Page 140 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
Nell picked a random card from the pile. “‘The left side of a fish has one thousand scales. The right side also has one thousand scales. Which side has the most?’”
Everyone looked at Harper, waiting. After a long moment, she shrugged.
“The outside?”
“Word of warning,” Nell said, looking at Maya. “If you ever play trivia games with her, make sure you’re on her team. Otherwise, she’ll wipe the floor with you.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “You’re exaggerating.”
“She’s not, actually,” Evie said with a soft smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lose a round of trivia. It’s like you have all the questions memorized.”
Harper’s shoulders tensed. That comment was a bit too close to reality, thoughmemorizedwasn’t really an accurate descriptor. Repetition had just carved a vast catalogue of useless information into her brain, and now she couldn’t get rid of it. When she was inrehab, they had game show reruns playing in the common room, and she had spent most of her time there staring at the television rather than talking to anyone.
“Is that so?” Maya sounded impressed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Good to know I’m dating a savant.”
Harper’s stomach clenched. “It’s just random trivia. It’s nothing special.”
A slight furrow creased Maya’s brow, but before she could say anything, Nell chuckled.
“Nothing special, huh? Get this wrong, then.” She held up another card. “‘What is the principal part of a horse?’”
“What does that even mean?” Evie said, laughing.
Harper grimaced. Nell gaped, dropping her hand holding the card.
“You have the answer, don’t you?”
“The main part,” Harper muttered. “You know, the mane of a horse and then main is similar to principal…”
She rolled her eyes and held out her hand.
“It isn’t difficult. Give me a card, and I’ll prove it. If someone as dumb as me can answer these, then everyone can.”
She settled back down, head resting against Maya’s thigh as she scanned the card. Immediately regretting it.
The card was orange cardboard, adorned with tiny black text. The smoldering fireplace and lit candles illuminated the space pretty well, but it wasn’t bright enough to make sense of the letters. Whenever she moved from one to the next, the neighboring symbols turned into incomprehensible smears.
When she realized the room had been quiet for several seconds, she cleared her throat and handed the card to Maya.
“You read it.”
Maya looked at her oddly. Eyes narrowed and head tilted. But she accepted the card.
Her lips tensed. “When was this game made?”
Nell scanned the yellowed paper inside the box.
“Uh… 1939.”
“I see. This makes more sense, then.” Maya smirked. “‘What word do women like best?’”
They all exchanged glances. But no one spoke.
“What’s the answer?” Harper asked. Maya showed the card.
“‘The last word.’”
The room went quiet. Then Nell burst out laughing, with Evie and Harper following right after.
