Page 33 of A Game of Love and Betrayal

A comfortable silence stretched between them, an understanding that each saw the other and knew where they were coming from. Ryker had never considered that he might meet someone who would understand him so profoundly in such a short period of time.

“How about you?” Brynleigh asked after a few minutes passed. “What does Captain Ryker do when he’s not searching for a wife?”

Ryker’s lips twitched at the obvious change in the topic of conversation. “Would you believe me if I told you I enjoyed playing games?”

A light, harmonious laugh rang through the headphones. It was like wind chimes tinkling in a night breeze. The sound of the vampire’s pleasure seeped into his bones and stirred something deep within him. He would cherish her laugh and replay the memory repeatedly when he was alone.

“I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that,” she said when her laughter died.

He chuckled and palmed the back of his neck. “No? What did you think I would say?”

“Honestly, anything else.” There was a smile in Brynleigh’s voice. “I, too, enjoy games. Especially chess.”

Ryker’s eyes widened, and he grinned. “That’s my favorite.”

There was no hiding the enthusiasm in his voice.

He’d been playing the game since he was a child. When he hadn’t been at school, he studied strategies, memorized moves, and played against any willing opponent. Even now, he gravitated towards a chess board after a long workday.

Most people only played chess against Ryker once. Not because he was bad at it, but because Ryker played to win.

Every. Single. Time.

He firmly believed there was no point in playing a game if he wasn’t trying to win. He was competitive, not just with others but with himself as well. He constantly strove to be the best at everything. He enjoyed games, liked the structure of rules, and he always aimed to defeat his opponent.

“You’re joking,” was Brynleigh’s response.

“Not at all.” Ryker sat up and placed his feet flat on the floor. Resting his elbows on his legs, he stared at the visual wall. Today, blue and pink flowers stretched as far as the eye could see. “I have a chess board from one of the ancient Eleytan abbeys. It dates to the time of the Vampire Queen who fought during the Battle of Balance.”

Many artifacts from that age had been lost to time, having disappeared when the ancient vampires chose to sleep. Ryker’s father gifted him the chess board on his eighteenth birthday. Ryker cherished it, and it remained in his apartment to this day. He rarely played with the ancient set but often admired the hand-carved black and white marble pieces.

“Truly?” A hint of suspicion entered her voice. “Are you pulling my leg?”

“Not at all,” Ryker smirked. “Fae can’t lie, after all.”

“Hmm. I suppose that’s true.”

He chuckled. “It is. I swear to you that I can’t, even if my life depends on it.”

But he was skilled at twisting his words. All fae were. It was a skill passed down from generation to generation, a way to remain powerful while still telling a version of the truth.

“I’ll give you that,” Brynleigh conceded.

Ryker sipped his coffee. “I’ll have to show you the board. Maybe challenge you to a match?”

Was it presumptuous of him to make plans outside the Choosing already? Maybe. But he didn’t want to ignore the connection between them. And this, her playing chess, felt like a sign from the gods.

“At your home?”

“Yes.”

She sucked in a breath, then murmured, “I’d like that more than you know.”

Ryker’s smile widened. So would he.

Their conversation shifted to different chess strategies, which occupied them until the chime rang.

“Apologies for the interruption, Captain Waterborn, but your next date will begin in five minutes.” Celeste’s voice was crisp and to the point. “This date will be over in sixty seconds.”

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