Page 92 of Tarnished Crown
He had a deck of cards in his hands, shuffling them while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
“Shall we, Your Royal Highness?” he asked, dipping his head in a bow.
I laughed and made a show of debating it, before finally caving.
“I decree that we play Kings and Arselings! As long as the Lord of this Castle agrees, of course.” I spun around to search for Evander, but he was right behind me.
“As you wish,” he said, a wry grin tempting the corner of his mouth.
He pulled two chairs out from the table, gesturing for me to take one of them. A warm shiver ran down my spine.We must be getting more snow.
“So, the rules,” I began as Evander sat down.
“I didn’t think you knew how to follow rules,” he commented drily.
“I didn’t say I’d be following them.” I raised my glass at him. “This is the one time in life where you’re rewarded for shirking the rules.”
He chuckled. “No wonder it’s your favorite.”
Ignoring him, I went on to explain the game. Mila started play, picking up a four.
“Automatic drink!” I yelled.
She happily obliged, taking a hearty swig of her vodka. Yuriy went next, pulling an eight.
“That means...you have to sing everything you say for the next three rounds,” I decreed.
“I feel like you’re making that up,” he said suspiciously.
I was definitely making it up.
“Nope,” I lied. “Rules are rules. And you already broke that one, so drink.”
Henrik pulled a nine. I opened my mouth to say something, but Kirill cut in.
“That card decrees that you have to...play bar maiden until someone else draws a nine. And I’ll take another medovukha. Thank you.”
Henrik looked to me, and I shrugged. “The man knows his rules, Henrik.”
Kirill and I exchanged a look as soon as Henrik turned his back, both of us trying to hold in our laughter.
Evander chuckled under his breath as he took his turn, drawing the Arseling card, naturally. He surprised me by holding it up next to his face.
“Look, Lemmikki, it’s my effigy.”
A startled laugh bubbled out of me. I had seen Evander angry and serious and cocky, but I wasn’t sure if I had ever seen him...fun.
Why did this feel like the most dangerous version of all?
CHAPTER59
It was hours before Evander and I finally made our way up to our room, and we weren’t even the last ones to bed.
Thankfully, we had put Kings and Arselings away a while ago, and I had managed to pace myself enough for the effects of the vodka to largely subside.
If I felt untethered and off-kilter, I wasn’t sure the alcohol had anything to do with it.
“How did negotiations go?” I asked, setting my glass of water down on the low table and grabbing one of Evander’s shirts on my way into the adjoining room.