Page 32 of Chess

“It is. Thank you,” she said, not meeting his gaze.

“I’ll see you soon,” he whispered, his shoulders sagging as he turned away.

Ever nodded and shut the door. Guilt washed over her and she didn’t understand it. She wasn’t with March, and he knew she only wanted to be his friend. But it wasn’t only that. Guilt was there because of Maddie. What would she think of what Ever had just done? With someone who wanted her friend dead, who had tried to kill Ever…

A part of her wanted to open the door back to Chess’s room and see what would happen next. But she might do something even more foolish. Yet she couldn’t stop imagining what it would feel like for him to press inside her and thrust until she could barely remember her own name.

She didn’t open the door between their rooms though. There were bigger things in the works than quenching her physical curiosities. Instead, she would wait for him to sleep and once he was, she would leave.

Chapter Fifteen

Chess

Chess laid beneath the down-filled duvet, trying to fall asleep in a strange bed, for hours. Not that he hadn’t slept in dubious places before, but this was the heart of Ivory. The soft mattress and lingering scent of lilies wouldn’t allow him to forget that fact, so he’d noticed when Ever’s soft footfalls paced her room. Felt her gaze when she’d cracked the door to peek in on him.

Part of Chess wondered if she was simply having trouble sleeping in case anyone snuck in to assassinate her, but his intuition told him there was more to it. The air was full of static, crackling with distrust. Things hadn’t been that way between them since they’d first been forced together in the mortal world safe house. But maybe he was imagining things…

Should I check on her?

If all she needed was a little comfort, adistraction, he was more than willing to comply a second time. By spreading those creamy thighs, tasting her, bringing her over the edge over and over. She’d been so responsive when he’d licked her slit and had tasted so fucking good. Both her sex and her blood. Sweet. Like how he remembered candy tasting when he was a mortal. It would be no hardship to have her hands on him once more. Ever may have been a virgin, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know what she was doing. If she ever granted him the honor of taking her fully, he wasn’t sure they would ever leave a bed again.

Unless it was to fuck in the bath or on a table or against a wall …ohthe things they would do together. They could explore each other all night until March came searching for heragain—because he undoubtedly would. Clingy bastard. There were many other things to do now that Ever had reclaimed the castle and they couldn’t afford to lose momentum by reveling in their victory. Rav could show up at any moment for all they knew. They’d killed his guards with a glorious swiftness, but the news was bound to get back to him soon. March could busy himself with that instead of worrying about Ever.

But perhaps March was right to worry about her. The gut feeling that she was up to something only increased along with the padding of her feet.

Chess purposely evened out his breathing and snuggled into the pillow to appear as if he were asleep. It only took ten minutes of pretending for him to get his answer. The softclickof her door shutting in the adjoining room told him everything he needed to know—Ever was sneaking out.

But to where? Why?

Chess eased from the bed, threw his clothes and boots on, and slipped into the hallway. Ever was already out of sight. He cursed silently and listened closely. Her rapid footsteps came from the right, descending stairs, if he was hearing correctly. Light on his feet, Chess followed.

He kept his distance, not allowing himself to get closer than to see a blur of deep brown hair in the dark, as she traversed the castle. She’d put on a black skirt and a light blue T-shirt, though he much preferred the towel. When she snuck out a side door, he did the same.

Outside, the night swallowed them both. There was no moonlight tonight, but he could still see everything clearly. Bats flew overhead, swooping through the air, and the rustle of feathers floated down from the trees. Most importantly, he followed Ever’s silhouette with ease.Where the fuck are you going?She wouldn’t abandon him in her castle, would she? He could imagine March’s reaction tothatin the morning—so her destination couldn’t be far.

They passed through the palace gardens and patches of forest. He couldn’t stop to examine the surroundings as he needed to make sure he didn’t lose sight of the White Queen, but if he didn’t know any better, he’d say they were heading toward Scarlet. He narrowed his eyes at the figure weaving between trees. His stomach sank. No way would Ever have made a deal with her brother, even if it was to rid herself of Chess’s presence. Only hours ago, she’d let him between her legs for fuck’s sake. She had her castle back so what was left for Rav to barter anyway?

Then what—

Not more than a five minutes’ run from the castle, Ever glanced over both shoulders before raising her hand to knock on an old, mossy tree. She rapped out a rhythm and stepped back. A few moments later, a door swung inward, expertly disguised to look like bark. Chess’s eyes widened and his jaw clenched atwhostood before Ever.

The mad, violet-haired twat who murdered his mother.Maddie.

Chess’s vision went red.Kill herechoed through his head.Kill her like she killed your mother.

Fuck yes. She needed to die.Now.Before he could think better of charging rashly into the situation, Chess barreled from the trees at full speed. He knocked both Ever and Maddie down a staircase inside the hidden safe house before either of them could see him coming. They tumbled down in a heap, Ever’s wig sailing past him in the process, and struck the edges of stairs. Chess’s arm gave a sharpcrack, but he ignored the blast of pain as he scrambled to get his hands around Maddie’s neck. He still wasn’t able to manage it before they landed in a pile at the bottom of the staircase. Ever was trapped face down beneath Maddie’s body, Chess on top of them both.

The purple-clad vampire let out a shriek—part surprise, part fear—and snapped her fangs at his face. She clawed at his arms, raising her shoulders to protect her neck from his hands. The sound of a door slamming open and hitting a wall barely registered as he snatched her wrists. Chess hissed, spittle flying. He would rip her head off. Lick the blood from his lips. Send her heart back to Rav so he knew vengeance was had—just before Chess did the same to the bastard.

A muscled forearm pressed into Chess’s neck from behind and ripped him off the female. He snarled and snapped while clawing at the arm hoisting him up until it bled freely.

“Don’t kill him!” Ever yelled. Pins were slipping out of her white hair, the braids falling from where she had wound them against her head.

“Fucking prig!” Ferris shouted.

What the fuck is the Knave doing here?Not that it mattered. He drove his head back into the asshat’s nose with a satisfyingcrunch.

“Fuck! Noah, grab his legs,” Ferris growled.

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