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Silence fell upon the room like a heavy fog.
My breaths rang in my ears as my chest heaved, fighting to quiet the poisonous blood that coursed through me and urged me to kill.
Ungur and Brigita were dead already, but the evil inside me wasn’t satisfied. I fought it. I was stronger than this poison. It would not break me. The King would not break me.
No one dared move a muscle. King Maximus stared down from the dais, his Bishops nothing but shadows a step behind his throne.
Killing the Fourth Pawn and declaring the Board complete had been a gamble and, as such, I expected the King’s wrath. He would not let me get away with this. He would order the fight to continue, his lust for death hardly satisfied by Ungur and Brigita.
Maximus stood very slowly. I lifted my chin as he scrutinized me, the same red glow in his eyes. Then, to everyone’s utter astonishment, he threw back his head and laughed.
Behind him, his hooded Bishops remained as immobile as before. In contrast, his Knights and Rooks stirred, shuffling from foot to foot, exchanging confused glances that suggested they hadn’t been expecting this from their King.
The dry, rusty laughter echoed through the room, strangling the silence. It was a fake sound, like a bad actor on stage playing the role of an amused king. Or maybe he sounded this way because he hadn’t laughed in a long time. Maybe his jesters were a failure, and he’d decided I would take their place.
The laughter stopped as abruptly as it had started.
He descended from the dais, his steps careful and quiet. As he approached, he seemed to glide in my direction, a stiff smile frozen on his lips. He began a slow clap, a methodical motion synchronized with his steps.
“Excellent, dear Stonehelm. Excellent,” he said, stopping a few paces away from me, Bragita’s body between us. “I must admit I have not been this amused in decades, perhaps even centuries.”
He shook his index finger at me, cocking his head to one side. “You’re a clever one.” He let out another dry cackle. “And...” he turned, eyes roving over the members of his Board, “I need clever subjects. The problem is... they arrive so rarely.” His gaze seemed to linger on Sanda. “Imagine... what eternal life can be when filled with boredom.”
Ice and anger roiled in my chest as I fought not to attack him. I already knew I didn’t stand a chance against him. If I attacked, he would kill me or something worse. Before tonight, I’d thought him evil, but now I knew he was worse than that.
He was perverted to the core.
With a flick of his foot, the Black King pushed Brigita’s body out of the way, took a step closer in my direction, and rested a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“Congratulations, Fourth Pawn,” he said with a mocking smile that made it very clear he was letting me get away with my ruse. “I look forward to your future exploits.”
At this, the room stirred, and I caught everyone’s loathsome glances in my direction. I knew how this must look to them. They thought I’d gained favor with the King, that I’d bucked the rules, the contracts, and had gained a spot on the Board without truly having earned it.
The King released my shoulder, started to walk away, but stopped as our shoulders were parallel. Then, inclining his head to whisper in my ear, he said, “Timotei is mine, Nyro. But I will certainly enjoy your hearty attempts to change that.”
He gave one last chuckle, walking out of the Challenge Hall and leaving me with the silence and hatred of the entire Board.
King Maximus had known how his subjects would respond to me after today. He had made sure they hated me and, as the strength his vampire blood had given me ebbed away, I realized this part of his scheme was designed to ensure I would suffer even more in the near future.