“My turn.” Yiran swiped a card off the deck and threw it carelessly onto the table. The jack of hearts stared back at him balefully. “Bust,” he sighed.
Cheng punched the air. “Winning fair and square like a man.”
“I agree in principle but find fault with your gender dichotomy. Good game, Cheng.”
“Give me back my watch, asshole.”
“Easy with the name-calling, babe,” Yiran said without ire. He stuck his wrist out and Cheng unbuckled the watch.
Cheng gave an ironic little bow while flipping them off. “So long, suckers.”
Everyone laughed.
Sweets rolled off the sofa. “I’m heading off.”
“Me too. Time for dinner.” Theo glanced at Yiran. “You’ll let yourself out?”
Yiran nodded.
After they left, he sat there, delaying his return to Song Mansion. The house felt colder these days, and he no longer thought of it as his home. He couldn’t forget Song Wei’s reaction when he found out Yiran could no longer practice magic. He’d lookedvictorious, and it had killed any love Yiran might have had for the old man.
Something flickered against the windows. Snow.
Yiran opened the heavy glass doors and walked out onto the terrace. The air was brisk, and he could hear the faint honking of the cars from the streets below. He shivered in his thin T-shirt.
It had been weeks since he last saw Rui. She had looked so small and fragile in her hospital gown. He hated her. He missed her. He knew it wasn’t her fault, but he needed someone to blame. It was too painful to be around her, to be reminded of what she had done and what he had lost.
He’d heard that the stupid wizard had disappeared. Ash assumed Zizi left the city to hide from the Guild and his punishment. But Yiran knew Zizi would never abandon Rui.Fuck, Yiran thought when he realized he missed the annoying mage too. He was getting soft.
Something stabbed his palm. The jack of hearts card was crumpled in his tight fist.
“If you’re not careful, you’re going to catch a cold.”
Yiran felt his heart stop.
He recognized the voice. Hated that he recognized it. Hated that his immediate thought wasThank gods he’s not dead. He couldn’t bear toturn around. Couldn’t bear to see that beautiful face and those sad gray eyes again.
“Are you finally here to kill me now that I’m defenseless?” Yiran asked.
“No, silly. I’m here to ask you a question.”
“Go ahead.”
Footsteps coming closer. A soft laugh. A cold breath ghosting against his ear. A voice sending shivers down his spine as it said:
“Do you want your magic back?”
The darkness was lonelier than expected.
Hell’s dungeon was cold and damp and silent as a graveyard.A graveyard.Zizi almost laughed at that thought. Except laughing would hurt.
He could barely raise his head or move his fingers. It felt like a ton of bricks was sitting on his shoulders, pressing against his spine. There was a constant pulling in his brain. His mind was fighting with itself—with Four.
Everything was pain,pain, and more pain.
The first few days in the underworld had been bearable. Weirdly ordinary. He had a nice room in one of the Fourth Court’s villas. It reminded him of a five-star hotel, except room service was a bunch of souls taking care of your every need.
He wasn’t allowed to leave, obviously, but they had kept him well fed with food from the human realm. He spent his time missing Rui, which was a different kind of torture. To torment himself even more, he’d asked for paper and some charcoal. He sketched her face endlessly, trying to forget how she’d looked at him the last time he laid eyes on her, wishing he had told her the real answer to her question.
