Sahyir rocked the die in his hand and let it roll over the table. Two dots looked at him, and he threw again.

Four.

And he continued to roll until a Six appeared.

“Stop.”

It took him eight turns until he had depleted his score. If one rolled without stopping, a Six would appear at one point. Ragna Griffin should believe that he got a score with value. He could have continued, but this was the first round. It didn’t matter.

Ragna threw three more times until she said, “Stop.”.

“She has a score of twenty-seven,” said one of the pitmen. “He has a score of zero. And as for the bets, he guessed he would lose, and she that she would win.

Sahyir held his hand in front of his mouth and yawned.

Of course, she would bet that she would win. Why did the betting rule exist in the first place? Both parties aimed for victory as that would give one the maximum earnings. If one predicted that one would fail and was correct, one would still lose half of the Honey one had bet. If the prediction turned out to be wrong, one would win only half the Honey.

They had laid a trap for idiots and frightened cats. How ridiculous. As much as he would enjoy seeing them get punished for their shortcomings, anyone with half a brain cell would always bet that they would win. So, someone would always predict the right outcome and the other the wrong one. One would always win double, and the other lose double.

“Can I ask you a question, Ragna Griffin?”

Ragna smiled. “You already did.”

Was she trying to irritate him?

“What are you doing here in Heorot? Don’t worry. I’ve no intention of telling anyone. Besides, we’re outside Midgard’s jurisdiction.”

She starred at him for a few seconds. “I’m trying to get entry into Avalon.”

Sahyir narrowed his eyes. “I suppose you don’t wanna tell me about your business in the big apple tree?”

“Nope,” Ragna said in a cheery tone and wrote down her debt. “Let’s double the bet.”

Sayhir did the same, and the two started to roll again.

What could she possibly want in Avalon? He had been to the city only thrice on business trips and had never found out why no one could enter the borders without permission. Could it be related? If so, how would Ragna Griffin know what made Avalon so special?

His eyes wandered over the table towards Grendel and examined him in his entire profile.

Could he have told her? That was unlikely. Most Avalonians kept the secret for themselves, and Grendel didn’t seem like the person to reveal it. But he might be the key. He had connections to the Round Table and the Clocktower. Avalon was officially an ally of Midgard, but that relationship could break off any moment if it became inconvenient for either party. If they believed they could get an advantage, would they assist Ragna Griffin? The Clocktower and the Round Table could provide her resources. But for what?

“Stop,” said Ragna, and Sahyir looked back at his table.

Did he already roll a Six? He had not paid attention. She had stopped, and he could have any score. Should he continue or stop? If he had rolled a Six, then he knew it was futile, but if he didn’t, he would risk a lower score.

Sahyir rolled three more times and stopped.

“She has a score of sixty-seven. He has a score of zero. Both bet they would win.”

Sahyir groaned.

He should pay attention. It was one thing to lose because one fell for a gambit or the other party cheated, but because one wasn’t paying attention?

“Should we double again?” Ragna put her head on her hands, staring at him with her blue eyes.

“Sure.” Sahyir had no choice but to return a smile.

Ragna Griffin was a gorgeous woman for sure, but in his twenty-eight years of life, he had met many who could rival her looks. Several of those people had begged him to take them as his spouse. He had rejected them all. Yet, when he gazed upon those blue eyes, how these electric lights glimmered like the seas around Minanaught, all he could think about was the beauty they radiated.

“Stop.” Ragna’s lips moved, and Sahyir looked at his die.

Again, he had not paid attention to his rolls. Had a Six already appeared? He wouldn’t know.

That was what this was all about. The design of the game required zero strategies and allowed one to earn double. No wonder that girl chose this game. She didn’t need skills. Her looks, demeanor, and these eyes would cause her opponents to lose focus and make mistakes. She didn’t want to gamble; she wanted to win and take all his Honey. And he had run into her trap.

Sahyir chuckled. “Stop.”

The pitman pointed at him. “Your score is zero.” Then, at Ragna. “And yours is forty-four. Both of you-”

“Oh, cut it out.” Sahyir’s started to laugh. He snapped his finger. A second later, one of his bodyguards had put a glass on his table and poured raki inside it. “We both bet on winning.” He took the drink and emptied it in one go. “Let me guess. You want to double again.”

“Of course.” Ragna opened her lips and showed him her teeth. Greed and gluttony protruded between her fangs, and a red glimmer enhanced her face.

He was playing against a carnivore.

And another round began.

Even if he knew that she was trying to ruin him, he couldn’t stop. He needed to know what she was planning to do. Ragna Griffin could be an innocent girl trapped in a conspiracy, or she could be trying to undermine Midgard’s government. She could be on a journey to clear her name, or she could be on a quest to lighten the fire of a new world war.

He lost another round.

But did he wish to be a mere victim? No. If she tried to win at all costs, he would ensure that she would have to earn it. If she claimed victory in this game, it would be by the skin on her teeth.

“We’re not going to double again, he said.”

This victory wouldn’t have any worth if she didn’t struggle for it. He knew it all too well, being one of his father’s many anonymous heirs. Now, he had a secure position and more money than he could ever spend, but in the past, he had to struggle against other competitors in the family.

Like everyone else in his position, he at first had enjoyed the luxury. He spent his Wert on anything he could imagine and became a model of decadent nobility. The days when he had to scrape by and spent every waking minute plotting were over. No longer did the nights exist where his brain was raving in paranoia, thinking how if he slept, his opponents could use the opportunity. Poison, pawns and knights, and threats had been his allies and tools. He didn’t just trade them away; he destroyed the chessboard.

And it was boring.

“What do you want instead?” Ragna tilted her and twisted her lips to a pout.

“Same amount as last round. Say, have you ever been to Baghdad?”

“I haven’t. Please, don’t tell me that this is about my mother.”

“Your mother? Oh, that’s right. If you’re Ragna Griffin, then your mother should be Linde Sieg. She was in Baghdad during the tragedy.” He clapped in his hands. “Ah, there’s no need to blemish your face with wrinkles. We’ve never met in the world of reality. I’ve only known her in rumors and stories. Interesting ones for sure, but as relevant as the buzzing of a fly in a winter’s night.”

“You sure like your metaphors. Are most people from Kemet-Raa like this?” Ragna laughed.

And Sahyir joined her. “No, no. Only those who wish to dull your nose with the scent of honey.”

“Unless I’m a bear, I should concentrate on the bees, shouldn’t I?”

“If you’re a queen bee, then yes.”

“I actually was back in high school.”

Sayir eyed her from head to waist. “Aren’t they supposed to be taller?”

O, Ragna Griffin. How right she was. He wasn’t a bear; he was a hyena – or a jackal. Yet, he had let the honey dull his senses. He could only smell sweetness, and it sickened him.

Ragna shrugged. “Being the queen was about character. As long as you were beautiful enough, it didn’t matter how. Buutt, I’ll be nice. Tell me your story.” She raised her index finger and wiggled it around like a parent, turning her voice into mockery. “And no metaphors.”

“It would have been a short story. Many believe that Baghdad’s abandoned, but those are usually ignorant of our kingdom. The city’s thriving with life. Even though many areas are still polluted, and infrastructure’s barely functioning, the people there have made themselves a home.”

“Can’t be a great life, though.”

“By far. At least if we measured it in our standards. Because if you looked at their faces, you would notice how they were brimming with life. The people there had accustomed to their situation. Many never knew anything else. They weren’t sad but grateful for what they had. And those who weren’t, worked to get what they wanted. They would steal, plot, and kill to improve their lot in life because they knew what they were doing and what they had to do. And if you showed them the beauty, they would know how to appreciate it.”

“So, you’re saying life’s better without luxury?”

Sahyir shook his head. “I’m talking about the struggle. It’s only in hardship and struggle that we can thrive.”

“Ah, so you want us to struggle, now? Then, let’s continue.”

Just them? No. That wouldn’t be enough. It was true. His fangs and claws had gotten dull. Instead of eating scraps, he had devoured milk and honey and forgotten how special they once were to him. The joy of eating a good meal for the first time, sleeping on a good bed for the first time – how much did he wish to experience it again? Once, he believed the world was full of wonders, full of beauty. But now, he had grown weary of it. And worse than that, he had stagnated. There was nothing to spark his desire to improve, his joy for the world.

And if that didn’t change, he would leave this world behind. In a last-ditch effort, he had entered Heorot. He never believed in the words, but he had gotten desperate. And it turned out to be a sham. The city let one fall for sure – into a safety net. What he had wished to find wasn’t here.

He wrote down his bet and started to roll. This time, he would pay attention.

Three; Five; One; Two; Three.

Should he stop? He had continued five times so far, and the probability of one-sixth remained.

His eyes looked up. Ragna was still rolling her die, not spending a moment to think about her choices.

Was she pretending to roll, or was she still in the game? She hadn’t gained a single Six so far in any round. Was she cheating or having luck, and was her behavior a calculated gambit or a desire for success no matter the risks or consequences? Ah, screw it. He would let her entangle him in her net, and he would fight as the threads tore into his throat.

He rolled, and rolled, and rolled. Four; Five; Two; One; Three.

“Stop,” he said eventually.

“We’re going to end this round.” The pitman pointed at him. “You have twenty-nine points. And she has zero. You both bet on winning.”

With this, he had earned back the money he had lost in the last round. Not that he cared. He had enough that he wouldn’t have noticed if a thief would take it from him.

The entire world behaved like him. Thanks to the peace and luxury, Aes had become stagnant and lost its appreciation for life. But what had to happen for that to change? Was starting a new world war the only way? Even he couldn’t sacrifice billions of lives for his satisfaction. Given the scale of the previous one, would life still sprout if a new one happened?

Sayhir sighed. He gazed at his surroundings, trying to find something that could provide him with an answer until he once again stopped at Ragna’s eyes. Her pupils had sharpened like daggers, and the white of her eyes blackened to tar. But within that darkness, the blue radiated at its strongest.

“This time, I would like to quadruple the bet, Mr. Oil Prince.”

Ragna smiled, and Sayhir agreed without resistance.

Wasn’t it true? After the darkest night, Raa’s light shone at its brightest. How much light could she illuminate? No, he asked the wrong question. How much darkness could Ragna Griffin bring to the world? Was she perhaps the answer? Just what would she do? Was there even any other option but Ragna Griffin? If he wanted to fulfill his desires, he needed her. He needed her to reach her goals and plunge her world into chaos. Even if she never intended it, she had to be the kind of person who would create misfortune without knowing it.

Yes, yes, yes. It was Ragna Griffin. There was no other answer.

“You’ve already lost,” one of the pitmen said.

Sahyir laughed.

Who cared about that? Ragna Griffin was important. He couldn’t deny it anymore that he needed her. If he took her back to his chambers in Kemet-Raa and forced her to entertain him every night, or else he would behead her, would he be satisfied?

No, that wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t bring him true joy. She couldn’t just succeed with her plans. He had to witness it and be at her side.

She had to be by his side. How many lunatics wished to disrupt the world? How many desired to use Ragna Griffin for their goals? He couldn’t allow it because he was the only one with permission to use her. It had to be his machinations that led Ragna Griffin towards her goal and the great calamity that would start his suffering.

“What do you want?” he asked Ragna.

Ragna tilted her head. “Right now?” Her lips curled to a smirk. “Everything.”

“Splendid. Just splendid. You’re greedy and selfish. Just how far would you go if you want this “everything?” Would you even destroy Aes or start a new world war?”