The Architect Codex

Inferno - Cards On the Table

He nodded, a sigh of relief escaping him. "Yeah, sounds good."

"Alright, you go first."

He shook his head. "Not so fast; if this is a game about deception, I think it's fair I get to judge when you are or aren't lying. Helmet comes off."

She cocked her head to one side in confusion, then seemed to realize what he was referring to. "Oh, right—yeah, I suppose that's fair."

"Can't believe you've never once taken the helmet off in front of me."

"Just a matter of circumstance; I do have a face under here, I swear."

Reaching her hands up to the seals of her helmet, she unclasped them and slowly lifted up. As she did so, her tangle of short, dark brunette hair styled in a pixie cut greeted him as it fell into place. Her eyes were a rich brown, much lighter than most, somewhere between chestnut and amber.

Aside from that, he couldn't pinpoint anything that stood out—she was, in the nicest sense of the word, rather ordinary looking. She wasn't a super-model, or someone that would turn others' heads when they walked into a room—but that was okay. You didn't need to when you were one of the most elite mercenaries on the frontier.

That didn't mean that seeing her for the first time didn't have an effect on him. He blinked a few times, stunned at the reveal; she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him.

"What? Not what you were expecting?"

He shook himself out of his stupor. "Um, sorry—didn't mean to stare. To be honest? No, not at all. You're even prettier than I thought."

... Did I really just say that?

Both of them became still, looking at one another in shock—him for realizing what he'd just said, and her for him having said it.

After a moment, she lifted a hand and brushed her sweeping bangs out of her eyes with a slight smile. "Thanks. You know, you're much more charming than you first let on."

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, eliciting a laugh from her as he bobbed his head at the table. "Should we, uh, get back to the game?"

"Sure. Still your turn."

He took another hasty look at his cards, then pointed to the one on the right. "Eight."

"Call."

He narrowed his eyes, and flipped his cards over in consternation—he did have an eight, but it was a six that he'd pointed to. "How'd you know?"

"Not only is this your first time playing," she said with a chuckle, "but your face is still flushed from before. I don't think you're in any position to be bluffing right now."

He gritted his teeth, feeling the hotness in his cheeks rising again. That was what she wanted, him on edge—it'd make him a lousy player. He steadied his breathing, and went for the counter attack.

"Well, I think it's only fair that we talk about how charming you think I am."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What about it?"

"Well, that word has some certain connotations—so what exactly do you find so alluring about me?"

She held a hand over her mouth and widened her eyes as she laughed. "Oh, no—if I recall correctly, you were the Crook. We'll chalk this up to a practice round, but you haven't earned the right to question me yet."

He held a hand up in surrender, giving her back the cards and allowing her to reshuffle. Two new cards came his way, which he quickly glanced at and planted facedown before pointing to the left one.