“Teach me, then.” The challenge in his eyes was infectious.
It didn’t take long to explain the rules. Eyden listened to her attentively, probably already strategizing how he could beat her. Lora had never paid much attention to the strategic aspect of the game. It wasn’t a serious game to her. Although this time it might be. The floor didn’t look the least bit appealing.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Eyden said as he faced her. He was no longer on the bed. They were both standing, which made the space in between them almost non-existent. They couldn’t fully outstretch their arms without touching the other.
“Best out of three?” Lora asked, pulling her fist closer to her.
Eyden agreed and Lora counted down from three. He chose rock, which she’d suspected, so she went with paper. Eyden’s face didn’t falter. He began counting and this round he chose rock again and Lora chose scissors.
They locked eyes before the last round. It felt as if he was attempting to read more than her next move, as if he was trying to find the answer to who she really was in her eyes. In the mix of blue and green, of lies and truths.
Lora’s voice came out shaky as she counted down one last time. She found it hard to look away from his gaze. If only she knew what he was thinking. Who he really was.
She forced her gaze to their outstretched hands. Lora had chosen rock and he had chosen scissors.
She let her hand fall back to her side. “I guess luck was on my side this time.”
“You think it’s luck?”
“I suppose it’s a mix of luck and strategy. You can think about what your opponent is most likely going to choose next but people can always surprise you.”
“Yes, they can.” Eyden’s voice carried a certain wonder. Somehow, it made her shiver and she crossed her arms as she took a seat on the bed, her prize.
Eyden turned towards her. “You want to play again?”
“Can’t accept defeat?”
“The bed’s yours. We don’t have to play for anything.”
Part of her wanted to sink into the bed but an idea formed in her mind. Her lips stretched into a teasing smile. “What’s the fun in that? How about we play for truths?”
Eyden’s eyes sparked at the challenge but it quickly dimmed, the enthusiasm dampening with it. “I can’t promise to give you any truth you ask for.”
“Neither can I. Let’s try anyway.” When he still looked uncertain, she added, “What happened to ‘I never lose?’”
“That was about poker, not some silly human game.”
“We play poker too, you know. It’s not strictly a fae game. You can’t claim ownership.”
Eyden didn’t answer, instead he settled down next to her on the bed and extended his fist.
Never could back away from a challenge, could he?
Lora won the next round of rock, paper, scissors and the sweet victory filled her with excitement. She pulled up her mental list of questions she was dying to ask but figured she’d better start with an easy one. “How old are you?”
Eyden relaxed a smidge, a subtle shift that could easily go unnoticed. “Twenty-seven.”
Lora had assumed he was older but some part of her was delighted she was wrong. She made a fist and another round was quickly over. Lora lost but she didn’t mind. She was curious to see what Eyden would ask her.
“What did Ilario tell you?”
A glimmer of disappointment took over her mood. He was only worried about what his friend had said in his absence. “He told me about Damir. That you saved him in more ways than one,” she said.
The answer seemed to appease and trouble him at the same time. “I think he saved me too.”
“How so?”
“Isn’t that another question?” The light in his eyes was back and she didn’t want to look away.
