Page 107 of The Grandest Game
But not now.
Right now, Savannah was wearing her game face. “What’s next for those of us who successfully made it to the dock by dawn?”
Chapter 78
ROHAN
If there was one skill—one legal and perfectly moral skill, at least—that Rohan had in spades, it was reading a room. And if there was one skill he’d honed to perfection in the past twelve hours, it was reading Savannah Grayson.
He’d heard Savannah’s sharp intake of breath when her twin’s head had slammed into that boulder. He’d felt Savannah’s world come screeching to a halt, frozen in the seconds it had taken for Gigi to stand back up.
He’d felt the shift in Savannah once it became clear that Gigi was going to be fine.
Revenge.Rohan imagined himself in the labyrinth, placing a hand on the door to the room that contained unknowns—things that mattered, puzzles that didn’t quite fit.
Grayson Hawthorne. Gigi. Their absent father. Revenge.A picture had begun to take hold. Rohan diverted just enough of hisattention to the real world to look between Savannah and the game makers as Jameson Hawthorne stepped forward to answer her question.
“Those of you who remain in the game will have twelve hours to get some rest. Look for a special delivery then. In the meantime…” Jameson looked to Xander.
The youngest Hawthorne held out his right arm and dramatically pushed up his sleeve. He was wearing what appeared to be eight smartwatches. With no small amount of ceremony, Xander Hawthorne took off five of the watches and handed them out to the remaining players, one by one.
Rohan accepted his, then observed Savannah doing the same. She wasn’t looking at Xander Hawthorne. She wasn’t looking at her twin sister or her Hawthorne half brother, either.
Savannah was watching Avery Grambs.
Chapter 79
LYRA
Lyra looked down at the watch that Xander Hawthorne had just placed on her wrist. Words scrolled across the screen:PLAYER NUMBER 4, LYRA KANE.
Lyra had been number four of eight before, but she was four of five now. Her gaze went first to Grayson, who was still standing near his injured sister, then to Odette.
The three of them weren’t a team anymore.
“A question,” Odette said. She pinched the band of her watch between a finger and her thumb. “Are these watches transferable?”
It took Lyra’s brain a second to catch up with what Odette had just asked.
“By the rules of the game,” Odette elaborated, “can I give my place in phase two to another player?”
What? No.Lyra stared at Odette.You’re dying. This game—you’re going to win it if it’s the last thing you do.Lyra’s gaze shiftedto Grayson, who looked back at her, a silent exchange that told Lyra their minds were operating in tandem.
Odette couldn’t leave. Not before she’d told them what she knew.
“Why would you?” Jameson Hawthorne’s expression made it clear: He was intrigued. Objectively,intriguedwas probably a good look for Jameson Hawthorne, but Lyra barely even spared him a glance.
There was only one Hawthorne on this dock who mattered to Lyra, one Hawthorne who knew what was truly at stake here.One and only one.
“My health is not what I thought it was, coming into this game.” Odette sold that statement like the actress she was, a proud tilt to her chin, like the admission cost her.
That’s not why you’re leaving.Lyra knew it. She knew that Grayson knew it, too.
This was about the omega symbol, the calla lily, the power outage. This was about Lyra and Grayson.The right kind of disaster just waiting to happen.
From her position on the dock, Avery Grambs silently exchanged a look with Jameson, then Xander, then Nash, before she finally looked back to Odette.
“We’ll allow it,” Avery said, speaking for the group.
