AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I tried to contain my amusement to be a good sport, but as soon as Stella let out a chuckle, I burst out laughing. He glanced over his shoulder, giving me an annoyed look. “I’m sorry, Miles,” I laughed, trying to steady my now shaky hands. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, Rhia, but it won’t be you who’s laughing in the end.”
Oh, it’s on.
What the two of them didn’t know was that since I was the one who created this obstacle course, I may have allowed myself some time to practice and create a layout for how I would stack my cards. Some may consider that cheating, but I considered it a strategy.
I began on the first level of my stack by creating triangular peaks of two cards to sit at the base. With my bottom row completed, looking like small mountains, I began to stack cards flat on top of them to create a floor for my next level of cards. I repeated this pattern over and over. Peaks then flat, peaks then flat, using a smaller number of cards each time so my end result would look like a pyramid.
I took my time on the stacking, knowing even a big breath could topple the rickety tower. I had about three more levels to stack on my house with ten cards left to use. I looked over to my left and saw Stella doing very well, having only a little less than half of her deck to use.
My eyes flicked to Miles to see his progress and my eyebrows rose. He was using the exact same strategy as me, and he had caught up.
“Using the same strategy as someone is cheating!” I yelled across the tables at Miles.
“And practicing beforehand isn’t?”
The fact that Miles knew me so well warmed my heart rather than hurt it.
“How dare you accuse me of such things!” I said dramatically, with a knowing smirk on my face.
In all honesty, I thought that it was going to be a breeze beating Miles in the competition. I purposely put the beam aspect in it, too, to give myself an extra advantage. So, considering Miles had caught up to me, and that it was really anyone’s game, made my heart rate pick up a bit.
Idiot, why did you have to place a bet on this?
No, I refused to think like that. I would not fail.
I picked up the pace, pushing the limit of the build of my tower and praying to my stars that it wouldn’t tip over. My second row was now completed and all I had left to stack was my last two cards. I didn’t even want to check on Miles’ progress, refusing to let even a quick glance slow me down. I grabbed my last two cards, angled the tops of each one towards each other, and slowly brought my hands to the top of my structure to keep myself from bumping into any cards and knocking it over. I took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, steadying my hands as I placed—
WHAM!
The door to the training room burst open, making me flinch and drop my cards. With my table being closest to the door, I watched my cards tumble to the floor from the impact of the slam.
“No!” I yelled, desperately trying to place them back together.
“Yes! I’m finished.” Miles danced in place, laughing and pumping his fists into the air.
I whipped my head towards the door and let out a growl of anger and then choked when I saw it was Bennett who stood in the doorway.
“What’s going on here?” he asked, surveying the room, his eyes landing on Stella.
I looked towards her and saw the fear in her eyes. Bennett just discovered her training with us, and he was the king’s son. I was sure she was horrified at the thought of being caught.
“Stella, everything is okay,” I said calmly. “Can you go and find your mom? We are done training for today.”
She didn’t say anything but nodded her head as she quietly slipped out of the room.
I stormed up to Bennett, getting close enough to him that our chests were only inches apart. “If you mention one word of her appearance in this training room to Pater, or anyone on the guard, I will kill you in your sleep.”
Miles’ eyes widened in shock at the threat I just gave the prince, but Bennett just gave me a closed-lipped smile.
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“My, my, my, Rhiannon.” He shook his head. “Dramatic and violent. I would say I’m shocked to hear your threat, but I guess that’s not much of a surprise now, is it?”
I glared at him with a warning in my eyes. Miles was still in this room and my position should not be spoken of. He continued, “If I wasn’t me I would be scared, but I am me. So your threat means nothing.”
