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Talyssa had been at the King’s arm.
The image of her forced smile was imprinted in my mind like ink on a piece of parchment. Nyro had been there, had anchored me and prevented me from doing something stupid.
After kissing him, I had left the Black Palace in a confused daze. My heart had ached for my friend and her suffering at the hands of that monster, but it had also soared while the rumble of Nyro’s voice and phantom of his touch lingered at my waist and on my lips.
That night, after the Hallows Eve masquerade ball, on my way back from Maximus’s lair, I had paid for another carriage back to Jenica’s house where, per our agreement, I sneaked in through her window, took off the dress I’d borrowed from her, and changed back into my white uniform.
Before leaving, I begged her to hide Nyro’s jacket. It had kept me warm on my way back. He’d let me have it and told me to throw it away once I was done with it, but doing so felt wrong. It was a risk for Jenica, for what if her parents discovered the hidden garment, but she had been terribly excited to do something clandestine and said she would hide it where no one would ever find it.
Once back on my regular routine at the White Palace, my dreams and thoughts filled with Nyro, and I found myself looking forward to bedtime more than ever before, not only because I was tired, but because I wanted to close my eyes and reimagine our kiss.
There was only one thing I looked forward to more than that, and it was my free day when I would see him again. We would help each other and maybe, together, we would be able to free Talyssa and his brother.
I didn’t fear sleep as I had since I’d joined the Board. My nightmares about Papa, Talyssa and the Black King went away and were replaced by masquerade balls where Nyro and I were the only guests, and an invisible orchestra played for us while we danced across the ballroom floor, crossing into a luscious garden. There, he would take me in his arms, his warmth enveloping me, protecting me from all that was bad.
His embrace would quickly morph into a heated kiss that unleashed a fierce wildness in me, something that was bolder than the boldest part of me. Without decorum, I ran my hand over his torso, imagining how his skin would feel if I unbuttoned his shirt and ran my fingers up his chest and down his flat stomach.
Then, I would wake up panting, sweating, a raw ache in my middle that I’d never felt and couldn’t comprehend.
More than once, I’d gone to the showers after one of these dreams, and I’d let cool water run down my back, forsaking the hot springs and bathtub for something that could tame me.
“What’s wrong with yeh?” Vinna asked me as we finished sparring, the blunt tip of her practice sword pressed to my stomach. “Yeh’re right distracted.”
I had surpassed her in this skill already, and it had been some time since she’d been able to get the best of me.
“Nothing,” I lied. “Just feeling a bit peaky. That’s all.”
She ran a hand over her short red hair to wipe off the sweat, giving me a distrustful sidelong glance. “Yeh’ve been like that since Hallows Eve. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.” She tapped her nose.
That night, Vinna had noted my absence as she had expected me to go with her to some tavern or another to meet Alben for a tankard and some nice conversation. I hadn’t agreed to accompany her, but I hadn’t refused her either, keeping my answer vague for good reason.
Since she had pestered me several times about my whereabouts that night and hadn’t seemed satisfied with my simple answer that I’d gone to visit a friend early that afternoon and had been persuaded to stay and celebrate the night with them.
Done with our training, we put away our practice swords and headed back toward our dormitory. Despite the chill, natural on a November morning, we wore only our trousers and shirts. Vinna wiped at her brow with her sleeves and hands while I used a piece of linen, folding it in sections as I dabbed my forehead and neck.
She rolled her eyes.
“What?” I said.
She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Rook Neculai’s sudden appearance from behind his own dormitory, one he shared with Rook Daciana. Vinna and I stopped in our tracks and exchanged a quick glance of discomfort. He was the other Quadrant’s Rook and reported to The Decapitator—a good reason not to trust him.
“You had a good practice,” he said, his thin lips stretching into a slimy smile, his voice sounding like that of a jester. “I watched you from my bed.” He pointed at a large window that faced the west sparring grounds. “You’ve improved quite a bit, First Pawn. I’ve witnessed your progress since your arrival.”
“Thank you,” I said curtly. “Now, if you will excuse us, we must go refresh ourselves.” I dabbed at my forehead a little theatrically and walked around him. Vinna followed me, throwing an unfriendly backward glance over her shoulder.
“Pawn Flagfall, what are your plans for your day off tomorrow?” he asked suggestively.
My heart skipped a beat. I didn’t need him sniffing around my activities on my free days, much less this upcoming one.
“Nothing special,” I said, without looking back, then hurried my step to avoid further questioning.
“What’s the matter with that creeper?” Vinna asked.
“I don’t know.” I hadn’t told her about his previous advances—his letter asking me to meet him in the woods and the way he’d accosted me after I didn’t heed his call—and I didn’t feel like starting today.
Now that I was First Pawn, I was allowed to challenge one of the Rooks and, from the looks of it, it would have to be Neculai. There was no way on this side of hell I would share the Rook’s dormitory with him, which is what would happen if I challenged and defeated Daciana.
It was time to figure out how I could beat him, but more importantly... it was time to come to terms with the fact that soon I would have to drink Queen Lovina’s blood.