Page 43 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

The next day, Nimue forced me to hang out in the living room, specifically at the chess table tucked into the corner of the room, partially hidden by a bookshelf. How she had the energy to want to do anything after a grueling training session was beyond me.

The first part of the lesson included going through the pieces and seeing what knowledge I had of the game. “Do you know what this piece is?” Nimue held up the tallest chess piece. It had an odd design at the top of its head.

I frowned. “The queen?” It looked like something a queen would wear, especially since the piece beside it looked like it wore a crown.

Nimue’s expression spasmed. “It’s the king.

You, uh, weren’t exaggerating when you said you didn’t know a lot about chess.

But don’t worry. Give it a month, and you'll be playing chess like a champ. Anyways, here’s the queen.

We’ll go more into detail as we play about exceptions to the rules, but essentially, the king can move one space in any direction on the board.

The queen is the most powerful piece on the board.

She can move in any direction as well—horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.

Unlike the king, she’s not limited to just one space.

She can move any number of spaces so long as she’s not blocked by another piece. ”

I blinked. “So the king’s useless and the queen’s badass?”

She snorted. “Did you expect anything less? The king needs all the help he can get. The game isn’t over if you lose the queen, but you’re in for a hell of a disadvantage.”

I glanced down at the board and all the other pieces she’d yet to name. “Do you really think I can learn this in a month?”

“Definitely. Maybe not well, but you’ll learn the rules by then and some basic games. What’ll take longer is learning how to strategize and come up with your own style of attacking. Some favor a subtle approach or a reckless one or a dominating one. Each person is different.”

“What do you prefer?”

The corner of her mouth lifted into a lofty smile. “I prefer to be underestimated. To get my opponent so comfortable, they don’t realize they’re surrounded until it’s too late.”

Once again, Nimue never ceased to impress me. “Sounds complicated.”

“It is. Chess is a game of wits. It can take months, even years, to become a champion. But that gives us a lot of time. You might never beat me, but with my coaching, you’ll be able to take on Ben. You’ll for sure beat Gareth within two months. That I’m confident on.”

“I resent that,” Gareth said as he strolled into the living room and sat down at the couch. His smile widened when he realized what we were playing.

I shifted in my seat. I didn’t overly mind since it was Gareth, but I still didn’t like learning this new skill in front of everyone.

It was times like this I was reminded that they were nobles and that even though I wore flight leathers like them, I would never reach their level.

And while I knew most of them didn’t consider me beneath them or stupid for my lack of education, I still felt my stomach tighten at the thought of them seeing me struggle.

“I’ve been learning chess for years and I’m still horrible at it,” Gareth said, and the knowing look in his eyes had me squirming in my seat. “Sometimes we have to accept we’re not good at some things no matter how hard we try.”

“That’s a loser mindset,” Nimue muttered under her breath and grinned at me.

“Don’t take advice from him. In fact, erase that from your memory.

I’ll have you beating him in under a month because of that.

And if you don’t, I’ll run three laps around the castle.

No—ten because I have that much faith in you. ”

The seriousness in her tone made my smile freeze. “What happened to it being a game?”

“After the bet. Besides, chess is a game for the mind, even if there are stakes to it.”

“And you find this relaxing?”

Nimue smiled wickedly. “I always find it relaxing when I beat my enemies.”

“I can show you more relaxing hobbies,” Gareth offered.

I looked down at the chess set, my head swimming with all the various rules. Years. “What do you do for fun?”

“He’s boring and likes puzzles,” Ben said, appearing from his bedroom.

“Are you all eavesdropping? Do you all have nothing better to do?” I moved my piece with more force than necessary, scowling when Nimue captured it with her horse thingy. “How the hell—?”

“You forgot, it can move in these directions.” My scowl deepened as Nimue mimicked the movements.

Ben snickered. “She’s ruthless. Won’t go easy on you because you’re new.”

“It’d be an insult if I did,” Nimue murmured. Despite my bitching, I liked that she didn’t. Even now, when I was clearly no threat, she studied the board intently.

“I’ll play after you win. Show her what a real game looks like. Gods know Gareth can’t do that.” Ben grinned at Gareth and grabbed a chair, dragging it over with an obnoxious sound.

“Hey!”

I hated to say it, but Nimue slaughtered me in front of the audience.

I stood no chance. When Ben played, I realized he wasn’t just bullshitting.

He was good. Even without Nimue’s explanations, it was obvious he knew what he was doing.

Ben and Nimue both explained each other’s mistakes and strategies.

I had to admit—it was fun, seeing them both in their element and competitive over something so simple.

“Wow. This is so not relaxing.”

Gareth snorted. “They’re something else.”

I hummed in agreement. I wasn’t used to seeing Ben so serious. He had a way of reading Nimue and changing up his strategy at the flip of a coin. “They really are.”

The next game they played was at a much slower pace and clearly for my learning benefit. The sound of a door creaking open had me turning. Kieran walked out of his room with a stack of books in his arms.

“Come play with us, O fearless captain!” Ben cajoled.

My eyes locked with Kieran. It felt like lightning struck my body, and I stilled, helpless against the onslaught.

What changed? Why do you hate me again? Kieran clenched his jaw.

Shadows enveloped him, and he vanished from view.

A heavy silence descended on the group. They didn’t look at me, but I knew what they were thinking.

“He’s afraid to lose to me,” Ben joked. “It’d kill his badass image.”

“Bullshit. He’s afraid to lose to me. ” Nimue jutted out her chin.

But I knew it wasn’t that. We all knew. He didn’t want to be around me.

And I hated that the rejection stung as deeply as it did.

Two days later, training was much of the same.

Kieran barked out orders with unrestrained anger.

Gareth kept glancing between the two of us and fiddling with his gloves.

He knew something. I had half a mind to interrogate him on what he knew, but I wouldn’t be that pathetic.

No, I’d confront Kieran myself. Eventually.

“You should tell him to stop being such a jerk,” I said to Gareth once we landed in the dragon caves. I wasn’t above a little inference.

Gareth eyed Kieran as he stalked off, leaving the rest of us in the dust. Gareth winced. “He’s going through some things.”

“So am I.”

Gareth rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Uh… it’s just a lot of stress. Especially with the search for Raven.”

It was a bunch of bullshit. But Kieran was Gareth’s best friend, so I let it be.

Of course, I shouldn’t have underestimated Gareth.

After we all showered and headed back to the dragonsguard wing, Gareth said, “I need to go to town to pick up some books.” Gareth grinned at Kieran.

“You said to partner up while tensions are high, right?” He said it with that faux innocence I knew meant trouble.

Despite how pissed I was at Kieran, I fought a smile at the look Kieran shot Gareth. It was full of exasperated fondness. One he never showed any of us. “What are you getting at? Just say it.”

Gareth grinned. “Come with me to town.”

“Alright.” Kieran still looked suspicious. I didn’t blame him. Gareth clearly had something under his sleeve.

“Don’t you think Selena should get more exposure?

” And there it was. Here was him going in for the kill, though I was surprised to be involved in it, and the glint in his eyes set me even more on edge.

He knew Kieran wanted to bite my head off, so what was his deal?

He wasn’t cruel, and this wasn’t a game for him, so why?

“The people need to know they can start relying on her, especially after the attack.”

Kieran exhaled. “And you believe going into town can achieve that?”

“You know as well as I do that the people need to see her to know she's there. Right now, they've only heard rumors—the latest one being the assassination attempt. We need to control the narrative.”

Kieran let out a measured breath. Was the thought of being near me that terrible? “Then she can go to town with you instead.”

“I’m not a dog. In fact, I’m right here, assholes.”

They both ignored me. Gareth grinned widely at Kieran. “I would, but my ability isn’t that defensive. And didn’t you say you’d protect her until she could defend herself? Ben, do you think she can defend herself against any assassins?”

“Please don’t involve me in this mess. You know he won’t take it easy on me,” Ben complained.

“Ben.” It was almost psychotic how Gareth could switch his tone.

Ben blanched. “She’s not ready yet. Sorry, Captain, he scares me more than you.”

“See, her trainer agrees. And since you also agreed she should go into town, you should take responsibility. It’s too risky for you not to tag along. What do you think, Nimue?”

Nimue, my savior.

“I agree.”

Nimue, you bitch.