Page 30 of Chess

Three more left.

As if in answer, two more barreled down the stairs, a female and male, looked at Chess drenched in blood, then started running back up them like cowards. March and Chess went after them as Ever caught her eye on the last living betrayer, Sonny.

Her old guard walked through the door and paused, a smile on his tan face. “Look who’s back,” he grunted, “but not for long.”

Too bad Ever knew all her guards’ moves since she’d watched them train over the years, so with him alone, she could do this. She ducked as he reached for her head and she kicked her leg out, tripping him. He fell flat on his stomach with a low grunt and before he could push up, she was on his back, pulling his head toward her. A loud snap reverberated through the room.

Ever landed on her back from the hard yank, the guard’s head in her hands, blood drenching her clothing as her chest heaved.

Victory. Or so she hoped.

She hurled the head, then hurried to see if Chess and March needed help, but they stood at the bottom of the stairs. March wiped his sword on his uniform and Chess was polishing his nails against his bloody hoodie as in a job well done.

“So, that was entertaining,” Ever said with a small laugh. “And a bit satisfying. Now you may clap, Chess.”

“We need you to play your viola as well.” Chess winked at her and March frowned at him.

“Perhaps later if it’s still here.” She smiled and focused on March. “Do you mind staying here as a guard, at least until Rav’s dead?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t leave you in a predicament without any guards here.”

Ever caught Chess rolling his eyes and she ignored him.

“For now, we’ll dispose of the bodies in the cellar,” she instructed.

Chess nodded, stacking several and carrying them out of the room. Ever drew March back by his arm. “Tonight, I’m going to tell Maddie we reclaimed the palace and have them come here to help you once Chess and I leave.”

“Are you telling him what you’re doing?” March whispered.

She shook her head. No, she couldn’t put Maddie’s life at risk.

“Good,” he said and scooped up a dead guard.

They then dumped all the bodies and bloodied pieces down in the cellar before March offered to clean the scarlet from the areas. She wasn’t going to let him do it by himself, so she grabbed some cloths to help.

Chess looked at them both while they cleaned as if he’d never done a chore in his entire life. He probably hadn’t, at least not since becoming immortal.

“You’re not too good, Princeling. Come on.” She threw a wet rag at his face and he caught it.

He puckered his lips but sank down beside a pool of blood then started on the task, although he moved much slower with it.

Once everything was spotless, Ever bid March a goodnight and led Chess up the spiral staircase to her room.

“I never had the royal tour of your palace before.” He trailed a finger across the rail as if he just needed to always be touching something. “So where are we staying?”

We… “The royal quarters.” She held up a finger. “But it’s split into two rooms, so you get one and I get one.”

She’d been gone for nearly four years and it looked it, without having any servants around to clean and dust. Same as before, pearl chandeliers hung from the ceilings, white chess piece statues rested in the corners, but her famous paintings of musicians hanging across the walls were gone. At the top of the stairs, the portraits of the old king and queen still remained. Her heart sank at the sight of their warm smiles—she still missed them, but it was good to see their faces again.

Ever opened the door, a flowery scent hitting her nose, and locked it behind them. The room was now bare of any of her musical decorations, only white and black walls, like a checkerboard, the floor a sparkling white and the ceiling a glistening obsidian. Her looming wardrobe rested across from the canopy bed covered in silky black sheets, the desk clear of all her notebooks.

She opened one of the two other doors in her room and glanced at Chess, who was studying her bed. “This is an adjoining door to Rav’s old rooms. It hasn’t been used in a while, unless the Scarlet guards slept there, but you can get some rest in here. A bathroom is attached inside for you to get cleaned up.” He was covered in as much blood as she was, yet maybe even a little more.

“You know we can share a bath,” he cooed, leaning against a doorframe and gazing at her beneath hooded eyes.

“And what filthy water that would be. We would hardly get cleaned.” She chewed on her lip and took a step toward him. “Thank you for your help today. It might have taken me a teeny bit longer to do without you.”

Chess chuckled and shrugged. “It was necessary.” He turned on his heel and glanced over his shoulder at her with a big smile. “The door to my bathroom will be open, though.”

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