Dania blinked, and stood back in the red tent, her hand on the tree bole there.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, what an upset! The newcomer, Dania Ellis, has defeated veteran card officer Rhett Walker and walks away the victor!"

  I won?

  Dania blinked again, shaking her head to try and clear away the last vestiges of disorientation. Her eyes caught movement from her right, and she spun to see the card minion, Red Corner, approach with two cards in her hands.

  "Congratulations, deckbearer Dania Ellis. You have won the Moral Compass card. Your win has been logged. Your record at the Three Fires Arena is 1-0." Red bent at the waist in a sort of bow and held out both cards. Dania took them, her fingers trembling just a bit. Her own Fossil Bloom immediately dissolved into icy green light and spiraled to her chest. The Moral Compass card remained inert in her hand.

  Congratulations. You have leveled up. You are level 16.

  "Ah, thank you," Dania said softly, licking her lips. She took the Moral Compass card and slipped it into her cargo pocket. "What do I—?"

  "Please exit the Red Corner and return to the spectator area. Thank you for battling at the Three Fires Arena."

  "Right." Dania nodded and turned. "Thanks," she added. Red only answered with another waist bow. Dania raised one hand in kind of awkward half-wave, and then turned and walked out of the tent.

  I don't think I like dealing with card minions, she thought as she ducked through the tent flap and started climbing up the slope toward the copse of trees where she'd left Jake, Machairi, and Amari. I hope Elarienne doesn't end up being quite as annoying and…uncanny valley as that chick.

  "Dani!" Jake's exuberant cry gave her a split-second warning to open her arms before he ran, full force, into her midsection, wrapping her up in a startlingly strong hug. "Holy shit! That was amazing! You took him down like it was your job!"

  "I mean, it kinda was," Dania said, squeezing Jake back before letting him go. "Or it would have been, if the situation was different."

  "What do you mean?" Amari asked, tilting her head to the side as she followed Jake at a much more sedate pace. "Nice work by the way. That was some serious girlbossing."

  Dania rolled her eyes. "Thanks," she said. "But I hate that 'girlboss' bullshit."

  Amari grinned then and winked at her. "I get it. Fuck hustle culture, right?"

  Dania shook her head. "Whatever. Has Rhett come out yet?"

  "Haven't seen him yet. What did you mean 'if the situation were different'?" Jake asked.

  "Oh. Just that I see how people make their living doing this. When you register for a match, you put up one of your cards as a wager, and whoever wins, gets it. I won a…" Dania frowned and pulled the card out of her pocket. "'Moral Compass' from Rhett. Looks pretty cool, and it's rare. I'm sure we could get some solid cash for it, but we agreed to give the cards back afterwards."

  "I told you I'd give your card back," Rhett said, his slightly gravelly voice making Dania jump and turn to face him as he came up the slope behind her. "You never said anything of the sort. It's yours. Keep it." He had a smile on his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

  "It's okay," Dania said. "I don't have the right types to use it anyway, and we've got plenty of cards to sell from…other things." She held the card out to him, and watched as he moved slowly to take it.

  Rhett stared at her for a long moment, his smile fading slightly. Then he nodded and took the card. The minute it touched his fingers, it spiraled back into his chest in a swirl of gold and gunmetal light.

  "So…uh… did you have someone else you wanted to talk to while we're here?" Dania asked.

  "Yeah," Rhett said. "But I can go alone. You should stay and watch some of the other matches. I know you hate being away from Jake."

  "I'm fine with Amari and Machairi," Jake said quickly, his dark eyes flicking to meet Dania's. She didn't need his telepathic equipment card to guess at his thoughts. He doesn't trust Rhett.

  Do I?

  "Where is Machairi, anyway?" Dania asked.

  "Holding our seats," Amari said with a shrug and a smile. "They really are prime for seeing the entire arena floor… even when it's slammed with a sudden blizzard."

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Jake laughed, looking over at Rhett, who cracked a small, tight smile.

  "I'll come with you," Dania said. "These guys can go watch the matches."

  Rhett's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah?" he asked, his tone surprised. "You want to?"

  Dania shrugged. "It's why we came."

  "Okay, we'll be back at our seats," Jake said, leaning in to hug Dania one more time. "I'm really proud of you," he said softly.

  "Thanks, kid," she replied. "We'll be right back. Stay—"

  "—With Amari and Machairi, I know," Jake said. But he winked at her with a wide, proud grin before turning to lead the way back up the slope toward their copse of trees.

  "I haven't seen a lot of matches," Amari said over her shoulder as she started up the slope behind Jake. "But that was a lot of fun. Good job to both of you."

  "Thanks," Dania called after them, and then turned with a shrug to face Rhett.

  "This way," he said, waving a hand to indicate a path that spiraled around the arena where two new competitors had begun their battle. "The office is on the other end, but if we stay on this path as we go around, we shouldn't obstruct anyone's view."

  "Okay." Dania fell into step beside him as they started along the path in silence. Every few steps, Dania snuck a look over at the arena floor to her right, but it was hard to follow the action with just these few glimpses.

  "Congratulations, by the way. I realize I haven't said it. That was a helluva match," Rhett said quietly after they'd spent several uncomfortable moments walking in silence.

  "Thanks," Dania said. "I know I kinda got you with a cheap shot. You were about to wreck my world. I was completely out of power."

  "Nothing cheap about using what you've got. If you hadn't, I would have had you within another round or two. You don't often see deckbearers attacking each other directly in these battles. The possibility that you might physically come after me never even crossed my mind."

  "I wouldn't have dared without the cover of the blizzard."

  Rhett glanced down at her with a lightning-flash of a grin that appeared fully genuine. "Yeah, that thought did occur to me. I should never have said anything about hating fighting in blowing snow."

  Dania let out a soft chuckle. "It's kinda one of my go-tos. Control the battlespace, right?"

  "If you can, hell yes. Solid strategy. I'll remember that for the rematch."

  "Oh, we're doing this again?"

  "Well, yeah. We gotta go at least two out of three."

  Dania snorted. "Yeah, okay. I'll put it on my calendar."

  "You do that," Rhett said, his grin growing. "Turn here," he said then, indicating a path that headed up the slope toward a long, low-slung building that looked like it was built out of logs. Dania complied as a cheer rose from the crowd seated on rocks and under trees all around them. She looked back over her shoulder just in time to see the two competitors vanish, leaving the arena floor clear.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, it's another upset!" The announcer's voice echoed through the space, louder here in the spectator's area. Dania ducked her head, hunched her shoulders and gritted her teeth, putting more power into her legs as her head started to pound from the volume.

  "You okay?" Rhett asked.

  "Yeah," Dania said, not meeting his eyes. "It's just loud."

  "Hey," Rhett's hand brushed her elbow, making her pause and look up at him. "You…you know I'm not mad you won, right?"

  Dania's eyebrows shot up. "You can be mad," she said. "It doesn't mat—"

  "I'm not mad," he said. "I was quiet afterwards because…well…" Rhett trailed off, and for a second, his eyes went distant and empty. "You bit through my spine, Dani," Rhett blurted, shaking his head. He closed his eyes and let out a laugh, even as a full-body shudder ran through him.

  "Rhett—"

  "I meant it when I said it was a helluva match," he said, opening his eyes and meeting her gaze. "You earned the win, for sure. I just— I've been shot before in the arena. I've been skewered, burnt, electrocuted… nothing ever felt like that. I'm pretty sure I'll have nightmares about it."

  "I have nightmares," Dania said, surprising herself. She pressed her lips together for a second, and then shrugged and started forward again. "Sometimes. You get used to them."

  "What are yours from?" he asked. She shot him a dark look, but he shrugged, unrepentant.

  "Come on, I told you what mine are going to be about. Tell me yours."

  "The war," she said quietly.

  "You were injured?" he asked, the wheedling fun leaving his tone.

  "Yeah, but that's not what the nightmares are about."

  "What is?"

  "There are a couple of them," she admitted, her voice going blank and as empty as his eyes had been a moment earlier. "One is about when my LT got shot basically on top of me after we were in an IED attack. Another is when I was trying to help Berto stop a bleed on another one of our buddies. I had to reach inside his leg and… it wasn't pretty. A few others."

  "Did he make it?" Rhett's voice carried a soft note of respect, so Dania shook her head in answer.

  "I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "I know how that part feels, anyway."

  "Yeah," Dania said, keeping her eyes down on the path in front of her. "I imagine you do, if you've been in law enforcement long. Especially in Noimoire."

  "Listen, Dani." Rhett stepped in front of her and reached out to touch her elbow again. She stopped and looked up at him. His blue eyes stared intently at her face for a moment, and then he took a deep breath and spoke with the air of a man diving off a cliff into the unknown. "If you ever need someone to talk to—"

  "Thanks." Dania smiled to take away the sting of interrupting him. "I appreciate it, truly. I'm okay, though. I've been dealing with this shit for a while. And for real, I am sorry if I messed you up by attacking like that."

  "Eh," Rhett said with a shrug. "I was mostly joking about the nightmares. It was… it just took me a bit to shrug it off, you know. But like you, I'm good."

  "Okay," she said. She glanced around, realizing that they'd reached the top of the slope and stood next to the log-cabin like structure he'd pointed out. "Is this it?"

  "Yeah," he said. "The management staff offices are in there. They'll let me in, but I'll have to see if—"

  "Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice blasted through the space again, so loud it made Dania grimace. "For our next match, please give a Three Fires Arena welcome to novice deckbearers Yuri Galvan and Clayton Knight!"

  Dania felt her eyes go wide. She spun to look down into the arena, one hand flying out to grip Rhett's wrist.

  "Dani?"

  "Clayton Knight," she breathed. "He's the one who beat Kendra up and stole her deck! He's connected to the card traffickers!"

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