‘Hold on!’ a voice shouted as the wooden hatch to the deck slammed shut. Without a second thought, Lewis grabbed hold of the rail that ran along the side of the corridor as the ship banked sharply to one side.

Even with the warning, Lewis only just about managed to keep his balance. As the ship swayed back the other way, he looked over his shoulder. Holding on to the ladder that led down from the main deck was Timothy Boyd, the Quartermaster of The White Tide, drenched from head to toe. When the ship levelled out again, he moved towards the rail that Lewis was holding on to.

‘Captain says all non-essential crew need to stay below deck until the storm passes,’ Timothy shouted over the roaring wind outside.

‘How bad is it?’ Lewis asked as the ship banked to one side again.

‘It’s a bad one,’ he replied as he turned back towards the ladder he had come down. The captain reckons it’ll get worse before it gets better. The wind direction isn’t too bad, so hopefully it won’t blow us too far off course.’

‘I’ll spread the word,’ Lewis called after Timothy as he swayed down the corridor with the motion of the ship, cursing the weather with every step he took. With the wind howling through the hatch momentarily, Lewis watched as Timothy disappeared back up to the deck.

Turning his back on the Quartermaster, Lewis headed off down the corridor in the opposite direction, his hand firmly on the rail as the ship rolled with the rough sea. He had just reached the ladder that led down to the crew’s quarters when the dumpy figure of Shelia Caldwell, the ship's head cook, appeared from the deck below.

‘Where’s Captain Caldwell?’ she asked as she grabbed hold of the rail beside Lewis, her blonde hair falling across her face.

‘He’s up on deck. He doesn’t want non-essential crew up there until the storm has passed,’ Lewis said, relaying the message that Timothy had given him.

‘What does he want me to do about his meal?’ She shouted over a rumble of thunder.

‘I don’t know,’ Lewis replied.

‘I’ll go and find out,’ she said, moving around Lewis shakily as the ship banked suddenly.

‘He said he only wanted essential crew up there,’ Lewis shouted after her.

‘Let me deal with that husband of mine! Shelia shouted back over her shoulder as her dumpy figure disappeared down the corridor. ‘You get yourself down below.’

With a sigh, Lewis let her go, turning back to the ladder before him. Slowly, he climbed down the ladder, ducking aside as one of the lamps that hung on a metal chain swung towards him.

‘It’s going to be some night,’ Hector Jennings was saying to the half-dozen crew members who had gathered around an old, battered wooden table. Of the fourteen crew members aboard The White Tide, he was the oldest. ‘I’ve never seen a storm like this in my forty-nine years sailing these seas,’ he continued, glancing up as Lewis dropped into one of the vacant seats at the table.

‘Captain Caldwell thinks it’s going to get worse before it gets better,’ Lewis said.

‘It’ll be some night indeed,’ Justin Chapman, the assistant cook, said as he passed a plate of steaming food over the table towards Lewis. As he backed away, Lewis saw that his face was paler than usual at the thought of the storm.

‘Let’s hope we get through it in one piece,’ Lewis said with a nod to Justin as he picked up the knife and fork as they slid across the table.

‘We will,’ Hector said confidently. ‘I’ve sailed with Captain Caldwell for near twenty years now. There isn’t a finer Captain on these seas.’

‘At ease for the night!’ Shelia shouted to everyone around the table as she reached the bottom of the ladder. ‘Apart from you, Carl,’ she added when she saw Carl Alexander slouching in the corner, his long, messy black hair hiding most of his face. ‘Essential crew only on deck until the storm passes!’

Without another word, she bustled past the table and disappeared back into the small kitchen, the door swinging shut behind her. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll be at ease,’ Hector muttered as he produced a small, rectangular, wooden box from one of his deep coat pockets. Placing it on the table, he stood up, turning to one of the wooden crates that sat in the corner. ‘How about a game to pass the night?’

‘What do you have in mind?’ Justin asked, eyeing Hector’s back as he lifted the lid on the crate.

‘How about Suits? And a drink, of course, gentlemen,’ he said as he produced two large bottles of dark liquid. ‘And lady?’ he added when the door to one of the cabins opened and Emily poked her head out.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked slowly when she saw the six sets of eyes on her.

‘We were just about to have a game of Suits,’ Hector said, gesturing to the table. ‘Come and join us.’

‘Okay,’ she said wearily. ‘I’ve never heard of Suits before, though.’

‘Me either,’ Lewis said quickly.

‘Not to worry,’ Hector said brightly as he opened the box. Pulling out a worn piece of paper that had been folded into four, he threw it across the table to Lewis. ‘The rules.’

‘What’s the starting price?’ Noah Bennett from ship maintenance said as he leant forward seriously.

‘Two bronze?’ Justin suggested as he pulled a fistful of coins from his pocket.

‘We don’t really have much money,’ Lewis said as he got up. It wasn’t entirely the truth, but as most of it was made of gold, he didn’t want the crew to see it. Besides, who knew what they would need when they got to Arcis?

‘I’ll stake you two, don’t worry,’ Hector said as he pulled out a small bag of coins, sliding a handful towards Lewis and Emily each.

‘Are you sure?’ Lewis said as he looked at the money sitting on the table in front of him.

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‘Of course, now finish your food so we can get started,’ he insisted as he pulled out a bunch of cards about twice the size of a normal deck. ‘Now, for our new players, it’s quite simple,’ he continued as he dealt the top seven cards out face up on the table.

To Lewis’ relief, the cards were the same as a regular set that he owned back in Tristan, although in this case it seemed they were using two decks at the same time. In each deck, there were four suits: crowns, swords, dragons, and goblets. In each suit, there were twelve cards, numbered one to ten, as well as a queen and a king, which represented eleven and twelve, respectively.

‘Each player gets dealt seven cards,’ Hector said, pushing the seven cards towards Lewis. ‘These are your cards; keep them to yourself.’

‘What are those three?’ Emily asked, pointing at the three cards that Hector had dealt face down when she glanced up from the page of rules.

‘One card is turned over after each round of betting. Anyone can use these cards if it improves the hand they have,’ he explained. ‘After the third card has been turned over, there is one more round of betting, and then the player with the best seven-card hand wins the money.’

‘It’s quite similar to a game I used to play with some friends when I was training for the guard,’ Lewis said as he recalled the late nights that he and Arron had spent playing cards in their quarters at the academy with some of the other recruits.

‘You should pick it up quickly then,’ Hector said happily as he took the cards away from Lewis, shuffling them back into the deck. ‘There’s a list of all the hands on the back of the rules,’ he added as he began dealing the cards around the table.

Glancing at Emily to his right as she laid down the list of hands between them, he watched the cards sliding across the table out of the corner of his eye.

‘Your two bronzes, everyone,’ Justin said from his seat between Lewis and Hector as his final card was dealt to him. Around the table, there was a unanimous scraping as each of them pushed two of their bronze coins into the middle. Pausing, Hector waited for Lewis and Emily, who were a couple of seconds slower than the others.

‘Let’s play!’ Hector said this enthusiastically as he picked up his cards. Seeing the other players do the same, Lewis pulled his cards to the edge of the table, holding them close to his chest as he looked at them.

Two, three, eight, three sixes, and a king Holding his cards closer, he leaned over to look at the list of hands that sat between him and Emily, their heads almost bumping together as she did the same.

Three sixes in different suits gave him something called a Triple. It was the twelfth highest-ranking hand out of fourteen. Reading some of the other descriptions, he wondered what the chances were of getting something like a pair of the same suits.

‘I’ll make it three,’ Hector said as he pushed an extra bronze coin forward to join the two he had already placed in the middle.

‘You’re starting out a little light, aren’t you?’ Evan laughed as he added a third bronze coin of his own.

‘Just trying to keep it friendly for our guests,’ Hector replied, as Joshua and Noah also added another coin each. ‘That’s not like you to play a hand, Noah.’

‘Keeping it friendly like you said,’ he muttered, his eyes not leaving the money on the table.

Glancing to his right, Lewis waited for Emily to go. For several minutes, she sat in silence, her eyes leaving Noah’s face every few seconds to examine her cards again. ‘I’m out,’ she said finally as she put her cards face down on the table in front of her.

While he had been waiting for Emily, Lewis had already decided that he would join in with the hand. Ignoring the eyebrows that were being raised at Emily around the table, Lewis added another of his bronze coins.

‘Might as well then,’ Justin said as he tossed a coin into the middle as well.

‘An interesting lay down there,’ Hector commented as he leant forward to turn over the first of the three cards in the middle. It was a pair of swords. That gave Lewis three sixes and a pair of twos in different suits.

Looking down at the list, he saw that a Triple and a Pair combined created something called A Five. That was two hands better than the one he had before, he thought as he watched Hector check his cards.

‘How about three? he suggested as he pushed three bronze coins forward.

‘Alright, Hector, don’t get too excited and give yourself a heart attack,’ Evan said as he laid his cards face down on the table.

‘I’m out as well,’ Joshua muttered as he laid his cards down as well.

‘Let’s have some fun. For the old times,’ Noah said as he slid three bronze coins forward to match Hector’s bet. ‘Lewis?’

‘Why not? he said as he considered his cards one last time before matching Hector’s bet as well.

‘Alright,’ Hector said as he turned over the next card. ‘The Second is one of dragons.’

‘An interesting card,’ Evan muttered as he watched on. Pulling one of the bottles that Hector had taken from the crate earlier towards him, he uncorked it. ‘Might as well get started on this.’

Pulling a stack of glasses from behind him, he filled each one with a generous amount of the dark liquid, passing them around the table. Picking up the glass that had been placed in front of him, Lewis sniffed it. Whatever it was, it was powerful, he thought as he recoiled slightly.

‘Rum from Oria, the finest rum there is,’ Joshua said as he tasted it. ‘A good choice.’

‘There’s plenty more as well,’ Hector said as he added another three bronze coins to the small pile that was forming in the middle.

Hector’s hand had barely returned to his glass when Noah matched his bet. ‘That was quick,’ Hector said as he considered Noah over his glass.

Looking down at his cards, Lewis considered them. Hector was right—that had been quick. Still, A Five seemed pretty decent. Just as he placed his coins in the middle, he felt Emily’s leg knock against his. Glancing sideways at her as discreetly as he could, he saw her watching Hector intently.

‘The Third is a six of swords,’ Hector announced as he turned over the final card in the middle of the table. ‘I’ll pass to Noah, I think.’

‘Five,’ Noah said bluntly as he slid the bronze coins across the table.

Checking his cards against the list, Lewis saw that the six swords that Hector had turned over matched the six swords he was already holding. That gave him a hand higher than A Five, a Suited Pair. Without a word, Lewis matched Noah’s five bronzes as Emily’s leg knocked against his again, harder this time. When he glanced at her again, she was still looking at Hector.

‘Make it twelve,’ Hector said, sliding forward five coins to match Noah’s bet and then adding another seven.

‘Alright,’ Noah agreed as he matched the new bet.

Looking down at his cards, Lewis considered his Suited Pair as Emily’s leg knocked against his again. Still, she was looking at Hector. Was she trying to tell him something?

For several minutes, Lewis sat in silence, trying to remember everything that had happened. Emily got out of the way straight away without any hesitation. Did she just have nothing, or did she know something he didn’t?

‘I’m out,’ Lewis said slowly as he set his cards down on the table.

‘I was sure you were going to play for a minute there,’ Hector said as he turned over his cards. He had five cards with swords on them. With the two in the middle that gave him

‘A Suit!’ Noah shouted as he threw his card down on the table. ‘Damn it!’

Looking across the table, Lewis looked at Noah’s cards. He had Two Suited Pairs, one above what Lewis had. Relieved that he hadn’t matched the bet, Lewis pushed his cards towards Hector as he began gathering them up, considering the dwindling pile of bronze coins in front of him.

‘What did you have, out of curiosity?’ Hector asked, glancing up at Emily as he reached for her cards.

‘Three Suited Pair,’ she replied as she pushed her cards towards him.

‘Not a chance,’ Noah laughed.

‘Go ahead,’ she said, nodding to Hector, who had just picked up her cards.

Placing them down on the table face up, he spread them out, everyone around the table leaning in for a look. She was telling the truth. In the centre of the table sat a pair of five dragons, a pair of nine goblets, a pair of ten crowns, and seven dragons.

‘I don’t believe it,’ Noah muttered. ‘Why would you get rid of that?’

‘Beginner’s luck, I suppose,’ she replied with a smile. ‘I just had a feeling.’

‘A feeling?’ Noah asked in disbelief, echoing Lewis’ thoughts exactly. Then he remembered the conversation that he and Emily had had in Whitecliff before they left. She was using her feelings to play the game, not the cards she was holding. The feeling had told her that Hector was going to win, and she had been trying to warn him when he had thought about playing his Suited Pair.

‘We’ll see how far a feeling gets you,’ Hector said as he began dealing the cards again.

‘We’ll see,’ Emily agreed as she picked up her cards with a smile.