Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 438

Stella vaguely remembered him, precisely because of those black earrings. They were shaped like tiny skulls.

So he was from North Myanor.

That meant he was from across the border. She wondered if he knew anything about her grandfather.

Feigning shock, Stella asked, "No one else could tell?"

Cheating was practically a given in these circles; it all came down to whose sleight of hand was slick enough to go unnoticed.

No one dominated a table that easily by playing fair.

Joel kept his voice low. "That's what makes him so dangerous. Even when people knew he was cheating, they couldn't catch him in the act. So, when they lost, they just had to swallow it."

"He's really that good?"

"Yeah, he's that good. Speak of the devil."

Stella glanced toward the entrance of the dining hall. Sure enough, the man with the skull earrings was walking in, radiating a gloomy, oppressive energy.

To her surprise, he was walking side by side with Lucian.

Were Lucian and the earring guy working together?

Was that idiot who tailed her last night working for them?

And what exactly did they want with her?

The gloomy man with the skull earrings strutted in as if everyone in the room was beneath him, acting like a king surveying his defeated subjects.

As they walked in, Lucian spotted Stella. He met her gaze and flashed that same irritating, crooked smirk from the night before.

Stella despised that look. It made her feel like she was prey on his dinner plate, and it made her skin crawl.

Unfazed, she rolled her eyes at him.

The bastard actually had the nerve to run a finger across his throat in a mocking death threat!

Aside from Joel's momentary lapse in judgment the day before, he was actually decent company. Since Stella had time to kill, she entertained the conversation.

"Ms. Todd, could I get your number? I'd love to stay in touch as friends," Joel asked. He was drawn to her beauty, and having a stunning woman like her on his arm would be a major ego boost.

Stella shut him down politely. "If it's meant to be, we'll run into each other again. Besides, I have a boyfriend."

Joel didn't seem bothered by the rejection. He smiled easily. "I envy whoever he is. Still, I hope we cross paths again."

Stella simply smiled, finishing the last bite of her steak before standing up to leave.

Joel had arrived later than her and was still eating, so he stayed behind.

As Stella made her way out, she deliberately took the long route, walking directly past the table where the Crooked Smirk and the Earring Guy were sitting.

She casually raised her slender fingers to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. As her hand dropped, she made a microscopic flick of her wrist.

No one noticed a thing.