“Don’t stop on my account,” I said. They returned to the game, and I looked at Dionne. “What kind of money do you use here?”
At the centre of the table, there was a stunning lack of chips, coins, or notes. Instead, on the surface, sat different coloured wisps of auras. They behaved, shimmering along the table as if waiting patiently to return to their owners.
Dionne leaned in close and whispered, “We don’t bet money here. It’s all about what’s useful. Favours. Sex. That sort of thing.”
My cheeks warmed at the information. Before we arrived, I’d toyed with the idea of joining a game or two. I needed all the luck I could get with Hunter’s test on the horizon, but there was nothing I was willing to put on the table.
I drew my attention back to the game and the players. There was only one face I recognised, and it belonged to Tobias. His gaze continued to flit between the cards and my face as they wrapped up the game with a Goddess winning the pot. There was a break from the gambling as they swept away auras and cards were collected again.
Slowly but surely, curious glances turned into conversations as I brushed shoulders with lower Elysians I hadn’t met yet. They ranged from highly inquisitive to suffocatingly welcoming. I was hugged more times than I cared to admit. Each interaction forced the fear and anxiety away and filled me with a sense of belonging. It was a dangerous emotion that I squashed. This was a means to an end. Once I was told I could survive, I would never set foot in the heavens again.
Tobias rose from his seat and took the space beside me that had just been vacated. “So glad to see you back here, Quentin,” he said. “Will you be joining us in a game?”
“I’m not sure what I could offer.”
“Your gift,” a tinkling voice came from across the table. It belonged to the woman who’d just won the previous pot. Something about her rang familiar, but I struggled to place where I’d seen her before. “Mabel,” she introduced herself.
Mabel’s silky brunette hair fell over her shoulders and her curvy figure was perfectly on display in a near sheer dress that moulded against her body. I felt mildly conservative in my clothing in comparison.
“Quentin. And I don’t know what my gift is,” I lied.
“Doesn’t mean you can’t offer it.”
“Mabel,” Dionne cut in, sounding sterner than I’d witnessed. “That’s hardly fair. She hasn’t had the chance to acquaint herself with it yet.”
Mabel shrugged her shoulders and pinned me to the spot with her hazel eyes. “We can figure it out together. Or.”
A slender wisp of neon pink came towards me and wrapped around my wrist, pulling me across the table violently. I gasped as the pain blossomed across my hip bones. It would have been easy for me to call on my aura and shove Mabel away, but I didn’t want to look like a troublemaker, so I squirmed in her grasp, trying to get out of it.
“You could offer me your body instead,” Mabel said, bringing her face close to mine. The suggestive proposition made my cheeks heat as I continued to struggle.
“Let her go!” Dionne demanded.
Something wrapped around my waist and tugged, but Mabel’s aura held strong.
“I’m just providing her with options,” Mabel argued.
“I appreciate it,” I replied tightly. “But I think I’ll keep my gift and my body off the table.”
“You’re going to get us all kicked out,” Tobias told her.
An unfamiliar voice joined the fray, deep and booming. “That’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
Mabel released me, shoving me away from her. The pressure around my waist disappeared, and I flew backwards. Tobias caught me before I hit the floor. His arms gripped my forearms, and I glanced down at the strange sensation against my skin.
Gods were flawless beings that basked in perfection, but three of Tobias’ fingers were deeply injured and almost skeletal. He’d kept it beneath the table during play and I thought nothing of it. Quickly, he pulled his hands away from me, stuffing the injured one into the depths of his pocket.
“The three of you can leave,” the new voice said.
I turned back to look at him. He towered over all of us, reaching seven feet and his build was strong and wide. His dark hair was a distant memory, overridden with grey on his head and beard, and deep scars decorated his face and forearms. Not the type of God I wanted to be left alone with.
“Andreas,” Mabel crooned sweetly.
“Out!”
She scarpered, muttering to herself, and Tobias scowled before following her. Dionne caught my arm, ready to drag me out of the building, but Andreas shook his head.
“Leave her,” he ordered.
