Another sigh, this one barely audible, but still too damn heavy. “She is. But not in the same way. You can’t win with your queen.”
Enough of this.
I snatched up a knight and toppled her king in one decisive strike. The piece clattered, ringing louder than it should have.
Elva just stared.
As I leaned in, she leaned back, retreating into herself. “I know what you’re doing.” My voice was sharper than I meant it to be. “I don’t care who the king is.You,” I threw a finger at her, “will always be the most important piece in this kingdom. Do you understand that?”
The silence after was dreadful. Once Elva faintly wiped a tear before it could fall, I knew the game was over. Her arms wrapped tight around herself, shoulders drawn in as though she could vanish.
“Youshouldknow,” she whispered, posture crumpling inward. “The letter…”
I rounded the table in a heartbeat, sliding onto the cushion beside her. Lulu hissed, tail lashing, and I hissed right back, staking my claim as she leapt off in a huff.
I pressed close, nearly on top of her. “Elva, what happened?”
A river of tears streaked down her cheeks; she didn’t bother to wipe these ones away. The chamber lights began to flicker, shadows swaying across peach and ivory walls.
Subtle at first, then multiplying. The harder Elva cried, the more they danced, mocking her with their sway.
Her fist clenched the pendant at her throat; knuckles bleached as her gaze lifted to the wavering glow above. “Stop.”
The light did not obey her. The shadows only thickened, growing across the wall in their play. The room shifted. The cloying scent of roses and amber seeping sharp into my nose.
“STOP.” Her cry was sharper, fists slamming to her sides.
And then—darkness.
The glow sputtered, dying with a taunt, the room becoming muted and still. Elva’s chin dropped to her chest, defeated.
She was born as sunlight incarnate. Meant to shield, to comfort, to radiate. And now that light was absent, and what remained was chilling.
I seized her shoulders, forcing her to face me. “What is it?”
Her stare went vacant again, her skin on the verge of frost. I searched for the lost blanket, finding it draped where I’d sat moments before. I tucked it around her shoulders, sealing the balcony doors until the view of Csolenia blurred behind the glass.
I settled back beside her, threading my fingers through hers. A silent vow.I’m here.
For a breath, it worked. Her eyes found mine, only to show me the weight of her despair.
“I am to marry,” she whispered, the words a shackle clinking into place. She swallowed hard. “In a month.”
Her stare didn’t move from mine, not even as tears tracked down her rose-stained cheeks. She just looked, pleading for reassurance, for strength.
The silence inside me rippled into violence as I asked, “Prince Perseus?”
Her fingers slipped from the pendant at her throat, falling limp. “Yes.”
The single word broke me, letting me miss what she mumbled beneath her breath. And then I saw it—the bruising—deep purples and sickly blues, wound around her upper arm like a brand.
My fury surged as I jolted to my feet.
She had glamoured it from me. Thought she could hide it. But now—
Her porcelain skin betrayed her. Fingerprints, evident as chains.
So. Fucking. Clear.
