay down my set.
The Tresais's eyes flash, but it's not anger I detect in them. Rather surprise. "What will you have me do, Mrs. Blackwood?"
"What do you usually ask of seconds?"
"Anything."
"That's rather vague."
He smirks. "Well?"
I furrow my brows. "I would like to defer until a later round to get an idea of what is usually done."
The Beta's jaw tightens. "You can't defer a dare."
I raise my brows like he did to me earlier. I've yet to make any progress on being only able to raise one at a time. "The rule book says that a player may defer their challenges until the game has been called."
Jonas fights to maintain a straight face, but I know he's just as surprised as the Order.
"You said you didn't know how to play," the Iota says.
"I never said that, Iota. I merely asked questions. Everyone needs a refresher once in a while."
Tomen collects his cards. "She's right. The rules do say she can defer." He turns to the Beta. "You would know, Alee, if you bothered to actually read the rules."
Alee shoots him a glare. "Very well." He waves his hand. "Aries's punishment will be deferred."
We start the next round, and it's not long before I've collected the cards that I need. I'm the first to snatch a knife, and this time Aries is quick to grab one right after me.
I lay my cards on the table and frown at the Iota who did not manage to get a knife. "I wish to defer once more."
The Iota works his jaw but nods.
*****
Bently refilled Enzo's glass from the whiskey decanter. It was already past one in the morning, but Bently had insisted the three of us keep playing though we started at eleven that night. Jonas had almost joined us, but Colton suddenly had had a mid-night crisis.
"I didn't ask for more," Enzo said, staring at his glass.
Bently rolled his eyes and sat back down before picking up his cards. "If you don't know how to win Tela drunk, you've already lost."
*****
I win two more rounds, deferring each dare. Tomen wins the next, and it's his Zeta who loses.
"I want you to serenade your wife," Tomen challenges.
And the Zeta does, terribly, with no hesitation. With how much he draws out and warbles the words, I only understand a few here and there, but based on Jonas's shocked and concerned expression, he must understand it perfectly.
In the next round, I'm the first to take a knife, and it's the Beta who loses. Yet again, I hold my dare. I win two out of the next four rounds, the Zeta once more losing, but this time to me. I still need the Delta, Epsilon, Digamma, and Theta, but I have little to no control over who ends a round with no knife.
I beat the Eta and Undici again, this time issuing dares, one being to chug a glass of champagne, the other to kiss the shoes of his wife.
In the next round, I'm once again close to making a set when I hear scrapping and an arm flashes in the corner of my eye. I throw my hand out for a knife, but they're all gone. The Tresais, Aries, lays down six ascending cards and smirks.
I square my shoulders. If I don't complete whatever challenge he issues, I'll lose their respect, and then I'll lose the game.
"I've noticed you haven't had anything to drink all night besides water, Mrs. Blackwood." He raises his hand, signaling to a waiter who steps forward and leans down so Aries can speak in his ear. After a moment, the waiter nods and leaves. "Is it that you've been offered nothing that you like? The wine made in these mountains is some of the best on Amoria. Or is it that you're pregnant?"
Jonas's body tightens as if he's ready to jump from his seat. "That is not an appropriate question, Tresais," he grounds out.
I squeeze his hand and look at Aries. "It's not that, Tresais. I've been dehydrated and wanted water."
The same waiter returns to set a small glass before me, filled with a dark brown liquor.
"My dare is to take a shot?" I try to sound amused, but I'm certain I fail.
"We're not all on an even playing field. After all, the rest of us were drinking throughout dinner."
"Fine." I throw back the shot and set the glass on the waiter's tray, and for a few seconds after, my head swarms. If I lose because of one shot, Bently will disown me as his cousin, so I sit up straighter, tilting my chin back. "I hope I can take a bottle of that with me when we leave."
The next round begins, and when I win it, Aries jaw tightens, though it's the Digamma who loses.
In the following round, I cut my hand but still manage to get a knife; though, I'm not the winner. Brielle offers me a clean napkin to wrap around my hand, but I decline. It will only make it difficult to hold the cards, and it's not as if I didn't cut my palm plenty of times when learning how to throw knives.
At this point in the game, almost every card has a bit of blood on it, and despite the blood smearing across my cards as we play the next hand, I win.
I only need to beat two more Order members, and then I'll have all of them save Tomen. But I don't need to challenge him.
I discard a six of moons, but the next card I get is a six of planets. I would have almost had a set had I kept it. But it's okay. I can't freak out. I have to keep going.
The Order starts grasping for knives. I go for the one closet to me, but Tomen grabs it, and when I try to go for another, they're all gone.
The Beta, who's won, challenges me to take another shot, and this time when it goes down, I have to close my eyes as I attempt to force my mind to stay level.
But Bently taught me how to play tipsy and then drunk. Not just how to play but how to win. I can still do this. Because it's for him—Jonas.
Maybe it's due to Bently's voice in my head that I win the next round, adding the Theta to my list. When the Digamma declares he's getting tired, I only need the Epsilon. I can't imagine there will be many rounds left.
Jonas offers me a glass of water, and I gratefully drink it. I truly hate shots. They're usually a waste of alcohol.
I start the next round off with two planet cards, a three and a four, in my pile. I discard card after card to be able to pull from my draw pile, but the cards I need just aren't coming.
The Zeta grabs for a knife, and I reach for one out of Tomen's range. When my finger hits the blade, the knife spins. I grasp for it, the blade slicing at least three of my fingers, but I don't let go.
I have to win Tela.
After the loser of the round completes his dare, the next one begins. It's not long before I have my plan of action made. I have two sevens—one a planet and one a star—and two fives— these a moon and a star. I discard the other two cards in my hand and pull from my draw pile. No one has taken a knife yet.
If I win, I'm one step closer to going home with Jonas, with him as Preeminence.
Card after card, I go through the draw pile, but it isn't giving me what I need. They're going to end for the night soon. I—
Breathe.
I draw my next card. A seven of moons. I don't hesitate, immediately wrapping my fingers around the hilt of a knife and drawing it to me. I clutch it, as if it's the only thing giving me energy this late in the game.
And whether it's a blessing or a miracle or maybe fate that it's the Epsilon without a knife in the end, I don't know. If I wasn't already seated, I'd collapse under the relief that crashes down onto me.
"Well?" He tilts his head. "Are you deferring again?"
"No." Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I push back my chair, standing. "I'm ready." Jonas's fingers brush the skirt of my dress, and I meet the Orders' eyes. "Undici. Douze. Zeta. Tresais. Beta. Theta. Digamma. Epsilon. Iota. Eta. Delta. I dare you to go against the wishes of the Head Order and cast your vote in favor of my husband. The rules of Tela say a dare does not have to be met, but I believe you have more pride than that." Inclining my head, I offer a curtsy. "I'll bid you all goodnight."
I don't allow myself to study their faces before I head for the stairs. My hands tremble, and my legs feel as if they're going to collapse. My nerves are shot. I've fought rebels, and I've fought the Society, yet a card game has managed to do this to me.
As I descend the stairs, the Tresais says, "You chose well, Preeminence Blackwood."
I manage to make it down the stairs before I sag against a wall.
It worked. It actually worked.
"Iris."
I look up at where Jonas stands on the stairs. The look he gives me nearly buckles my knees. He descends the rest of the stairs, and each step is a thump of my heart.
I push away from the wall and then his hands are on my face, his mouth covering mine, and I'm back against the wall, Jonas's body keeping me there.
"You're amazing. Absolutely amazing." He kisses me, fingers tangling in my hair, pulling it lose from its chignon. "How?" he asks breaking the kiss.
"Brielle said it was the best way to win them over."
"Why didn't you tell me about the game?"
I cup his cheek in my palm. "I didn't want you to worry about the knives any longer than you did."
He pulls my hand away from his face to study it. The skin is splattered in red splotches, but it's no longer bleeding. "Did Ean use up all the first aid supplies?"
"Possibly. But I've had worse."
He tenses, his eyes dropping to where the bullet had hit, the one I thought had been his.
"I meant just other cuts."
He nods but looks troubled.
I kiss his cheek. "One more Order and then we can go home."
He places his hand on my hip. "To Gadfrie then."
"I didn't think you'd both be here," I hear Ean say. He descends the stairs as Jonas pulls me closer. "When my father's Order learns you've won over Surielius, they'll do whatever they can to stop you from winning Gadfrie. Just . . . just be ready."
He passes by us, disappearing around the corner up ahead.
I meet Jonas's eyes.
"Don't worry." He guides me away from the wall, placing a hand on my lower back. "You could use a long hot bath."
"I'm sure you could as well."
He grins, pushing away any signs of the troubledness that had been plaguing his expression moments before. "You know, I've noticed that our bath takes up a terrible amount of space for only one person."
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