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“And you will be my wife. Assert yourself,” I instructed. “No one has any respect for a weak queen. There are no friends, only subjects.”
Zephyrine eyed me like she wasn’t sure she bought into my spiel, and an awkward silence fell between us. I glanced back at the chessboard.
“It looks like I’ve lost my gaming partner for the day. Do you play?”
Her head jerked back up, and she nodded slowly. “I’m not very good,” she admitted. “But I know the basics.”
“There’s only one way to get better,” I replied cordially, gesturing for her to sit down. “Shall we?”
* * *
Despite Zephyrine’sclaims of ineptitude, she proved to be a worthy chess opponent, and I found myself thinking harder with her than in any game I’d ever played with Stralia.
Once more, I was comparing the two in my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel guilty about it. It was impossible not to notice the stunning differences between my feisty would-be queen and my ever-complaining companion, who never quite seemed satisfied with her place in life.
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Zephyrine asked me finally, and I shook my head as if to rub off the intense scrutiny I was inadvertently subjecting her to.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re putting me under a magnifying glass, and I might be caught on fire in the sun’s rays in a moment.”
I laughed and moved my knight, nodding for her to go, but she maintained her hold on me.
“I’m just wondering if you’re using magic to beat me,” I lied, my mind on other matters.
Her smile was genuine now, pleased. “I’m not beating you, though.”
“But you could if you wanted.”
“I don’t cheat, Alpha,” she informed me, and I ignored the bullet of shame shooting through me.
She meant the game, but I knew she took that mantra to everything she did in life. She’d proven as much to me when “Axel” had tried to kiss her.
I can’t continue with Stralia.The unbidden thought came seemingly from nowhere, but it didn’t faze me in the least.
Still, I cast it aside for the moment.
“Have you trained in combat?” I asked.
The question took her by surprise.
“Of course,” she replied. “Hasn’t everyone?”
“Good,” I said. “Then I forfeit this game and declare you the winner.”
“Why? You’re winning.”
“Not anymore,” I teased. “I just lost. I’d much rather do some training today. It’s beautiful outside. Don’t you think that’s a much better idea?”
Zephyrine frowned. “I’m not sure,” she replied honestly. “Will I be training with you or with Axel?”
I sighed. “Are you still angry about that?”
“I’m not sure,” she said again, and I appreciated her honesty.
Maybe she wasn’t such a brat. Maybe she was just too honest for her own good.
“We can work it out in combat training,” I proposed. “Get suited up, and let’s see what you’re capable of.”
