Rakta regarded the other Ace coldly. "Aren't you supposed to be with your Queen?"

Tamsus gave him a tolerant half smile. "Aren't you?"

"I'm where I should be," Rakta hedged, watching as the Heart paced over to one of the massive tapestries on the walls.

"By that, I take it you mean Queen Mielas has asked you to watch me." Tamsus cocked his head at the vicious battle spread out before him, running his fingers over a line of scarlet thread that turned into a pool of blood beneath a Spade general. One that had fallen at the hands of a long-ago Diamond Ace.

When Rakta didn't answer, Tamsus looked over his shoulder with a charming grin. He sighed before turning back to the tapestry. "That's okay. Mavros wants me to watch you too. So I guess that makes my job easier. Though..."

Rakta stiffened, forcing himself into stillness when Tamsus whirled around and bolted over, sudden standing right next to his Diamond counterpart. He was shockingly quick. He leaned close and whispered, "It does make it dreadfully boring."

Rakta met eyes that reminded him of frozen drops of blood. Tamsus tilted his head, unruly red hair falling into his face. 

"Wouldn't you rather things stay boring? I find most treaties don't go over well when one Ace is trying to kill the other."

Tamsus chuckled, sounding delighted by the thought. Propping his elbow up on Rakta's shoulder, the Heart gave the tapestry a wistful look. "Boredom is my enemy, Diamond. Not you, though perhaps you can be part of the solution?"

Rakta raised an eyebrow. "And why would I do that?"

The other Ace shrugged, eyes glittering. "Because it won't go over well for any of us when I pick a fight with anyone else."

Rakta pulled away from Tamsus, turning so that he faced the Heart completely. Tamsus winked at him before turning on his heel. His red coat flaring out around him, he called over his shoulder, "I prefer knives myself. I'm sure you'll know where to find me when you want to come play."

He watched the other Ace stalk gracefully down the hall, everything about him predatory. "What do you mean, 'when you pick a fight'?" he asked, raising his voice.

Tamsus turned so that he was walking backwards and spread his arms out wide. "You know what I mean, Rakta," he said, voice almost jubilant. "You're the same thing I am. Two of a kind."

"What makes you think that?" Rakta asked, half-turning to head out the front door.

The slightest tap against the marble was the only thing that warned him. He sidestepped and Tamsus went past him in a red blur.

Rakta's vision crystallized and, almost before he knew what was happening, he found himself holding two of his knives. He ducked two blurs of silver, twisting the blade of his left knife around to catch a third blow.

There was a clang that reverberated down the stone hall, and Rakta let out a slow breath as he kept Tamsus' blade barely an inch away from his eye.

Tamsus took a step closer to Rakta, who wouldn't back up. The edges of the knives ground together, the metal protesting the abuse. The Heart grinned. "Your princess is lovely," he said. "I especially liked her necklace. That line of perfect red. Almost like someone had cut her pretty throat."

Rakta snarled and jerked his knee up, but Tamsus had already danced away. The words sparked fury in his chest, and he flipped the dagger in his hand before flinging it hard at the other Ace, who snatched it out of the air by the blade.

Tamsus dove back in, driving Rakta's own knife towards him.

Rakta plucked another from his jacket and met this attack with another block, his wrist protesting the force being exerted upon it as Tamsus continued to try and drive the blade down.

They stayed deadlocked for another minute before Tamsus broke into a wide grin. Tipping his head back, he laughed. "That's what I mean, Rakta."

He laughed again, the sound echoing around them, and Rakta couldn't help the grudging smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. Before he could school his expression back to anger, Tamsus caught the smile and leaned forward, once more whispering in Rakta's ear. "It all comes down to blood. I am a little disappointed that I'm currently not seeing any but all in good time, right?"

"What does that mean?" Rakta asked, his own voice low.

"It means," Tamsus said, exasperated, "that I'd like to know just how skilled you are. It will matter in the coming months."

With that, he pulled away from Rakta, offering another of those bizarre, charming grins before sauntering back down the hall. This time, Rakta waited until the other Ace was completely out of sight before he relaxed, frowning.

He was still wondering about what the Heart's Ace had meant.

If he had even meant anything at all. Even for a Wonderlander, he was confusing.

Shaking his head, Rakta wound his way through the narrow servant's passages until he came to a door on the eastern side of the castle that would lead him to the training grounds and his quarters in the barracks. He crossed the smooth lawns, going over every single moment in the hallway. 

Entering the barracks, he nodded at the soldiers who greeted him, returning salutes absentmindedly as he walked through the main room, purposefully turning a blind eye to the gambling that was occurring around him. Everyone knew they weren't supposed to gamble. Everyone did it anyway. 

Rakta climbed the stairs to his private room, his ribs still making themselves well known. Rubbing at his eyes, he opened his door and looked up, vision slightly blurry.

It took him a minute to understand who was in his room and when he did, Rakta stumbled backwards, fetching up against the wall of the corridor. He froze, staring with horrified eyes as a Jack walked past, saluting the Ace before continuing on his way.

Once the coast was clear, Rakta flew back into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He whirled around, his back pressing hard into the wood. "What are you doing here, Princess?" he hissed.

Avinos was sitting at the edge of his bed, her fingers playing absently with her long hair. Rakta lost a little focus as he watched the red tresses wind in a sinuous line around her slim fingers.

Giving him a frown, the princess drew her legs up until she was sitting cross-legged. Keeping her voice low, she said, "I needed someone to talk to. I didn't have anyone else to go to."

Rakta slid down the wall, rubbing at his face again before giving her a dry look. "You do know that I'll be whipped to death when they find the princess in my private quarters, sitting on my bed no less?"

Now Avinos rolled her eyes. "That doesn't change the fact that I need to talk to you, Rakta. Privately."

He was silent for a long moment, studying the princess, trying to prevent his mind from wandering into forbidden territory. Eventually, he sighed in defeat. He waved a hand at her, propping his elbow up on a knee, his right leg stretching out in front of him.

She bit her lip, staring at the stone floor. Rakta was just about to ask what she wanted to discuss when she suddenly looked up. "What do you think of him?"

"Him who?" He asked the question, even though he already knew the answer.

Now it was Avinos' turn to give him a dry look. "You know who, Rakta. You could hardly tear your eyes away from him."

"One should always keep an eye on beasts with claws and sharp teeth," Rakta muttered, only half paying attention as his mind was pulled back to the odd exchange he'd had with the other Ace in the hall mere minutes ago.

Avinos shivered before nodding. "Beast indeed. Have you seen his eyes, Rakta?" Slowly, Rakta nodded. Avinos shuddered and lowered her voice even more. "When he looked at me, it was like he wanted to devour me."

"He liked your necklace," he said without thinking. "Said it was like your throat had been cut."

His eyes darted back to Avinos when she let out a small gasp, her hand going to her neck where the choker of rubies still sat even though she had traded her gown for a long tunic and fitted trousers. "I wish Mother hadn't asked them to stay," she said, face white.

"He won't get anywhere near you," Rakta swore, his voice fierce. "And if he does, I'll kill him, allies and treaties be damned."

Avinos offered him a small, but genuine smile. "If you did that, we'd probably have to run away to keep Mother from beheading you," she said with a shaky laugh.

Rakta snorted at the idea. Mielas had only ever once held an execution, dealing with a Club spy. Then, his mind caught on something. "We?"

He looked up just in time to watch a soft blush creep over Avinos' cheeks before she stood up and went to his window, peering out into the late afternoon. "Of course," she said lightly. "I don't think you'd last a day without me, Ace."

Rakta's eyelids lowered as she used his title, rather than his name. His voice just a little too cool, he said, "Is that all you wanted to know, Princess? That I will be keeping an eye on the Heart's Ace as your mother asked me to?"

Now Avinos whirled around to look at his closed-off expression. She sighed. "I'm concerned that my mother is going to listen to Mavros' madness."

"Allying together against the Spades?" Rakta asked, brow furrowing in surprise.

Avinos nodded, sitting back down on the bed. "I'm worried that she is actually taking this idea seriously."

"You don't want a Red Deck ruling Wonderland?" he asked, incredulous.

Raking her hands through her thick hair, Avinos sighed in frustration. Fingers still buried in her poppy-colored hair, she whispered, "I don't." Rakta stared at her for a moment, aghast. He opened his mouth, but stopped when Avinos held up a hand, expression pleading. "Let me explain?" 

Rakta nodded quickly. Of course she would have an explanation. He just wondered if it would be one that made sense. As far as he was concerned, even a Heart High Queen would be better than anything the Black Decks had to offer.

Avinos closed her eyes. "You've never met High King Quinn, have you?"

Rakta shook his head.

She offered him a crooked smile. "We're all raised with prejudice, Rakta. The Red Decks think they're better than the Black and vice versa. But belief doesn't necessarily equate to truth."

"What are you saying, Avi?" The nickname slipped off his tongue before he could stop it.

She shrugged. "When I met High King Quinn, I was only thirteen years old. Even then he would take me seriously. He would converse with me as he would any other adult, and he seemed genuinely intrigued by my thoughts on leading and the Decks." Biting her lip again, she continued, "I spent some time in his court. I'm sure you remember that summer. It was the longest we had been parted from one another since we had met."

Rakta frowned. "I remember. Masuta took me to the southern deserts to teach me how to survive there."

That had been a particularly brutal lesson. The desert was a harsh teacher.

Avinos nodded, her gaze far away as she brought her knees into her chest, resting her chin on them. "When I was at Spade Castle, Quinn allowed me to observe any and all interactions that took place in his court. I was stunned by him. By his honor, his wisdom. Awed, really, though I dare tell no other person this."

His heart darkening, he said, "You'd be branded a traitor."

"Probably," she mused, not seeming very perturbed by the idea. "But the point, Rakta, is that Quinn should be High King. And if his son grows into half the man his father is, then he deserves the throne as well. Wonderland would fare much better under them than it would under Mavros."

Rakta chewed on his lip, careful not to accidentally cut his lip. "What will you do if your mother does join Mavros' coup?"

Avinos raked her hand through her hair again, more agitated this time. "I don't know, Rakta. And that scares me."

They sat there in companionable silence then, even though Avinos' words hung heavily in the room between them. He was actually almost dozing when she let out a sigh, making him jump. 

Locking eyes with her, Rakta asked, "What do you make of Tamsus?"

Avinos shook her head, her face serious. "Don't engage with him, Rakta. There's something... wrong with him. He's poisonous."

He shivered slightly at her warning.

He'd been thinking almost the exact same thing.