Four

Evie

---

I cross the camp to the communal hall where we're all able to hang out now that activities are over for the day with Mandy by my side.

"I hope they have a vending machine," she mumbles. "I'm starving."

I frown. "You okay? You don't normally get so hungry."

"It's nothing to worry about." She glances away, clearly trying to evade the question.

It's weird, but I let it slide. Maybe she's not talking about her food-hunger anyway.

I scan the room, only realising once I spot Ceb setting up a chess board on the table at the back that he's the one I've been looking for.

"I'm going to go find food," Mandy says. "Have fun." She gives me a knowing smile.

For a moment, I consider trying to argue, but decide against it. I weave my way through the assembled people and towards the back.

"Need someone to play against?" I ask.

Ceb looks in my direction, surprised delight crossing his face. "Hey, Evie."

"So, do you have an opponent?"

"You know how to play?"

I let out a soft snort. "It's just normal chess, right? No strange rules."

"Just chess."

"Then you'll find my skills perfectly adequate." I sit down and wait for him to do the same.

"You're full of surprises."

"I shouldn't be, you already know I'm good at analysing. That's why we were the only team that was good enough to get both of us through the assault course."

"That was impressive," he admits, taking a seat. "White or black?"

"White has a built-in advantage, so I'll be black."

He chuckles. "So you're going to play against a member of the chess team and take a purposeful disadvantage?"

"I like a challenge. Besides, you don't know me very well. I could be a chess grandmaster who retired at the age of fourteen because there was no one fun left to beat."

"I suspect you're not." He moves one of his pawns into position.

"No. I'm not. But that doesn't mean you should underestimate me." I consider for a moment, then move one of my own.

"I may not know you well, but I do know not to do that."

"Good. Then this should be an interesting game." I move a pawn that will allow me to get one of my knights onto the field. It's a risky strategy, but one that I find can be quite successful when done correctly.

My chances of winning against Ceb are slim, but that's not my primary aim of playing anyway. If I'm completely honest with myself, I simply enjoyed his company earlier and want more of it.

"So, Grand Master Evie, how did you get into the game?"

"Wouldn't that be giving away my secrets?"

"Perhaps that's what I'm trying to do." He slides one of his bishops into place and nods at me to indicate my turn.

"No secret. Dad realised I liked this kind of thing when I was little and taught me to play. It's what we used to do on Sunday afternoons."

"That's sweet."

"It was," I agree. "What about you, how did you start playing chess?"

"The story is nowhere near as wholesome," he warns me.

"Ah, so no made-for-TV movie about you then," I quip.

Ceb chuckles, a warm sound that I want to hear more of. "I very much doubt it. Then again, can you imagine how adorable it'd be for them to animate a baby hellhound?"

"You're a hellhound?" I can't keep the surprise out of my voice.

"Yeah, is that weird?"

"Yes and no." I move my bishop into position, though I'm reasonably sure I'm going to lose the match, I'm not paying enough attention to what I'm doing. But I don't mind, I'm enjoying the company more than the game anyway. "It's just funny because I'm a hellhound too."

He raises an eyebrow. "That is surprising, I didn't think there were that many at the academy."

"Probably a few dozen or so. But yeah, it's strange that we both ended up here at the same time."

"It is."

"So, how did you get into chess?"

"I hated the rain when I was a kid, I still don't like it much now, but I can go out in it. So I used to go into the library and watch the older kids play chess. At some point, they decided to teach me, and that's how I started to play."

"That's adorable," I respond.

"It is?"

"The idea of a tiny you playing chess is." I cock my head to the side and study him.

"This is the weirdest kind of flirting I've ever encountered." He takes my bishop, just like I intended for him to do.

"Who said I was flirting?" I respond, quickly removing his piece with my knight.

"Are you?"

"Yes."

Surprise flits over his face.

"What? You didn't expect me to be honest?"

"I don't know what I expected," he admits. "I can safely say that none of my expectations for this weekend involved this."

I let out a light laugh. "Okay, that's fair. I just expected to get a bit muddy. But other than that, I don't think I had anything in mind. I certainly didn't think I'd be playing chess against someone I just met."

"I like to keep things interesting," Ceb responds.

My lips quirk up into a smile. "I'm sure you do."

He moves his queen into position. "That's checkmate, by the way. Point to me."

"Are you seriously adding this to our point total?"

"Of course. You're winning at the moment, I need all the help I can get." He grins widely and starts moving his pieces back into position.

"So if I'd won the game, you wouldn't have said I'd get a point?"

"You'll never know, but if you want a chance to win some points back, we can play another game."

"I can't decide if you're trying to spend more time with me, or if you just want a chance to beat me in our bet," I joke, not really minding the answer when the results are the same.

"Can't it be both?"

"I suppose it can. But you've got a lot of points to make up..."

"Last I checked, I was only trailing by five."

"So you're proposing we play five games of chess?"

"I only need four more until we're even." He turns the board around. "You should start this time."

I move one of the pawns without arguing, appreciating that he's giving up the slight advantage of being the person who opens the game. I know it's probably not going to make a difference considering how much more experienced he is than me, but that's not the point.

A loud cheer comes from across the room and I twist around to see that Henry and Fabio have just beaten two of the others at Jenga.

A smile spreads over my face. It's nice to see everyone relaxing. I haven't spent much time with anyone outside of practice other than Amanda, which makes me realise that Zara is right about us needing this in order to pull together better as a team.

"Is your friend all right?" Ceb asks.

"Erm..." I search the room for Mandy and find her chatting with some of the others. I wave at her and she glances my way. She picks up her phone and waggles it at me. "I think so, one sec."

"Sure."

I pull out my phone and click on our chat. I chuckle. "She's just being a typical friend, and telling me not to do anything she wouldn't."

"That doesn't tell me much. For all I know, she could be a harpy and want to scratch my eyes out."

I snort. "I doubt any harpy would do that. But no, she's a succubus."

He raises an eyebrow.

My cheeks flush. "She's not suggesting that," I say quickly.

"You're the one whose mind went there," he reminds me.

"Well, that's embarrassing." I move one of my pieces and try to think of the best way out of it.

"If it makes you feel better, you're not the only one," he says, a grin spreading over his face.

I raise an eyebrow. "You're going to tell me that it's a shame we're staying in shared dorms and we're not back at the academy with our own private rooms."

"Well, that's true, but not for the reason you think. I hate sharing a bathroom with so many people," he responds.

I chuckle. "You're right, that's not the reason I thought you were going to say."

His lopsided grin only makes him more endearing to me. "I mean, there are other advantages."

"I'd be interested in hearing them once we're back at the academy."

"I think that can be arranged. That's checkmate again, by the way."

"Well played," I say, though if I'm honest, I have absolutely no idea how the game went, I was barely paying any attention to anything other than him. "You have a chance of winning our bet yet."

"There's still time to claw it back," he responds.

"Then let's hope we get paired up in some more activities tomorrow."

"I certainly hope so. And if not, there's the party."

"A party? Here?" It doesn't seem like that kind of place.

"I don't think they really intend for it to be a party, but everyone I know who has been here before says that on the last night, everyone lets loose a little."

"Huh, I didn't know that," I admit. "But it sounds fun. And like the perfect time for the loser of our bet to do their lap."

"It does," he agrees. "And if I win another couple of rounds of chess, perhaps you'll be the loser." He swirls the board around.

"All right, but no talking this time. I want to win."

He chuckles. "Fine. I'll even go easy on you."

"Oh no need for that," I retort, though a part of me thinks that it could be my only way of winning against him. If we end up making plans for when we're back at the academy, then I'm going to have to do some practice rounds of chess so I can figure out how to be a better opponent.

He makes his first move, and I focus on everything I know about chess strategy in an attempt to beat him.

Though I suppose I don't really mind which of us wins. That's not why we're playing, and it's not why I'm enjoying myself. This time, it's really not about the winning, it's about the game.

Somehow, I don't think that's what Zara wanted me to learn about this weekend, but I don't even care.