But Harvey knew Levi’s plan now—all of it. Which meant he knew exactly how to stop them.
Even better, if the Bargainer did show up at Levi’s casino, then Harvey would be waiting for her. And he could make the bargain Bryce and Rebecca had wanted all along. He could finish this. Bryce would be able to free himself from Rebecca, and Harvey and Bryce would no longer be tied to New Reynes. They could flee. They could start over somewhere else, safe, just the two of them—the way it used to be.
As Bryce knelt, Harvey saw something gold that had slipped to the floor, fallen from Bryce’s pocket and peeking out below Harvey’s discarded shirt. His distracted mind decided it was a wristwatch.
But when he returned to the Catacombs, leaving an Orphan Guild gun in the drawer of Narinder’s office, he replayed the day over in his mind. And he realized it had been a card, Harvey’s card. He hadn’t seen it since he’d given it to Bryce right after the game started.
The Fool.
XIV
THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE
“Harrison Augustine murdered his political opponent,
and until anyone acknowledges it, I will keep
printing it until the day I die.”
Memoria. “What Happened at St. Morse.”
Her Forgotten Histories
18 Nov YOR 25
ENNE
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Poppy asked uneasily, eyeing the photos inTheGuillory Street GossipEnne had shown her.
“Of course she’s sure,” Grace snapped. “It’s just hair.”
Enne forced herself to smile, as though the confidence of her reflection in her vanity mirror could fool even herself. She resisted the urge to touch her hair. She’d sacrificed far more important things to the City of Sin than her appearance, but nothing had ever felt so...personal.
“If I’m recognized,” Enne spoke, straining to keep her voice from quivering, “our whole plan could be ruined. Going to the Legendary satisfies breach of contract. And if the whiteboots are called—”
“You don’t have to be there, Enne,” Poppy told her gently.
The last time Enne had faced any real danger, she’d been a liability. But that had been months ago, and now Enne wouldn’t make those same mistakes.
I am Veil’s daughter, she told herself, and though the crime lord had committed unfathomable cruelties, he’d also been brilliant, when the entire world had been against him.I’m the daughter of Gabrielle Dondelair, who won the Shadow Game and set fire to the Capitol. I’m the daughter of Lourdes Alfero, one of the bravest people I’ve ever known.
I’m the last surviving Mizer, and I will fight to stay alive, no matter what it takes.
These affirmations helped—words had always found a way to wind her back together. Enne didn’t need her looks to remind her who she was and all she was capable of.
Even so, she sniffled with every snip, and her eyes teared at the smell of bleach.
Tonight, she wouldn’t wear her ballerina bun, a habit from the life she’d once led. She wouldn’t wear a dress trimmed with lace or pearls, even if she liked them. She wouldn’t wear the black lipstick that she felt she’d earned after so many months surviving in the City of Sin. She would be anonymous. She would be no one.
And it hurt—for most of her life, she had felt like no one. She didn’t want to return to that.
I am the last surviving Mizer, she continued to tell herself. By the time the makeover had finished, when Grace swiveled her chair around so Enne could examine her unfamiliar reflection, those words felt like all she had left.
LOLA
Lola reread the invitation several times while getting dressed. As she buttoned her shirt, cuffed her pant legs, and laced her loafers, she kept unconsciously reaching for it, as though to remind herself she had not fabricated the words.
I’m sorry. I’d like to start over. —Enne
