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My free hand went instantly to my neck, even though I knew it wasn’t there. It was my necklace, the one treasure I had from my mother. She’d left it behind when she left us. When I was ten, I’d taken it from Papa’s box of trinkets and wore it from that day on.
Even though Papa had never given it to me, he saw that I had it and had never ordered me to give it back. When Tessa noticed, she simply said, ‘It looks pretty on you.’ And that was that.
Until about three months ago when it went missing. I’d thought maybe the chain had broken when I was working. I’d looked everywhere and had even asked Papa. He’d grumbled something about getting on with my chores.
But, apparently, he’d stolen it. It happened about the same time when Papa’s drinking and gambling had begun to spin out of control, carrying us closer and closer to the brink of ruin. Iwondered if he’d already used it to gamble once and had won it back.
Rukard reached over and lifted the delicate silver chain, holding the moonstone in his palm. I wanted to reach over and jerk it from his nasty grasp.
“Well, well. This is quite the beauty. Delicate and lovely to be sure.” He tsked. “But if you want to meet my wager, you’ll have to come up with something more.”
“That’s all I’ve got, my lord.” Papa swiped a palm through his sweat-slick hair, and for a moment, I felt relief. He was going to give up.
But then Rukard’s gaze cut to me. An icy finger of dread trickled down my spine. “I believe you do have something of great value, Phestys.”
Papa’s gaze followed his. All four men were staring at me. I couldn’t imagine what my expression reflected. I felt frozen in utter fear that Papa would even consider it. And yet, I knew he would.
He’d only ever tolerated my presence, giving what affection he did have to Tessa. I was simply a servant in his house, another mouth to feed, but one who could earn her keep. Since Tessa left, it had become worse—his moods and his sour grumbling about the sad lot fate had dealt him as he sank further into his cups and into gambling.
“Papa...” I begged softly without saying anything more than his name.
He averted his gaze to the pile of sparkling coin and the sapphire on top. “Aye. My daughter Murgha would even the scales.”
“Indeed,” agreed Rukard with a lascivious grin before turning back to the game.
A flicker of blue caught my eye as the wood sprite zipped out the open window. A sense of doom weighed even heavier. It waslike she’d sensed the coming shame and loss, for I was certain that Rukard didn’t want me as a servant to sweep his floors and clean his kitchen.
A round in the game of Kings and Bones consisted of each player rolling three times, the one with the highest total points winning the game. So I had the time it would take for six rolls to sneak my way through the kitchen to the residential part of the house where I could flee out the back.
Trembling, I rounded the bar to wash the now empty pitcher. I rinsed it quickly and set it on a towel to dry.Rattle, rattle, swish.
Papa rolled his first one. “Haha!” He laughed. “The finest roll yet,” he declared with glee.
“Quite so,” said Rukard, not seeming ruffled.
I kept my head down, pretending to clean items with trembling hands as I made my way closer to the swinging door that led into the kitchen.
“That was eighteen points on that one, my lord. Your roll.”
Rattle, rattle, swish.
“Not bad, not bad,” said Papa, a twinge of nervousness in his voice.
I kept wiping the towel down the bar then tossed it on a barrel before stepping toward the kitchen door.
A strong hand caught my arm and tugged me back. I gasped and looked over my shoulder at the dark-haired guard.
“Why don’t you come and watch the game, Murgha?” he said too familiarly.
I didn’t even know his name, nor had I ever introduced myself, yet the smug quirk on his mouth told me he wasn’t asking. He was telling me what to do.
“I should clean up after a long day,” I told him.
“No,” he declared, “you should come watch your new master win you to his house.”
My belly rolled with nausea again. I wondered how much longer before I’d empty my stomach onto the floor.
I didn’t resist because there was no use, but he hauled me back to the table roughly and forced me down onto a stool next to him at the bar. He let go of my arm, but his close proximity was a warning that he could snatch me if I tried to get away.
