I sighed, pushing away the mental image she’d conjured. I wanted badly to say “never” but she was baiting me with that lewd comment. Instead, I ground my teeth and reminded myself to add to the list:
V. Vulgar.
I focused on the board and made my first move. Blue jumped blue, leaving an opening for her to jump a green stone. She would probably miss the fact that moving that stone would allow me to jump two yellow stones. I collected my blue stones and waited for her to take the opportunistic move.
“Your turn,” I said.
She found the green and took the short-term gain as I’d expected.
VI. Shortsighted
Smirking, I jumped two yellow stones and collected all three of them.
“By the way, I’m good at this,” I noted.
“Clearly,” she huffed out. She looked tired again today—still breathtaking but the color had faded from her face. There were signs of a rash on her cheeks and chest. Her eyes didn’t hold the same fire they usually did.
“Focus on the game, and then when you’re feeling your most focused, try to reach out and get me to do something. Maybe you being in a different state of mind will help you to get past my mental shields.”
“What do you want me to make you do?” she asked skeptically.
That statement thrilled me in ways it shouldn’t have.
“You could make me get up and do a jig if you wanted to,” I grumbled.
“Oh the things I can think of...” She trailed off with wistful theatrics. “Why in the world would you want to teach me to control you?”
“Because despite what evil you think of me, I would prefer you survive your next encounter with the Death Origin,” I answered. “And I’d much ratheryoucontrol my mind than he control me.”
“You are not so evil.” Her lips pursed as she concentrated on the board, leaning over it. The collar of her tunic dropped off one shoulder. My mouth went dry again. I dragged my eyes away from where the seam met the tops of her breasts and down to the board.
“You sound so sure.”
She’d lined up a triple jump of yellow and squealed as she hopped the stones. She made a dramatic show of pulling her winnings to her side of the table.
Served me well for getting distracted…
Her eyes met mine. “I am sure. You’re infuriating, but the people here respect you. You have kept them safe from Death, kept them fed and happy for centuries…You have friends. You cannot be so horrid if people choose to be in your company...”
She trailed off as she watched me jump two blue stones.
Air escaped her lips in a raspberry sound of frustration. I was beating her at this game, even after her small victory. Concentration furrowed her brow.
“I thought about what animal you would be.”
“Did you?” I drawled in a dull tone.
“You are not an animal at all…You’re a tree.”
I scoffed. “A tree?”
“Yes…unyielding, stuck in your ways and rooted in your beliefs.”
I lifted a brow.
When my gaze met hers again, she was smirking, and she continued, “But you’re also strong. Reliable. You’ve created a home here for people to nest. It is not so bad to be a tree.”
She looked back down at the board with a deep flush across her cheeks. That eager flutter in my stomach stirred again.
