Playing With Lightning (Divine Duelist Book 1), page 1
PLAYING WITH LIGHTNING
Copyright © Pandora Pierce, 2023
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design: MoorBooks Design
Chapter header designs: Fred Kroner of Stardust Book Services
Formatting: Rae Davennor of Stardust Book Services
Book Coach: Cathy Yardley
Book Coach: Rachel May of Golden May Editing
Book Coach: Heart Full of Ink
Copy Editor: Jessica Snyder Edits
First Edition: May 2023
ISBN: 9781960239044 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781960239013 (ebook)
Published by Pandora Pierce LLC
https://pandorapierce.com/
Also by Pandora Pierce
Divine Duelist Series
Playing with Lightning
Tricking the Tides
Connect with Pandora Pierce
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Contents
Chapter 1 - Leena
Chapter 2 - Zelus
Chapter 3 - Leena
Chapter 4 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 5 - Leena
Chapter 6 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 7 - Leena
Chapter 8 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 9 - Leena
Chapter 10 - Leena
Chapter 11 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 13 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 14 - Leena
Chapter 15 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 16 - Leena
Chapter 17 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 18 – Agon/Zelus
Chapter 19 - Leena
Chapter 20 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 21 - Leena
Chapter 22 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 23 - Leena
Chapter 24 - Leena
Chapter 25 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 26 - Leena
Chapter 27 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 28 - Leena
Chapter 29 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 30 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 31 - Leena
Chapter 32 - Leena
Chapter 33 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 34 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 35 - Leena
Chapter 36 - Leena
Chapter 37 - Leena
Chapter 38 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 39 - Leena
Chapter 40 - Agon/Zelus
Chapter 41 - Leena
Chapter 1 - Leena
Snow was so much nicer when it wasn’t cold, beautiful to look at without all the unnecessary freezing parts. I wound my way through a forest that was a good shortcut to the nearest dueling arena, holding the long, flowy sleeves of my Aphrodite outfit close so it didn’t snag on any tree branches.
When I was young, I’d sworn I’d never be an actor like my parents. It was a great job, but one that had kept us moving around so much that it had been impossible to make friends. Yet here I was, living on the world’s biggest set: an inhospitable island decorated with magically reinforced plants, fake snow to hide their pots, and the gorgeous colors of the aurora borealis in the night sky to really set the stage.
The Shimmering Isles was the perfect place for card game battles to come to life. If anything got damaged, the TV station that owned the island just changed the set for the next duel. It made perfect sense.
Except everything here was a lie meant to fool the viewers. The plants were too green, like they had a filter over them so they looked better on TV. And the duelists were even worse as they tried to hide anything the fans might not like. Especially me, who changed my entire personality for them.
I’d spent the past year trying to be bright and vibrant like those plants, but had failed miserably. Not only was I the dullest duelist on the island, but I’d also lost my best friend, Kai, in the process. He’d thrown me away because the fans thought I was boring. Heck, by the end of all my changes, I thought I was boring too. Now I had to fix myself on my own terms, and the first step was finding a new dueling partner.
I searched the tree line for the duelist I was supposed to be meeting, but saw no sign of her yet. Just the empty stands made to look like a miniature colosseum. Dawn was already creeping over the horizon though, meaning this duel was going to have to be quick. Without the vibrant colors of the aurora, the lifelike card game lost all its magic, becoming just a regular game like it was on every other island in the world.
“Sorry I’m late!” An extremely fit-looking woman wearing a blacksmith’s apron hurried into the dueling ring. She held her hand out, metal jingling softly from her copper bracelets. “I’m Danae. Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for asking.” I shook her hand, noticing the simple circle tattoo on her wrist marking her as a solo duelist. “But why do you want to duel me exactly?”
Not that I should look a gift horse in the mouth, but the other duelists had been flat-out avoiding me. Nobody in their right mind wanted to partner with a duelist the fans didn’t like, not for any league duels at least. Ranking up in the league required a mix of wins and fan votes, so duelists had to take their opinion into account.
“I’ll tell you if you win.” She winked, then ran to her side of the arena, brimming with barely contained excitement.
The only thing I’d found about her online was that she was part of a skilled blacksmithing family and seemed to prefer solo duels to league duels. Solo duelists made less money, but I assumed she was too busy for the league while also blacksmithing. Would she be willing to give that up to join the league?
I only had a week left to find a new teammate before my rank was reset, so if she wasn’t committed, then she was just wasting my time. This was all Kai’s fault for pushing me past what I was willing to change. He’d given me an ultimatum a few weeks ago: tell everyone who my famous parents were, so we could finally gain enough fans to rank up, or end our partnership.
Since he’d forced my hand, I had to choose the second option, but I was starting to doubt myself a bit. If I couldn’t find another partner, then all attempts to win on my own merit were pointless because I wouldn’t even get to play. Then he’d think he was right, and I just couldn’t handle that. I would prove to the world that I was somebody worth watching, somebody who wasn’t boring in the least. I just had to beat Kai to do it.
Danae hummed to herself as she unrolled her playmat onto her podium. When she noticed me watching her, she laughed, waving at me like she didn’t have a care in the world. Must be nice.
“Let’s duel.” I stepped up to my podium, holding my wrist out so the scanner could register me as a player in this duel.
I ran my fingers over the simple circle tattoo that marked me as a solo player too. It’s where the hearts of Aphrodite used to be, before Kai had broken up our partnership. My wrist looked empty without them, a constant reminder that I was alone. He’d promised I’d never be alone again if I came here with him and I’d fallen for the lie like an idiot. I blinked away tears, busying myself with my seashell-lined playmat to distract me.
This was it. I had to impress Danae, woo her to my side. Make her forget about any of the horrible things she’d inevitably read about me online. Dueling had been part of my life since I was a child. No matter how many times my parents moved, there was always somebody in our new town who liked dueling. It was the only thing that was truly mine, and I’d be damned if I let Kai take it away from me.
I held my deck of cards up to the sky. “I duel for Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. May my duel honor her and all the gods of Olympus.”
Danae’s voice echoed the words with me, except she honored Hephaestus, the god of smiths and crafting.
The colors from the aurora merged and morphed into shades of pink, blue, and white before shooting down into my deck and through my body. I glowed with the power of the aurora as it swept through me and into the lanterns that hovered in the air behind me.
My arms trembled, from the cool night air or from the power of the aurora, I wasn’t sure. This was my favorite part of the game, when all went silent and the gods sent their power into our decks. Knowing they were watching us play made Divine Duelist the most exciting game I’d ever been part of. A game of gods that they allowed humans to play.
As our cards finished absorbing the aurora’s magic, the area dimmed. Time for the duel to begin. The fiery orange lanterns behind Danae stretched in a half-circle around the edges of the dueling field, me
If anyone was watching on TV, they’d know exactly what decks we were playing and how well we were doing. Every arena had at least one camera flying around, which meant no duel went unobserved.
Only the duelists who were the best actors made it big on this island, but I was tired of the carefully curated person Kai had wanted me to be. He was constantly telling me to think before I spoke, to consider how the fans would react before doing anything. It hadn’t gotten me anywhere.
I’d been too outspoken for the fans originally, and now I was too boring. I wasn’t sure how to find a good middle ground yet, but for the moment, I just had to find a new teammate. Then we could decide what to do about the fans together.
I shuffled my deck, happy I’d taken the time to tailor it to beat a Hephaestus deck. I had to win this duel if I had any shot at convincing Danae to team up with me. The orange lanterns flashed, showing that she’d play first.
“I play a bronze bull and an automaton for my first turn.” Excitement tinged Danae’s voice as she slapped the cards onto her playmat, triggering the game to produce larger versions of them on the playing field between us.
A shimmering bronze bull rose out of one of the cards, orange with the light of the aurora, while a golden female automaton rose out of the other. The metal bull pawed at the ground, smoke curling from its nostrils as if it was a real bull instead of a magical construct. The air grew warmer as the flames crackled in its stomach, waiting to scorch my cards on Danae’s next turn.
I sorted through my hand of cards, trying to match her strong first play. Aphrodite’s seduction girdle didn’t work without another card to attach it to, so I’d have to wait until my next turn to play that. I moved the cards that were too expensive to play this turn to the back of my hand and played Himeros, the winged god of desire. I added doves to the playing field for defense, watching them rise out of my cards, shimmering pink as they circled my side of the field.
“Have you been playing Divine Duelist for a while?” I had to start up a conversation, get her feeling comfortable with me, but I didn’t know much about her. How could I make her like me if I didn’t know what she liked first?
Ugh. When would Kai’s way of thinking stop clouding my mind already? Not every conversation had to be manipulative.
“Off and on since I was a kid.” She smiled as she drew more cards. “My family moved here when the TV station was first converting the Shimmering Isles for the game. So dueling’s been part of my life for as long as I can remember.”
Excellent. People who grew up on the Shimmering Isles thought the game was a way of life instead of just a sport like the rest of the world, meaning the game was probably more than just a hobby to her. This partnership might work out after all. If the fans’ dislike of me was going to scare her off, she wouldn’t be here now, right?
Danae attached Hephaestus’ tongs to her automaton card and ordered the bronze bull to attack. It lowered its head, angling its horns toward my Himeros card before stampeding forward, fire shooting from its mouth like a monster. My doves swooped in front of Himeros, blocking the attack. They were a one-time use card though, so their forms shattered, sending the pink light of the aurora back into the sky to honor their sacrifice. At least I didn’t lose any points.
“Nice play.” The heat from the flames washed over me as the bull turned around to head back to her side of the field.
I drew two new cards and played Eros, the winged god of love. He rose from my card with the beauty and grace only a god could manage. Or at least what I pictured a god would look like. I’d never had the fortune of meeting one. That was usually reserved for great heroes or enticingly beautiful women. I was neither, and that was fine by me.
“Himeros and Eros, attack her bronze bull.” My two cards flew to her side of the field, attacking the bull with beautiful precision. Her card shattered, the orange light rising back into the sky as her divine favor points dropped by five.
“I play a cyclops blacksmith and a forge card.” Danae grinned, obviously pleased with that move. “Automaton, use forge to summon the chains of Prometheus.”
My eyebrows shot up as the unbreakable chains rose out of the extremely rare card, clanking and clattering through the air. She must have won some high-level solo matches or had enough money to buy rare cards outright.
I blinked as the sun rose a bit higher over the horizon, banishing the darkness the aurora required. I’d been so into our duel that I’d completely lost track of time. The magical constructs hovering over our cards flickered, losing their magic with each passing minute. We’d have to end this match fast or we’d get a tie on our record, which would lower our stats.
Sure, I could stop caring about my rank and duel solo, but not if I wanted to stay in the league or join official tournaments. Those were the only duels that mattered to Kai. Which meant they were the only ones that mattered to me now too. I had to beat him in the game he cared about more than our friendship. To show him that letting the fans run his life, letting them convince him to betray me, had been a mistake.
“Are you…looking for a teammate?” I drew two new cards, focusing on my hand instead of her, trying to hide how desperate I really was.
“I’ve never played as part of a team before.” She shrugged, smiling as if she hadn’t just dodged my question. Did she mean that she wanted to try playing as a team or that this was all a waste of time? I couldn’t tell and was a little afraid to ask.
I played the seduction girdle, attaching it to Eros, the god of love, doubling his normal seduction skills. Her automaton card trudged over to my side as if she was drawn to Eros. Too bad she hadn’t brought the forge card with her.
With her gone, I sent my Himeros card to destroy the forge. Its light flowed back into the sky as Danae’s favor points with Hephaestus went from fifteen down to thirteen. We’d never finish this game before the aurora disappeared.
“We should hurry.” I nodded at the sun. “Otherwise neither of us will win.”
“Is that important?” she asked as she drew more cards. “It’s still a fun match either way.”
“It’s the most important part of the game.” I frowned, not used to people who didn’t care about winning. “Why play if you don’t want to win?”
“Well, I started playing because it was fun. Then I got sucked in when I found good rivals.” She grinned as she played the gold and silver watchdogs of Hephaestus. “I don’t get to play much anymore because of my job, but doesn’t dueling just give you a thrill?”
“It used to.” Before Kai and I had moved to the Shimmering Isles. This place had changed him. Changed us. And I’d let it happen.
It had seemed like a good idea at first. Just change a few things about our personalities here and there to get more fans. But then it snowballed and I lost myself completely. One minute we’d be eating whatever we wanted, then the next we’d be vegetarians because it was the hot new trend, then we’d only eat soup for some reason. It was exhausting.
Danae and I played a few more turns back and forth in silence. The higher the sun rose, the more frantic my plays became. When exactly had I stopped playing just for the thrill of it? When had winning become the only option?
Memories of Kai sulking in disappointment when we lost swam through my mind. He’d try to hide it, but each loss depressed him so much that I’d spend my time comforting him instead of us comforting each other like we used to. This island had ruined our friendship, making him act like our losses were my fault, even though we were a team. I wish we could go back to the days when fans weren’t a factor and we just played for the fun of it. But we were past that now.
Danae was down to five divine favor points and I was at eight, but the sun didn’t care. It painted the sky red and orange, washing out the aurora. The lights in our cards faded away as if they were never there and the lanterns died. We’d run out of time.
“That was fun.” Danae grinned as she put her cards away. “We should play again sometime. When dawn isn’t creeping up on us.”
