The cold felt good against Dania's face. The only problem was that the cold would slowly drain away, leaving her hot, achy face craving more. She could feel the chill emanating from close by, and so by instinct, she reached for it…or tried anyway.

  My hands hurt. All of me hurts, but my hands…tied? Behind my back? What the fuck?

  That thought pulled her upward, away from the deep black of oblivion. Old and new pains alike wreathed her mind as she shed the last layer of unconsciousness and opened her eyes.

  Concrete floor. Drain in the middle. Metal legs…I'm lying on the floor? Where?

  Memory flooded in: the arena battle, following Clayton Knight, the university district, the crash…Jake.

  He left. He's safe. Knight said "ain't no kid." They didn't find him. He made it.

  Dania let out a long exhale and shifted, rolling onto her left shoulder and hip. Agony erupted in both places, making bright sparkles appear in her vision and leaving her panting her way through it.

  Okay, that sucks, she thought as she maneuvered her way onto her buttocks. Her hands, tied at the small of her back, helped some, though the ziptie that bound them was tight enough she could barely feel her fingers.

  But at least I'm sitting, rather than lying on my face. I'll take that W.

  She was in a small room—or cell, really. It had the same prison-style cantilevered bunk and metal toilet she'd seen on a lockup documentary she'd watched a year or so ago. Instead of bars, however, the front wall appeared to also be made of solid concrete, broken only by the presence of a metal door in the center and a small, cylindrical camera set high in the corner.

  Well, this doesn't bode well, she thought, and then mentally giggled at herself for doing so. I've got a concussion, she realized, and then chuckled out loud. For some reason, head trauma always made her laugh. She'd discovered that the first time she got blown up in the 'Stan.

  Not very dignified…but still hilarious, she thought. Let's see what other issues we're working with.

  Slowly, methodically, stifling her inappropriate trauma-induced laughter, Dania surveyed her body from her toes all the way up to her head. As best she could tell, nothing was broken, but damn near everything was bruised. She felt the burn of scrapes and cuts on her face and hands, and remembered the cascade of broken glass when 8-Ball had rolled.

  Plus, Clayton Knight said my face was fucked up. Well, fuck him. He's no prize either, from what I could see at the arena. Too pretty by far, with that pointed chin and his flashy clothes and his perfect blond hair. Plus, he's an asshole who beat up Kendra. A pretty-boy asshole. I prefer my men to look like men. Rugged. Like Rhett.

  Dania hadn't meant to think about Rhett, but the moment she did, something that felt a little bit like regret swirled inside her pounding head. She'd been mad that he'd cut her out of the loop on his lead, but alone in her cell, she could admit that it made sense. She was, after all, a civilian. He was probably pushing it to even bring her to the arena in the first place. He'd said it himself, he just wanted to protect her.

  He's gonna be pissed when he realizes that cutting me out didn't keep me safe, she thought, giggling again. But I get it. I'd be pissed if Jake were here too. But he's not. He got out. Knight said he didn't see him. He went to the Haven with Machairi. I have to believe that. I can handle anything as long as Jake is safe—

  Ker-thunk.

  Dania blinked, and then stared at the door as a line of light appeared around three sides of it. Slowly, with a scream of disused metal, the door swung outward. The silhouette of a man stepped into the doorway, his broad frame blocking out much of the painful brightness spilling in.

  "She's awake." Dania recognized his voice from the car crash and instinctively glanced down at his feet. Sure enough, she knew those black boots. This, then, was Clayton Knight, up close and personal.

  "Well, then, let's have a chat." That voice, too, was familiar. It was the other man from the crash scene, who'd told Knight to pull her from the wreckage and get her into their car. Knight stepped into the cell, and Dania got a glimpse of his sneering, pretty-boy face before someone else stepped into the cell.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Getting crowded in here," she muttered, looking sidelong up at the man in front of her. He wasn't as big as Knight, and he wore better, more understated clothes: a dark blue suit with a gray shirt and navy tie. He had long dark hair tied back in a queue. He looked like a banker, or a businessman.

  Knight just looked like a thug.

  "I won't stay long," the businessman said. "My name is Hiro Landaine, Ms. Ellis, and you have my apologies for my companion's rough treatment of you at the crash site. ."

  "Thanks," Dania said. "Still hurts, though."

  "Yes, well. Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do about that at present. Perhaps in a few minutes if we're able to come to an understanding."

  "I doubt it, but take your shot." Dania shifted her weight on the floor, turning her wrists to try and gain a little more space between them. If she could break the zip-tie…

  "That's not a very positive attitude," Landaine chided. He unbuttoned the bottom button of his suit jacket and took a step over her legs to sit on the cot. Knight stood next to him, hands crossed in front in the classic "bodyguard fig leaf" pose. Dania scooted backward until her hands touched the rough concrete of the wall. Then she leaned back and regarded the two of them from underneath her eyelashes.

  "I'm not feeling very positive," she said when it became clear that Landaine wanted a response.

  "That is a mistake, Ms. Ellis. A positive mindset is necessary for any kind of success. Perhaps I can help. Let me reassure you right away: my organization and I are not determined to take your life, or that of your nephew."

  "How reassuring."

  "Sarcasm is the refuge of a weak mind, Ms. Ellis. I am being quite serious. You and Jacob Kinley are quite safe. We're not after your lives at all."

  "Just our cards?"

  "Precisely. This most recent Drop Night was special in many ways. It was the start of a new cycle, The Cycle of the Lost and Lonely, which introduced companion cards and orphans that can be evolved into incredibly powerful forms. Plus, initial anecdotal evidence suggests that this cycle includes more set cards than have been seen on Drop Night in the last five decades. What do you think that means?"

  Dania blinked, and squinted at Landaine as her vision blurred. "Means? Maybe that the gods are capricious assholes who like to stir the pot and see what happens."

  "Tsk. I expected better of you, Ms. Ellis! The gods are capricious, certainly, but they are never random. Everything happens for a reason, and fortune favors the man who finds said reason." He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, his dark eyes intent.

  "You see, we are meant to unite these card sets, to create new realms and build something bigger than this pathetic existence." He swept his hand down, indicating her head-to-toe battered state. "Like the orphan cards, we are meant to evolve." He leaned back, looking at her with satisfaction in his face.

  "Into what?"

  "Into gods! Why else would they give us the ability to create our own realms?" Landaine smiled beatifically. "Don't worry, I didn't understand it either. At first, I was like everyone else. I thought that cards were only good for fighting and selling. I was a mere businessman, grinding away at the capitalist machine. And then… on Drop Night, everything changed. Eris gifted me my own deck and I could finally see."

  Landaine surged forward, fisting his hands in the front of Dania's shirt and hauling her to her feet. "You understand, don't you? You must understand. Tell me you do."

  Dania swallowed hard and nodded, not sure what else to do. "I—I think I understand."

  "You do? You do. Yes." Landaine's beatific smile returned and he shifted his grip to her outer arms. Dania fought not to wince as he squeezed her heavily bruised left side. "Yes, of course you do! I must build the realm. I must become one of the gods, and when I do, I will remember those who have helped me. You…Dania Ellis, you are quite a woman, aren't you. You killed my Sniffer, you know."

  "I'm—"

  "Don't apologize. We both know you won't mean it. I'm not even angry. He was a blunt instrument…part of my life before. He never would have understood the bigger picture. Not like you do. You are a far better choice to bear his deck than he ever was. I will let you keep it."

  "My deck?" Dania met Landaine's eyes. They burned with a zealous intensity that made cold dread coil deep in her stomach.

  "Of course! For how else will you serve the god I shall become, if not with the deck you won from my flawed servant. It is all part of the plan, the grand vision. You shall serve at my right hand, helping me to find the lost children, bringing them in from the cold, filling their lives with the righteousness of conviction and truth!"

  "Lost children, you mean the orphan cards?"

  "I mean all of them! Orphan cards, yes, but also the deckbearers like your Jake. Those too weak to bear the burden they've been given. I will bear their burdens, and they will love and serve me as their god!" He leaned forward, putting his forehead against Dania's and closing his eyes. "And when the time is right," he whispered. "When we are strong enough, we shall move against those degenerate deckbearers who rule our city with vice and violence. The crime families, the corrupt government… we will take them all down, and usher in a new era in Noimoire!"

  "What…what do you want with Jake, then?" Dania asked, unable to hold back the question, even as she feared she already knew the answer. "If we're safe with you, what do you need him for?"

  "Why, I need his building, of course. Otherwise, how else am I going to complete the Hidden Realm set and become a god?"

  Books 1 and 2 are now available in KU, and Please check it out and tell him I sent you!

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  Speaking of gods (ref: the chapter above), here's something you might enjoy over the weekend! Have a great one!