Whooping continued, but Lochlainn raised another halting hand.
A heavy gravity settled and the room quieted to near-silence.
There was a solemn look in Lochlainn’s eyes, his smile becoming dangerous. He pointed around the crowd.
“Luck is the rain that nourishes our land. It can grow your pockets, grow your dreams! But it’s a fucking fickle thing. Too much and it’ll drown ya, washing away all we cherish, all we’ve worked for.” His words held weight. “But as Lucklanders, we know this. Our people are wise, well-versed in the ways of luck! But there are those who would envy us, who would covet what we have!” His brows furrowed, demanding fight from his people. “So tell me, what happens when the dice are loaded against us? What happens when serpents come to claim our luck for their own?”
Murmurs echoed throughout the club. People exchanged wary glances before a hush fell over again. Faces were stone, hardening to his words.
Lochlainn leaned down, picking up another shot and held it out like an offering. Another malicious smirk curled over his lips.
“When the game is rigged, our winning hand stolen, and we’re near tapping out.” A dramatic pause intensified the energy. “We burn the fucking table down!!!” Lochlainn let out a war cry with his hand held high. Flickering gold light shot out of his hand, illuminating the shot glass like a beacon guiding souls home. Then, he knocked it back.
The room unleashed. Deafening rally cries erupted from all corners of the club. Cheers. Shouts. The sound was a chaotic being, come to life.
I didn’t miss the calculating grin Lochlainn shot at Pogue before he jumped down from the bar. There were unspoken words between them. Unspoken andchallenging.
Business partners on the same team, and yet, they were an unlikely pair. What was it between them? Did I even want to know?
And just like electricity switching on after an outage, my ability sparked back to life. A provocative voice intruded my mind.
Need to find out . . . need to know . . .
I swept a hand across my brow, trying to wipe the voice away too. My mind was too fuddled to deal with spirit intrusions right now.
“You’re up, love,” Lochlainn said, giving me an encouraging wink.
I returned it with a nervous laugh. “Yeah, well, I better not have to make a speech too. No way I’d be able to rally the troops like you did.”
“Ohhhh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Throwing a cryptic grin my way, Lochlainn gently pushed me forward.
“You got this, Carwynn!” Breena, my own personal cheerleader, shouted.
Fuck. Here goes nothing.
31
CARWYNN
The die washeavy in my hand, as was the weight that settled in my gut.
I let out a steady breath while searching the faces behind me, hoping someone would spare me from the oncoming humiliation.
Lochlainn wore a shit-eating grin, impatiently thrumming his fingers on a nearby cocktail table.
“Just throw it already!”An eager voice yelled from the crowd.
Shit. This was a bad idea.
I tossed the damn thing.
A sudden flash of violet had me shielding my eyes. It flickered like lightning in a storm cloud, then dissipated.
I eyed the purple, near-black liquid that was handed to me.
For a millisecond I hesitated. But resignation soon took over and I shot it back. It was bitter and absolutely disgusting. I forced my mouth to swallow it down, along with all the fucks I had left to give.
My throat felt like cement. Thick, dense, and grainy. Tightness slowly spread over my skin. The magic at work.
