Page 24 of Chess

When silver began to creep back in, breaking up the blinding white land—first as a handful of leaves still clinging to the branches, then as entire, glimmering trees—his heart beat a little faster. This was the Ivory he knew.

The ivory teeming with vampires.

Ever stopped at a small creek. Silver water flowed over opaque rocks with white tadpoles racing between them. The trees ended on one side and, on the other, were rolling hills. White grass and silver rocks as far as the eye could see. An ear-piercing screech filled the air, high-pitched yet brimming with power. Chess jumped—though he would’ve fully denied it if Ever pointed out that fact.

“The Jabberwocky,” Ever said solemnly. “What’s it doing here?”

Chess released a small chuckle. “At least something scares you more than my mother. Once Rav is dead, looks like you’ll still have a nemesis to conquer.”

“Your mother didn’t scare me.” Ever took a leaping step over the creek and walked softly down the path leading between swells of land. Chess hurried after her before she could disappear between the hills. Once he was at her side, she continued, “I didn’t run because I was afraid. I ran because it was the smart thing to do. There would be no reclaiming the throne from the grave.”

“If you say so, Queenie.” He cringed as another screech rang out. At least it sounded farther away. The Jabberwocky was a problem neither of them could’ve planned for, but, even if they could’ve known the beast was traveling out of Red, he wouldn’t have agreed to crossing its path. “For the record, I was scared of her on occasion myself.”

Ever tilted her head to study him and opened her mouth when a shout rang out.

“Fuck!” an unseen male bellowed from farther down the path. “Fuck, fuck!”

“Calm down, Garrett!” a female hissed almost as loudly. Movement fluttered at the bend in the pathway ahead. “You’ll attract its attention.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down, Dinah. We need to get out of here. If anyone was hiding around here, the Jabberwocky will have beat us to them.”

Chess recognized those fucking voices. Vampires from Scarlet. He’d even enjoyed them both, separately, once or twice.Dinah and Garrett.They weren’t part of Scarlet’s guards—they would’ve been dead if they were, apparently—but they had been good friends with his mother.Fuck this.

Chess bolted up the side of a hill and pressed himself tightly against the wide trunk of a white tree, leaving Ever alone on the path. At least she had her disguise.

He grimaced. Maybe he should’ve worn her damn wig after all. If they attacked Ever, he’d be forced to step in to end things, but leaving a trail of bodies wasn’t what he’d consider stealthy.

A stocky female wearing red leather trousers and an even stockier male with a metal bar pierced through the middle of his nose rounded the path and came to a dead stop. “Hello,” Garrett called. “Are you lost?”

“No.” Ever shifted her weight between her feet, keeping her head down. “Just taking a short cut.”

They prowled closer, circling her like she was prey, taking slow, purposeful steps as they eyed the White Queen over from head to toe. Ever stood perfectly still, looking far too relaxed for Chess’s liking, but her calmness would likely save her. The pair had been fleeing the Jabberwocky a moment ago and her lack of obvious fear would send them on their way without much fuss.

Dinah smiled, baring her fangs. Chess tensed. That wasnota good sort of smile. “All alone? A sweet thing like you.”

Ever shrugged. “The Jabberwocky seems too busy tracking you at the moment to worry about me.”

As if on cue, the beast let out a different sort of cry. One that shook the trees and the ground beneath Chess’s feet. Judging by the excited—terrifying—note in the call, the Jabberwocky had picked up on the scent of its dinner. Dinah shared a petrified look with Garrett before speaking again. “Off you go then. Be sure to report any sightings of—” Another roar, closer this time. “Fuck it. Let’s go.” But Garrett was already fleeing from them. “Ya bleeding coward,” Dinah shouted, and took off after him.

Chess loosened a breath and counted to ten before peeling himself away from the tree and scrambling back down the hill to Ever’s side. “We should probably go too,” he suggested.

Ever crossed her arms, smirking. “What’s wrong, Princeling?”

Was she serious? The Jabberwocky was tracking Dinah and Garrett … who just happened to run straight past them. Something large, angry, and loud as shit. “Is there a problem with your hearing?”

“No, but I thought there was something wrong with my eyesight for a moment. Why did you hide?” she asked, almost smug.

“I may have fucked them. Both, if that was unclear,” he said truthfully. It was clearly not the reason he didn’t want to be seen, but he couldn’t tell Ever that they were likely huntinghim. They wouldn’t be like Ari—they would certainly try and hand him over to Rav. He turned his gaze to the sky, expecting to see a beastly shape soar overhead. “It would’ve been a tad awkward.”

Ever scowled. He could see it in her eyes—the knowledge that Chess would never find running into an old lover to be awkward. But then the Jabberwocky cried out again, saving him from her questions.

A loudwhooshof wind whipped around them, and Chess latched onto Ever’s hand just as a shadow passed over them. He knew without looking what it was. He knew and he stared up anyway.

The Jabberwocky.

“Move,” Ever snapped, and tore down the path, dragging Chess along with her.

Chapter Twelve

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