This is crazy. I need a plan. I’m injured, and I’m low on luck. Think, Sophia. What do you do at the poker table when you’re short on chips and don’t have the cards? Think. Think. Think. I stare at Kiko again, and an idea sparks.
I’m an excellent liar. There’s only one thing to do in a situation like this—bluff.
I grab what I need from my pack and move toward the window. The pixie lowers the phone and whispers, “What are you doing? He’ll kill you!”
For a split second I consider that I could stay out of it. I could wait, safely outside the fray, for Godmother to save us. But Seven was right when he’d said I never shied away from a challenge. Seven promised he’d protect me, and he sacrificed himself to live up to that promise. I’m not leaving him. I can’t.
“That’s a gamble I’m willing to take. I won’t let Chance get away with this.” I limp back to the window and drop into the dungeon again.
My ribs throb when I land. I can’t put weight on my left ankle. It hurts when I breathe, and there’s a trickle of something warm and wet running near the corner of my eye. I steady myself, nock my only arrow, and point it at Chance.
“Welcome back, little bird,” Chance says through an evil smile. He’s straddling Seven’s bloody body. My breath quivers in my throat. Seven looks dead, and I can no longer sense even a hint of his luck in the room.
“Back away from him or I’ll put an arrow through your heart,” I threaten.
He laughs and turns, spreading his arms. “Try it, honey. It won’t hurt me. I’ve still got enough in the tank to take you down and show you what I do to little girls who don’t know their place.”
Chance is tired, drained, and critically arrogant, but he’s the oldest and strongest leprechaun in Devashire.All in. I close one eye, aim, and release a deep breath. Every ounce of luck I have left, I pour into my arrow. Will it be enough?
He swaggers another step toward me. My arrow flies and lands in his right pec, under his collarbone. It’s a shot that might be painful but certainly isn’t deadly.
I school my features into a carefully impassive mask.
Chance scoffs. “You missed.”
“Maybe I did, but at least I tried. At least I had the guts to stand up to you. How many people know about what you’ve done to Seven, what you’ve done to these women? How many people have done nothing?”
He laughs at me. “Stupid girl. Who do you think you’re talking to? I make the rules.”
Another step toward me. “Fine. You win. Are you going to kill me now like you did Phoebe?”
Another step and he grabs the end of the arrow and yanks it from his flesh. There’s a spurt of blood that blooms like a rose on his white dress shirt. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Sophia.” His face contorts into something from my nightmares. He’s the devil come to tear off my wings. “I was jealous of Seven the night I poisoned him. The thought of him having you when I couldn’t drove me insane.”
Eww. I back away, all the way to the wall under the window, but he keeps coming. He reaches me, grabs my throat and squeezes. I’m trembling and in so much pain I can barely remain standing. I don’t try to hide it. I notice the remaining four pixies are at their doors. I don’t know if they can see or hear anything through that strange glass, but they know something is going on.
“I’ll have you now,” Chance says darkly. “A little luck and a lot of money and I’ll have you in that empty cell. They’ll all assume you ran away again. You’ll be mine.”
“Before you do, can I ask you something?” I wheeze out through his choking grip, meeting his gaze straight on. His expression changes and I know I’ve surprised him. He expected me to crumble and I’m still standing. “When you poisoned Seven, how long did it take for the blue iron to take effect?”
“Minutes,” he says. “Why? Morbid curiosity, little bird?”
“No. I just want to know how long to wait before you fall.” My eyes drift to my arrow on the floor and the glint of blue—the remains of Kiko’s blue-iron arm—tied to the tip. I’d pulled a string off the hat Grandma knitted for me and used it to tie the arm to the tip of my living arrow. Then I funneled what remained of my luck into my arrow, to make sure the tip shattered when it entered his body. I was never aiming for his heart. I was aiming for center mass. I knew Chance would use his luck to knock my arrow off course, but also that in his weakness, there was a limit to how much. My shot hit him in a place that would be harmless to him normally. But I didn’t care. All I had to do was hit him. Anywhere would do. Several pieces of blue iron are currently lodged within him, poisoning his blood, festering.
He looks down and seems surprised by the amount of blood staining his shirt. His wound isn’t healing. He snorts as if he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing and then sways on his feet.
I have no luck left, but that never stopped me before. I cock my arm back and deliver a very human jab to his nose with the heel of my palm. He staggers, confused by the blood dribbling from his face. It drips onto his palms. His eyes are wild.
I hobble after him.
My voice comes out loud and strong, rage inflating my lungs. “You think you’re better than me because you have more money and power. When I was in America, I met guys like you at the poker table, Chance. You have a lucky streak, and you think it means you’re superior. You think because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth that it will always be there. But the problem with relying on luck is eventually it runs out, and then all you have left is your skill to play the game. You’ve never had to play on empty, and it shows.”
I clock him again, and he stumbles away from me, swaying on his feet.
“You’re not better than me,” I hiss. “You wereneverbetter than me. You were just luckier and wealthier. And now that’s over. I’ve. Outplayed. You.”
The daggers he shoots at me would turn me to swiss cheese if they were real. He swings a bloody paw at me, but I easily move out of the way. No luck necessary.
“No one loves you,” I continue, a smile in my voice. “They might fear you, but they don’t love you. No one is in your corner. When your luck runs out, people like me who’ve actually paid our dues move in. People with skill and patience. Good people. Today is not your lucky day.”
