Page 33 of Fortune's Kiss
Boring?Who would be bored?she wondered.Was this all for Misterioso’s sick entertainment?
“Perhapsyouwill get the chance to choose what you wager in another round or two,” Misterioso said.“Not everyone has to wager so much, especially not all at once.You may play much more conservatively if you wish.”
“Ah, but those who play it safe never emerge victorious,” Don Zelaya said, wearing the slimiest of smirks.“We should bet big!But unlike Montoya, Dios rest her soul, I’ll play itsmart.”
“I like the way you think!”Misterioso grabbed a goblet of wine from one of the servers and raised it.“¡Salud!”But before he or Don Zelaya could drink, Xiomara retched and turned away from the table.She vomited all over the floor.Mayté didn’t see it, but she didn’t have to.She wasn’t sure what sickened her more: the sloshing splash or Xiomara’s whimpering groans.
“Oh dear.”Misterioso handed off his goblet to a server.“We’ll get that cleaned up right away.”
A few of the servers rushed to clean up the mess, while another led Xiomara into a hallway.
“If anyone else needs to excuse themselves, you may follow them to the lavatory,” Misterioso said.“But do keep in mind, there are no exits, so if your intent is to escape, don’t bother.”
Dominic snatched his napkin and pressed it against his mouth, suppressing a gag.He jumped from his seat, almost knocking over his chair, and rushed into the hallway.
“Now, please, you must be hungry,” Misterioso urged.
“How can you expect us to eat after that bloodbath!”The shopkeeper threw his bowl off the table, sending glass and menudo flying.Much in the same way Mayté had thrown the pot of paint.That felt like a lifetime ago.“Stop telling us to eat, because WE CAN’T!”He pounded his fist, shaking the entire table.Next to him, a woman burst into anguished sobs.It took a moment, but Mayté recognized her.She was one of Lo’s maids.The only one who still treated Mayté like a princess even after her family lost everything rather than gossiping like everyone else.It was terrible to see someone as kind as her stuck in this horrific place.
But then it dawned on Mayté.She knew most of these contestants.Was everyone here connected in some way?
A spoon clinked against a bowl.Lo took a delicate sip of menudo, then another spoonful and another.
“How can you keep it down?”Mayté whispered.
“A good bowl of menudo always c-c-comforts me,” she whispered back.Her answer may have sounded confident, but her fingers shook, dribbling soup onto the tablecloth.For Lo’s sake, Mayté didn’t call her bluff.
“This is the best food I’ve had in ages,” a man gruffed before slurping a spoonful.Mayté looked up at him and froze.The vaquero from last night.The exact one who had grabbed her.Outfitted in a dress shirt and without his hat or bandanna, she almost hadn’t recognized him, but his voice gave it all away.Her scalp tingled and the lump in her throat grew as she stared.Broth dribbled down his scruffy chin.He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and continued shoveling in the soup.Then he glanced in her direction.
She had to get away.“E-e-excuse me.”She shot up from her seat, only to crash into someone.“S-s-sorry.”
“No, I should have watched where I was walking.”It was the croupier who had been staring at her earlier.Up close, the paint on his face was full of haunting detail.An intricately patterned spiderweb emerged from his dark brown hair, which was styled away from his face.Painted black swirls at his chin emphasized his sharp jaw.A stitched smile had been painted at his lips; his frown fought with the cartoony illusion.Hazel eyes popped against the black paint, and thick eyebrows furrowed with concern.“I know you must not be very hungry,” he said, lowering his voice.“But you should at least stay hydrated.”He pointed to the glass of water at her place.“Tonight’s dessert is pan dulce.I’ve found sweets go down much easier, and you’ll feel better if you eat a little.Trust me.”His lips curved into a slight smile.“If you have time, maybe stop by the library.It’s a good place to sit and think.”
“I—okay.Y-y-yes,” Mayté stammered as her face flushed.“Thank you.”Unsure what else to do, she sat back down.
The croupier continued on his way until Misterioso pulled him aside, giving him orders of some kind.As the two spoke, the croupier kept glancing at Mayté with those hazel eyes.Or was it all in her head?For all she knew he could have been eyeing Lo, next to her, just like every other boy.
Mayté took the smallest sip of water.Then another, and another.The cool liquid soothed her dry throat.When she looked back up, the croupier was gone.
As promised, pan dulce was the final course of the hellish meal.The servers set down a platter spilling over with colorful pastries and cookies, but unlike those at the street mercado,which might or might not have been stale, these were clearly just pulled from the oven.The sweet warm scent brought Mayté’s curdled stomach back to life.Flecks of sugar winked under the light of the chandelier, and vibrant shades of pink and rich chocolaty brown begged to be devoured.
She grabbed a polvoron rosa and took a bite.It crumbled onto the table and melted in her mouth.The subtle sweetness tasted so much like home, it almost brought tears to her eyes.She barely touched the rest of her meal, but before Misterioso gathered everyone for a tour of Fortune’s Kiss, she had eaten a concha and two empanadas.She felt better, but only a little.
As Misterioso led them back into the elevator, no one said a word.It seemed everyone had accepted their fate.
Or so Mayté thought.
As soon as the doors opened, the shopkeeper bolted out, sprinting down the hall without looking back.
No one chased him.Misterioso didn’t even bat an eye.Instead, the masked man stepped out of the elevator with an amused chuckle.“Let us continue.”
Mayté was no expert on architecture, but Fortune’s Kiss seemed much bigger on the inside than the outside.From the street she would have guessed it was around five floors, yet they had already seen five and the elevator continued to ascend.
“The library,” Misterioso said as the doors opened.Mayté could see the enormous room—a whole floor, it seemed—filled with wall-to-wall shelves of books.
The croupier.This was the place he meant …
The doors opened on another floor and there was a theater with twinkling lights and plush seats.Misterioso told them that live entertainment played there every evening.On another floor there was an indoor garden full of marigolds in different shadesof pink, yellow, and of course, orange.The walls emulated the night sky, showing deep violet clouds and stars glittering like diamonds.Fireflies danced, aglow among the crosses sticking up from the ground.Was this actually a graveyard?If it was, Misterioso didn’t say a word about it.Everything about this place was beautiful, yet no one marveled aloud.Someone sniffled.Dominic coughed.No matter how breathtaking this place was, it didn’t change the terrible truth.
