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But it wasn't that simple.

I lifted my arm, looking at the glowing silver mark etched into my skin. I wondered that Theron hadn’t forced one on to Elara yet. The very thought had rage boiling at the base of my throat. The thought of him hurting her, touching a single hair on her head… I slammed my fist into the water.

Fuck it all.

Rain pelted against the window, the drumming almost deafening. There would be no further relief to be found outside today, no distraction to be found in a sodden training arena. Not that I even wanted to wear myself out to avoid thinking of her anymore.

With a heavy sigh I hauled myself out of the water and dried myself. I’d need to find distraction elsewhere in the castle today. Anything to try and move my focus from the coil that pulled tighter every time I thought of her.

Chapter16

Rook

Iknew the minute I’d stepped foot into the library that I wasn’t alone. Over the scent of wood and paper, there was another one, one that rendered me weak and useless.

Elara was here.

Of course she was. Of course my feet had carried me to her without even thinking. The coil that held my heart captive beside hers had led me straight to her side.

There was no fighting it. Even if I'd wanted to. I was utterly, completely ruined for her.

I rounded the corner of towering shelves, and there she was, sitting at a chess board, frowning and chewing her lip as she looked down at the pieces in front of her. She was wearing a blue gown, the same color as her eyes, and her hair hung over her shoulder in a loose braid. She lifted a hand to rub her delicate fingers across her chin, and leaned back in the chair with a sigh.

“Stuck?” I asked, and her eyes darted over to where I stood.

Her face broke into a soft smile. “I am rather. Do you play?”

I walked over to her slowly. “I do. Poorly, but I do.” I sat down opposite her, her eyes remaining on me. “I’m not much of a strategist you see.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “No?”

“No. More of an In the Moment sort, I suppose. I can’t always see what’s lying ahead.”

Elara laughed softly, stroking the length of her braid. “Yes, sometimes the moves that lie ahead can catch us off guard.” She picked up one of the castles, rolling it between her fingers. “Where I come from, these are called Towers. But in some cultures they’re called rooks, did you know that?”

I nodded. “I did.”

“The pieces that can surprise you the most, ironically enough.” The corners of her mouth twitched as she put the Tower back on the board, and she lifted her chin, gesturing to the board. “Your move.”

I looked down at the pieces on the board, trying to figure out how she’d gotten to this point. I picked up the knight, moving him towards her Queen, and Elara sucked on her teeth.

“You really aren’t a strategist,” she said with a small laugh.

“I did tell you.” I feigned a groan and threw my hands up as she moved her tower to claim my knight. “So how did you become so good at it?”

“All those lonely, frozen winters in the North. A child has to find a way to entertain herself.”

“And you chose chess?” I chuckled. “I can see it now, the studious little princess, plotting war after war on the board in front of her.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, I never won a war, but I did always manage to win the battles.”

“That you did.”

Her eyes moved over the board only to meet mine again, the smile still on her face, dropping slightly as she opened her mouth to speak. “I am sorry.”

“For what?”

“Last night.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t thinking. It was wrong of me.”