Game of Hearts by Ellie Roth

Author:Ellie Roth [Roth, Ellie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ellie Roth
Published: 2022-06-17T21:00:00+00:00

Elena almost staggers in the middle of counter-enchanting, picking at a thread that suddenly isn’t there anymore. “What?” she rasps, one hand still pressed against her eye to fight down her splitting headache.

“I forfeit,” Dante repeats, and he raises his eyebrows at Nathan. “Did you really have to give her the weed-out enchantment, Nate?”

Nathan stops the timer, scowling. “It’s a random draw, Jemissa. You literally thought up the system for it. I have no control over who gets which card.”

Incredulous, Elena drops her own enchantment, relief flooding through her as the suffocating pain of maintaining it fades away. Instantly, Britney whirls around to face her, eyes wide and panicked. “I’m sorry, Elena,” she stammers. “I’m so, so sorry, I‍—I didn’t mean to figure it out, I was trying to clear my mind, but I‍—‍”

“Hey, breathe,” Dante says, bracing a hand on Britney’s shoulder. “Not your fault, kiddo. That’s a rough one for any model. It was actually my first loss when we brought these games to the United States.”

Marianne clucks sympathetically, standing up and patting Britney’s hand. “Oh, dear, the forget your enchanter’s name one?”

Trembling, Britney nods. She doesn’t meet Elena’s eyes, and guilt lances through Elena. When Britney figured out the enchantment and unconsciously started to resist it, Elena felt like she was drowning, like her skull was cracking open, like her chest was splintering‍—

But Britney looks like she’s about to have a panic attack. Elena never expected any of these enchantments to put her through that.

“That one is always a toughie,” Marianne assures Britney. “You’ll do better in your next match.”

Abruptly, the shock-logged gears in Elena’s mind start chugging again. She shakes her head sharply. “Wait,” she says, and Dante glances up at her, eyebrows raised. “You forfeited?”

He looks thoroughly unimpressed. “Uh-huh. Keep up, Zhao.”

“Why?” Elena demands, eyes narrowing. “You could have won that round easily, you could have‍—‍”

“Obviously,” Dante says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Once your model figured it out, I could tell by her panic what the enchantment most likely was, not to mention the fact that your spell work started unraveling.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Britney repeats hoarsely, shoulders hunching.

Dante squeezes her arm. “We know you didn’t, kiddo,” he says. “It’s one of the only enchantments in these games that tests the model more than the enchanter, because the moment your mind wanders, it’s likely to go back to your partner. Practically an automatic elimination.” He barks out a laugh. “You’re in good company.”

“But why?” Elena presses insistently. “Why would you forfeit?”

Dante’s eyes flicker. Slowly, he straightens up to his full height, scrutinizing her closely. “Two reasons. Firstly, because I have a soft spot for all my tournament enchanters,” he says, and he smiles ruefully. “We were just waiting for you to finally compete in Sunset Falls, Zhao. There are more enchanters than you would expect struggling their way up the ranks of tournament magic in the tristate area. Easiest way to blend in.”

“We both look out for them,” Nathan adds, glancing down at his watch like none of this is news to him.

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