June laughed, a dry scrap of sound. “Colder after you lose.”
The dealer drew. The card came up—ace. Theo cursed softly, June rolled her eyes, Harlan swore under his breath. The pot shifted. The tiny crusted note slid closer to Silas’s coin as if drawn by some polite gravity. faro scene crack full
Maren dealt again, fingers nimble as a confession. The room thinned until only the rhythm of cards and the shiver of breath remained. The small crusted note was still at the center; Theo nudged it with his foot like a dog scenting a bone. June laughed, a dry scrap of sound
“Faro’s a simple teacher,” Maren said quietly, mostly to herself. “It tells you what you already are.” Theo cursed softly, June rolled her eyes, Harlan
“You coming with me, or you want to make a poor man poorer?” Harlan asked.
She clutched at the sash of her coat. “Please,” she said, and there was no ceremony in the word. “He promised. I need—”
The crack in the mirror seemed to widen into a jagged grin. The cards lay everywhere like leaves.