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The Princess plucks a card from Talis’s hands and lifts it to show me. “Black cards are a drink. Blue cards are a kiss. Red cards are a truth, and white cards” — she wiggles the white card she holds — “are a dare.” She slaps the card onto the tabletop, thrill lighting her eyes. “So what will you dare me to do…” Her eyes flick around the table until they land on her brother. “Prince?”
I settle against the back of the booth and take a solid swig of my drink.
The Prince gives his sister a devilish grin. “I dare you to steal a thread from someone in the crowd.”
The Princess rolls her eyes and shoos Talis away. She scoots from her place in the center of the booth. She draws back the curtains so we can watch and strolls leisurely to the balcony. “Your dares are always so dull,” she drawls and flicks her wrist.
My mouth drops open as a thread whips out from somewhere in the crowd below and sinks into The Princess’s palm in an instant. Never in my life have I seen anyone extract a thread so easily or with so much power. It’s unheard of.
Talis sees me gaping at The Princess and barks out a laugh.
“She enjoys putting on a show,” The Prince grumbles and drapes his arm over the back of the booth behind me. He settles into his corner with a smirk and nods to his sister. “You call my dare boring? Well, here’s the rest of it: I want you to read the thread.”
The Princess tenses. “You can’t just add to your dare.”
“That’s illegal,” I blurt out, then blush as the three of them lift their brows at me. “I just mean it’s forbidden by the Heir. To read a thread would put a beacon on you.”
The Princess laughs at that, but The Prince gives her a pointed look and she shuts her mouth.
Talis leans forward on the table. “I got the sense you didn’t care about forbidden things, Zora.”
I scowl. “Normally, I wouldn’t. But I’m here to do business, and I can’t do that if your Bosses go to prison before the night is out.”
“And what business is that?” The Prince asks, picking up a piece of my hair at the back of my head and toying with it.
I swat his hand away and give him a stern look. “You clearly know who I am, so you know what I do. I need an income, and I’m looking for a new Boss — orBosses— to provide me with employment.”
The Prince considers it. “We can discuss it later.” He turns his attention from me to his sister. “But first, I want to see her read that thread.”
The Princess pinches the thread between her fingers and it wiggles vigorously. “Fine,” she says and closes her eyes. The moment she does, the thread sinks into her skin, pulling up into her fingers. She grunts as it must tunnel through her body to her mind.
I tried reading a thread once before, and it was so painful, I never tried again. Now, I simply keep them in my pouch or allow others to extract them from me, but I never take another’s beneath my skin.Never.
The Princess shakes, and I grip the edge of the table, ready to launch myself toward her and catch her when she passes out. Instead, she relaxes, her eyes flash open, and her lips pull apart as ripples of light flutter under the skin of her face — flashes of another’s memories from the thread. “A boy turning sixteen,” she whispers, “and his mother kisses his forehead gently. He’s being sent off to another kingdom to live with his father, and he’s crying,sobbing.” Her bottom lip trembles as she must feel the boy’s sadness.
Then, as quickly as the memory came, the light beneath her skin vanishes and she blinks a few times. She shivers and stomps back to our table. “Gah, I hate sad threads.”
“Then next time pull a happy one,” Talis suggests.
She glares at him. “Iwouldhave ifsomeonehad given me the full dare.” She turns to her brother. “You’ll pay for that.”
The Prince adjusts his mask with an amused expression. He reaches over to the stack of cards and takes the one off the top. “Let’s move on.” He reveals his card, and his nostrils flare with annoyance. “Dammit,” he mutters.
“Oooh!” The Princess immediately brightens at his blue card.
A kiss, I remember.A blue card is a kiss.
Chapter Three
Talisboltsupfromhis chair and grabs the Princess’s wrist. “Huddle,” he demands and pulls her off to the side.
They whisper between each other, and I slowly pull myself from the booth. They hadn’t asked me to join them, but if they’re planning something for The Prince, I should get a say.I’m in the game too, right?But before I can get out of my seat, they both turn back to us excitedly.
“Kiss Zora,” The Princess squeaks, and Talis elbows her in the ribs.
“I saidno,” Talis shoots at her as The Prince goes rigid beside me.
“After the stunt he just pulled on me?” The Princess growls toward Talis, then she turns back to her brother with a taunting gaze. “Kiss Zora or lose the game.”
