Lukas reached forward and flipped his first card.

It was a jack of clubs.

This was his weakest card, placed exactly where he had intended it to be.

The moment he saw the value of Lukas’ card, Trent began to chuckle. "After everything you said."

He shook his head slowly, the familiar confidence returning to his expression like a cloth he never really discarded. "After all that, you’re still going to taste defeat."

"Life is a fickle thing," Lukas said. "One moment everything looks clear, and the next, all you can see is the floor coming up to meet you."

He held Trent’s gaze. "I’m curious what kind of man you are when the floor arrives."

"The kind who watches it happen to someone else," Trent said.

Then he flipped his first card. It was a two of hearts. He had won this matchup.

The crowd murmured, the energy shifting.

"One down," Trent said. "Two to go."

Lukas smiled at that but said nothing.

Trent reached for his second card, and this time he didn’t bother with any questions or performance. He simply flipped it over, every movement exhibiting confidence.

He’d taken the result of the first matchup as a sign that he was going to win.

Lukas glanced down at the card. A four of hearts.

Trent sat back slightly, watching Lukas. "Your move."

Lukas leaned forward, clasping his fingers together on the table, and met his eyes.

"I’ve already won," he said quietly.

Then he flipped his second card.

An ace of spades.

The crowd erupted into conversation immediately, a particularly loud groan filling the air.

"What the hell?"

"Damn it! The suspense is killing me. Do they have to wait for the last matchup of the last round to get a winner?"

"Thank goodness I didn’t bet on this game. I would’ve died of anxiety before the winner is decided."

As for Trent, he stared at the two revealed cards. Things were not going the way he’d expected them to. He should’ve won both matchups and by extension, the entire pot.

He exhaled. It didn’t matter. He would still win.

Lukas placed his hand on the edge of his third card.

He held Trent’s gaze for a moment, watching the way the man’s eyes narrowed, before flipping it over.

The crowd gasped.

A four of spades.

Trent froze where he sat.

The card sat on the table between them, and the crowd went very quiet, wondering if the move was positive or negative.

Trent needed a card lower than four to win. But did he have it?

Lukas watched him, his heart drumming in his chest. He was sure he’d won, but nothing was set in stone yet.

He watched as Trent’s expression changed. His heart skipped a beat as the man chuckled. And before long, the chuckles turned into full blown laughter.

His cackle filled the air, and everyone stared at him in conclusion, wondering if he’d gone mad.

"Did he win?"

"He must have better cards since he’s laughing."

"I don’t think so. That’s not a happy laugh."

"What about that laugh doesn’t look happy to you?!"

Trent’s laugh tapered off, then he leaned forward, still chuckling, and flipped his final card.

A five of diamonds.

The crowd immediately exploded into conversation, cheers and groans filling the air as coins began changing hands.

Lukas leaned back in his seat, a smile appearing on his face.

The dealer leaned forward. "Winner, Mr. Lukas."

Trent was still smiling as he reached into his spatial ring and began depositing the two hundred thousand gold coins on the table in chunks.

Lukas collected them into his own ring as they came, making sure every coin was accounted for.

With the bet settled, they both stood.

Trent extended his hand across the table. The smile on his face was carefree, as if he hadn’t even been the one who lost the game.

"You played well, Mr. Lukas," he said.

Lukas’ eyes went down to the hand, then up at Trent.

He gave him a single nod. "You too."

Then he turned and walked away from the table.

The handshake would have been a natural place to end this encounter, with two competitors acknowledging each other as the game ended.

But Lukas had learned enough in his time on this world to know that resolved and finished were not always the same thing.

The battle might be over, but that didn’t mean Trent wasn’t preparing for war.

Who knew what was hiding beneath that smile. Maybe the man was already planning how to get his money back.

But Lukas put the thought out of his mind. If Trent attacks, he’ll be ready. But that doesn’t mean he’ll spend his entire time tense and waiting for an attack.

He left the cafeteria and made his way back through the train’s connecting passages to the bunk room.

He slowly opened the door and found what he was expecting.

Akira laid on her top bunk, one arm hanging off the edge as she slept.

Melody was also on her top bunk, facing the wall and also asleep.

He sat on the lower bunk and lay back, staring at the underside of Akira’s mattress above him.

Within a short time, he’d won two hundred thousand gold coins from a single card game.

He’d been tempted to stay for another round, but he’d killed the thought quickly.

Every round he played gave the room more data on how he thought.

Someone who had watched the match carefully enough might already have a working model of his tendencies.

And if anyone on this train had a skill that bypassed the Artificer protections on the cards entirely, staying at the table was simply donating money to that person.

This was already a good result. He knew when to walk away.

He exhaled.

A few minutes passed. He yawned once, feeling tired, sleep slowly creeping into his eyes.

Then he heard footsteps.

He sat up immediately, the sleep disappearing. ’Is that Trent?’

The footsteps moved through the corridor before stopping directly outside his door.

He stared at the door, and a few seconds passed in silence.

Then the person outside slid an envelope under the gap and into the room.

A second later, the footsteps resumed immediately, becoming faster than before as they retreated down the corridor, before fading.

He waited several seconds after the sound disappeared entirely before he stood and walked to the door.

He frowned as he scrutinized the envelope. It looked completely ordinary as it sat on the floor.

Then he crouched and picked it up.