Cardmaster

Cerise was a cardmaster: splashy, gay, extravagant, and deadly. A flamboyant vagabond, she wielded magic-bearing cards for her own profit and others, in small games of chance or even in the lords' Great Games. She was a weapon master too—to protect the cards and intermittent wealth they brought her. Byron was pale, cold, dour, and desperate. He looked as if demons were after him, which they were. A cardsmith's apprentice, he already could imbue cards with magic and could decode spells other cardsmiths had hidden in cards—but he was powerless against the forces chasing him. But powerless or not, hunted or not, he had a hot hand—and Cerise wanted him. It was either the beginning of a beautiful friendship—or something deadly.