Page 160 of Sword & Sacrifice

“Yes!”

“Good, then I’m playing the game right.” His grin stretched the scar on his cheek and his good eye glimmered with mischief.

Everett chuckled at Rafe’s antics and explained the rules to Emmaline. “We place cards in order of low to high, Aces low. You can discard as many cards in your hand as you have that match the current number. The goal is to discard all the cards in your hand. Here’s the trick: all cards are placed facedown. So, if you don’t have the correct cards, or you just want to discard more than you’ve got, you can lie. Anyone who catches someone lying yells out ‘Cheat!’ Then all the cards are revealed, and we find out the truth.”

“So, you’re encouraged to lie?” she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“Damned right,” one of the sailors said.

Everett glared at him and the man swallowed nervously, ducking his head.

As her father explained the game, Rafe dealt the cards out to everyone. “This is two combined decks, so there’s up to eight of each card,” he explained for Emmaline’s benefit.

As everyone gathered up their cards, she noticed that Rafe had skipped her father.

Everett smiled and said, “I’ll be helping you with this round. Let’s see what you have.”

The thirteen cards she’d been dealt didn’t quite fit in her hands. She divided them into orderly piles on the table, then waited for her turn. “Three fours,” she said, picking up her cards and laying them face down on the table.

The round continued, circling the table until it came back to Rafe. “Two sevens—”

“Cheat!” one of the men declared.

Rafe laughed loudly and flipped over his cards, both sevens. The other man groaned and scooped the pile up, adding it to his hand.

The round continued with eight.

“Five queens,” Emmaline declared, placing her pile of cards facedown.

“Cheat,” Rafe called.

Emmaline smiled at him sweetly and turned over her cards, revealing the five royal faces.

“How did you,” he began, looking between the pile of cards and her hand. “I should have known you weren’t lying. A sweet face like yours would pucker at the mere thought.” He gathered all the cards into his hand and the game started again.

“Two sevens,” she said, laying down her cards.

The round continued, until Rafe was called a cheat again, and this time they guessed correctly. He laughed as he scooped up the deck. The laughter subsided as he scanned it. “Oh, come on!” he exclaimed, tossing down an out of order Jack and Ace. “No one called her out on that?”

Everett laughed. “What was that about her being too sweet?”

Emmaline lowered her lashes and hid her smile behind her hand. It had taken all her effort to keep her smile in place when she realized she wouldn’t have the correct numbers. Her heart raced, her fingers tingled with anticipation of being caught as she’d laid those two cards down. And it had all passed unnoticed.

Except by her father, who’d watched her lay out her cards in the beginning, knowing she would need to lie at some point. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, giving her a proud smile. “Your mother was always excellent at cards.”

The statement startled Emmaline and she almost fumbled the next round. The soldiers played games sometimes, betting favors and dares, but her mother never joined them. Mama always smiled at their antics and claimed she’d rather not spend her time losing.

“I called her my lucky charm,” Everett said, sipping from his tankard. His expression clouded slightly as he added, “Just being with her, I felt like the luckiest man alive.”

Emmaline watched him for a moment, unsure if she should try to comfort him. It was obvious that her mother’s absence affected him deeply. Why did Mama leave him? What happened between them that she wouldn’t even tell me about him?

“It’s your turn,” Rafe called. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at Emmaline. “I’m keeping my eyes on you, little liar.”

Despite his declaration, Emmaline won the first game, while Rafe lost, since he was the one holding the most cards at the end. He groaned and slumped across the table, resting his head on his outstretched arm. Gazing up at her, he said, “You’re gonna be bad luck for me, I can tell.”

Chapter Nine

Emmaline had spent the past few days watching the sky, so she was the first to notice the white bird flying toward the ship. Its wings stretched in an elegant arc as it circled overhead, and then it swooped down, aiming straight for the helm.