Page 6 of Dark Alliance
“Your pulse is racing, Daphne. Is it the excitement of the cards or the man playing them?”
He reached out, his cold fingers tracing the line of my diamond choker. I froze. This wasn’t a simple touch, more of an assessment. “You were always a terrible liar. You have a tell. You hold your breath when you’re hiding something.”
He leaned down, his nose grazing the curve of my neck.
My blood turned to ice.Please don't smell him. Please don't smell the expensive whiskey and the dark cedar-scent that had clung to me when Thal pressed me against that velvet curtain.
“You smell ... different,” he whispered, a low vibration of threat. “Like smoke and something expensive. Something that doesn't belong in my house.”
He pulled back just enough to let me breathe, though the threat remained.
“Did he win?”
“No,” I replied, my voice slightly breathless. “He was beaten by someone you know.”
"Really? Who?”
"Cass. She mentioned she was an old friend.”
Zeno’s eyes widened, slicing through the air like shards of flint.
“Cassandra or Cass?” He didn't ask the question, he spat it.
“Cass,” I replied, keeping my voice steady.
He looked at Helena, and a dark, silent communication passed between them, making my skin crawl. It was the look of two generals realizing a ghost had stepped onto the battlefield.
“The woman is a vulture,” he said, turning back to me. “If she told you to be careful, it’s because she’s already decided where she’s going to bury you. She doesn't have ‘friends,’ Daphne. She has assets and corpses. Don't let her charm you. She’s the only person in this city more ruthless than I am.”
Corpses? Vulture?
I kept my expression carefully blank, but my pulse ticked a confused rhythm. The woman who had playfully beaten Thal at the card table didn't match the terrifying phantom Zeno described. He had jumped to the wrong conclusion, confusing the Cass I met with some demon from his past.
But correcting him now would only invite more scrutiny. If Zeno wanted to be terrified of a ghost, I wasn't going to stop him. Let him chase the wrong shadow.
He exhaled roughly, the mention of hisCassandraclearly rattling his composure.
“Did Thal give you any indication of his next moves?” he asked, his voice tighter now, eager to move on.
“No, other than licking his wounds after such a big loss.”
Zeno shook his head.
“I still don’t trust him.”
“As well you shouldn’t,” Helena agreed. “Need I remind you of the risk that would be?’
“No, you don’t need to remind me of that, Helena,” he said, clearly irritated with her suggestion. “Thal is ruthlessly ambitious, and I wouldn’t put anything past him in his quest for power.”
“Is he really that bad?” I asked. “Are you sure you aren’t being paranoid?”
“Paranoid?” he growled. “No, I’m just cautious. You should be too, Daphne. Trusting people comes at a high cost. Most people aren’t worth it.”
I sighed, sitting back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest.
“I feel like there’s something you aren’t telling me, Daphne.”
Zeno’s words hung heavy in the air between us, confirming his suspicions.
