When it was her turn, she grabbed a card, hoping for the Crown Jewel to show itself when she flipped it: The Huntsman of Coins.
She restrained herself from throwing it back with a frustrated growl. No one watched her more closely than Canary, who added, “Still. Even if they are buffoons, be careful. Outside of these parts, we don’t get many chances in this industry. If any. Not like they do.”
“Think one of them is going to try and knock me out?” Kallia tossed the Huntsman onto the table’s surface without care.
“I would be shocked if the majority hadn’t tried already,” Canary said. “Judges included. I’m not too familiar with their work, but from the looks of them, they could’ve never done what you pulled off. Beware the wrath of old dogs.”
“They’d do better to beware of me.”
It didn’t take long for Kallia to have her turn at braving the deck. Most of her picks ended up being numbers and nonroyals, but she was satisfied to see the same pattern with Canary. Based on the cards thrown so far, she must’ve been itching to complete the Court of Stars or Coins.
“I heard there’s a young judge,” Ira said. “That he comes from the Patrons of Great.”
“And here I thought you didn’t care about Spectaculore at all.” Kallia’s humor died instantly at the thought of Demarco. She’d done everything she could to push him from her mind, but his eyes from the night he visited haunted her. The way they seared and searched, determined to do something she wasn’t quite sure of.
“I don’t care about your little show.” The seamstress aimed a dirty look her way. “We’ve never had a Patron in town. Never had a reason for them.”
“He’s not a Patron, he’s a performer. And young enough that he’s probably staging a comeback,” the flame-eater quipped, unenthused. “Though why he’d choose this as his platform, I’ll never understand.”
Kallia looked down at her hand thoughtfully, still holding out for the Crown Jewel of Flames. She deliberated like a wolf waiting to strike, but this was not a hunt she could control. Not with her curiosity piqued. “Why did he stop in the first place?”
Canary’s forehead creased as she assessed her. “You mean you don’t know? It was all over the news, years ago. What, were you exiled from civilization?”
In a sense. “Oh just tell us. Ira’s clearly dying to know, as well.”
“Don’t group me with you, girl,” Ira scoffed, though she’d pressed forward subtly.
With a sigh, Canary tossed a card out. “I don’t follow magicians that much in the papers. Most are greasy pigs who just party, not very interesting. But Demarco had an angle, as a son among the Patrons. If Patrons are the law and order of magic, then performers are the chaos. Which came with a special kind of spotlight. Up until the very end.”
Kallia picked a new card from the deck, instantly throwing it back when it wasn’t the Crown Jewel of Flames. “You make it sound so morbid. It’s not like he’s dead.”
“Not him.” The other girl’s face’s fell. “In his last act, there was an accident. His assistant.”
A short gasp came from Ira. Kallia’s muscles seized. “What sort of accident?”
“Something to do with a broken mirror—I honestly didn’t want to know the details.” Canary shuddered. “Sad thing was, Demarco and his assistant were really close. I think that’s why he stopped performing rather than simply get a new one. Sometimes you can’t do magic anymore without certain people in your life. Sometimes you just … don’t want to.”
The knot in Kallia’s stomach had tightened tenfold, pressing into her like a knife.
How many times had she asked him why he didn’t perform?
How many times had she taunted him about it?
“So what, you forsake magic only to become a judge of it instead?” Always the skeptic, Ira rapped her fingers against the table. “That sounds logical.”
“I don’t get it, either. But that’s all I know.” Canary shrugged, motioning for Kallia to take her turn. “Enough about Judge Demarco. Let’s play.”
Kallia stretched her neck, realizing the Conquerors had dispersed from over their shoulders. The tables were a bit emptier than when she’d entered, and she suddenly wished she were no longer here with the turn this game had taken.
Without thinking, she tossed out her Crown Prince of Coins onto the unruly pile of numbers and faces.
Canary let out a victory screech.
“Yes!” She gleefully seized the Crown Prince, slamming her cards against the table. She pumped a fist