Page 67 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
The corner of her mouth lifted into a lofty smile. “I prefer to be underestimated. To get my opponent so comfortable, they don’t realize they’re surrounded until it’s too late.”
Once again, Nimue never ceased to impress me. “Sounds complicated.”
“It is. Chess is a game of wits. It can take months, even years, to become a champion. But that gives us a lot of time. You might never beat me, but with my coaching, you’ll be able to take on Ben. You’ll for sure beat Gareth within two months.ThatI’m confidenton.”
“I resent that,” Gareth said as he strolled into the living room and sat down at the couch. His smile widened when he realized what we were playing.
I shifted in my seat. I didn’t overly mind since it was Gareth, but I still didn’t like learning this new skill in front of everyone. It was times like this I was reminded that they were nobles and that even though I wore flight leathers like them, I would never reach their level. And while I knew most of them didn’t consider me beneath them or stupid for my lack of education, I still felt my stomach tighten at the thought of them seeing me struggle.
“I’ve been learning chess for years and I’m still horrible at it,” Gareth said, and the knowing look in his eyes had me squirming in my seat. “Sometimes we have to accept we’re not good at some things no matter how hard we try.”
“That’s a loser mindset,” Nimue muttered under her breath and grinned at me. “Don’t take advice from him. In fact, erase that from your memory. I’ll have you beating him in under a month because of that. And if you don’t, I’ll run three laps around the castle. No—ten because I have that much faith in you.”
The seriousness in her tone made my smile freeze. “What happened to it being a game?”
“After the bet. Besides, chess is a game for the mind, even if there are stakes to it.”
“And you find this relaxing?”
Nimue smiled wickedly. “I always find it relaxingwhen I beat my enemies.”
“I can show you more relaxing hobbies,” Gareth offered.
I looked down at the chess set, my head swimming with all the various rules.Years.“What do you do for fun?”
“He’s boring and likes puzzles,” Ben said, appearing from his bedroom.
“Are you all eavesdropping? Do you all have nothing better to do?” I moved my piece with more force than necessary, scowling when Nimue captured it with her horse thingy. “How the hell—?”
“You forgot, it can move in these directions.” My scowl deepened as Nimue mimicked the movements.
Ben snickered. “She’s ruthless. Won’t go easy on you because you’re new.”
“It’d be an insult if I did,” Nimue murmured. Despite my bitching, I liked that she didn’t. Even now, when I was clearly no threat, she studied the board intently.
“I’ll play after you win. Show her what a real game looks like. Gods know Gareth can’t do that.” Ben grinned at Gareth and grabbed a chair, dragging it over with an obnoxious sound.
“Hey!”
I hated to say it, but Nimue slaughtered me in front of the audience. I stood no chance. When Ben played, I realized he wasn’t just bullshitting. He wasgood.Even without Nimue’s explanations, it was obvious he knew what he was doing. Ben and Nimue both explained each other’s mistakes and strategies. I hadto admit—it was fun, seeing them both in their element and competitive over something so simple.
“Wow. This is so not relaxing.”
Gareth snorted. “They’re something else.”
I hummed in agreement. I wasn’t used to seeing Ben so serious. He had a way of reading Nimue and changing up his strategy at the flip of a coin. “They really are.”
The next game they played was at a much slower pace and clearly for my learning benefit. The sound of a door creaking open had me turning. Kieran walked out of his room with a stack of books in his arms.
“Come play with us, O fearless captain!” Ben cajoled.
My eyes locked with Kieran. It felt like lightning struck my body, and I stilled, helpless against the onslaught.What changed? Why do you hate me again?Kieran clenched his jaw. Shadows enveloped him, and he vanished from view. A heavy silence descended on the group. They didn’t look at me, but Iknewwhat they were thinking.
“He’s afraid to lose to me,” Ben joked. “It’d kill his badass image.”
“Bullshit. He’s afraid to lose tome.” Nimue jutted out her chin.
But I knew it wasn’t that. We all knew. He didn’t want to be around me.
