Obiageli's lips curved."Would it have changed anything?If you had known earlier?"
"No."
Azul would still have to placate Somadina; she'd still have to plan ahead with the Mal-kai, her plan was foolproof; Obiageli's trap was merely a dent.
"I know."Obiageli set the brush down."That's why I wanted to meet you, because you were like me.We're twins after all."
"I didn't come here to talk."
"You came here to kill me."Obiageli mused.
She reached beneath the table and produced a board—large, intricately carved, marked with the familiar grid of Ukhel Dain.The game of warriors.The game of queens.
"Once."she said.
"Once."Azul relented.
They played in silence for a time.The only sounds were the click of carved wood on wood, the distant roar of battle beyond the courtyard walls, and the soft whisper of the wind outside.
Obiageli was good.She had always been good—trained by the palace, honed by years of isolation, sharpened by the constant need to think ten moves ahead of everyone around her.
But Azul was better.
She moved her snake piece into position.
Obiageli's eyes flickered.She moved her battalion to block.
Azul moved her stronghold.
Obiageli's hand hovered over the board.Uncertainty crossed her painted face.
The game continued.Pieces fell.The board grew sparse, the remaining pieces clustered in patterns that both could read and understand.As the game wore on, Obiageli's smile only stretched wider.
Finally, Azul moved her last piece.
Obiageli stared at the board.Her stronghold was trapped—no moves left, no allies to call, no escape.The game was over, and she had lost.
"Impressive," she breathed."Truly."
She looked up, and in her eyes was something that might have been pride.
"It was a good game," Azul commended.
Obiageli inclined her head."So it seems."
"May Ukhel kiss your corpse, sister."
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then Obiageli's eyes went wide.
Blood welled at the corners of her mouth—first a trickle, then a flood, spilling over her lips and dripping onto the board below.Her hands flew to her throat, clutching, grasping at something that could not be grasped.Blood streamed from her nose, her eyes, and her ears, painting her in shades of crimson.
She tried to speak.No words came—only blood.
Her body convulsed and then she collapsed forwards onto the table.The Ukhel Dain board was scattered beneath her, pieces flying in all directions.
Azul sat motionless, watching.
