Page 19 of King’s Kismet

“This is humiliating,” Palmer commented, glancing around the dining room table.

“I don’t know,” Novak sang, peeking over his cards. “I’m kind of into humiliation.”

“No one is surprised,” Briggs grumbled. “Literally no one.”

Stone laced his fingers behind his head, leaning back in his chair. “How did you make it so many rounds?”

“We were cheating,” my vampire stage-whispered.

“Novak!” I admonished, though there was no heat behind it.

I really hadn’t cheated. But I knew my guys well enough to call their bluffs. They weren’t ready for my pro-level resting bitch face.

“Well, she was cheating,” Novak declared. “I could read your mind, but I haven’t been able to read hers.”

He tossed a few chips into the center of the table. I matched him, knowing I had nothing worthwhile in my hand. A royal flush of black spades reflected in his golden gaze.

Palmer growled under his breath as he slung his arm up. Our cards went flying into the air before they burst into flames, courtesy of Stone flicking hellfire toward my ceiling.

“Why?” York inquired, then chuckled at Novak’s kicked puppy expression.

“I was this close to winning,” he complained, holding his thumb and index finger together. “Ask her. She’s the one who’s doing math in her head.”

Vaughn snorted, icy blue eyes alight with humor. “What kind of math?”

“Cosmic algebra,” I replied evasively.

“Was it a bunch of numbers and letters?” my demon guessed.

“Yeah. Math.”

Stone shook his head. “She’s counting cards. There’s no fucking way we’re taking either of you to a casino.”

Free the Pedmars

Sunday, June 28th

Midday

I stood in the open field, surrounded by rock formations and a century old ward, and gazed in awe at the herd of pedmars.

It wasn’t often that I worried about the probability of fucking up... Usually a fuck up on my part led me down another path that put me right where I needed to be, though I knew some of that was divine intervention.

But today?

Right now?

As the center of attention to so many people trapped in their animal forms?

The thought of fucking up frightened me beyond belief.

The thought of getting their hopes up frightened the pedmars. I could taste the emotion in the air, thick as molasses and bitter as lemons.

Pete stepped out of his herd, wandering closer to me. He chirped lightly, though I wasn’t sure how to respond yet. Talking to the pedmar had never been an issue. In fact, he was one of my favorite beings to talk to, but how could I explain these feelings?

“I’m nervous,” I whispered into his mind.

He blew a deep breath from his truck, ruffling my hair. “Why?”