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The afternoon sun shining on it, the White Palace looked as resplendent as a diamond, its four copper domes tinted green like emeralds. It was magnificent, and it presaged my death.
Knight Ferko had wanted to bind my hands behind my back, but Kelsus had laughed at the idea.
“What?” he had asked. “Are you afraid of a simple First Pawn, my dear Ferko? She’s weak and slow. I don’t wish to embarrass myself by suggesting we’re afraid of her.”
So, I was walking in front of them, my hands free at my sides, my desperate heart caged between my ribs. More than ever, I wished for wings to be able to soar above the palace walls and forget about Acedrex.
Over and over, I kept playing in my mind the moment I had slipped a bloodshade leaf inside my mouth after waking up this morning. Had I really done it? Or had that been yesterday?
You did, Bianca. You did!
If I hadn’t, Rook Neculai would have been able to tell—not to mention the two Knights escorting me.
A butler opened one half of the massive palace door and allowed us in. Pristine white marble practically blinded me as I walked into a foyer the size of Flagfall House, the home where I was born.
Echos bounced off the walls as we followed the butler. Where? I didn’t know. I’d never been inside the palace and, despite my near-paralyzing nerves, I couldn’t help but gawk at the luxury surrounding me. I had, in my past life, visited homes and manors much more luxurious than what I was used to, but this was beyond anything I could have imagined. Even the Black Palace paled in comparison.
Though King Maximus’s palace had been opulent and stately, it hadn’t truly been inviting. A sense of foreboding had hung over it, even the portraits on the walls—not to mention the petal-covered beds with their silken duvets.
This was different. Nothing about the white walls, the soft, ornate rugs in soft cream colors, the vases of fresh flowers, and the paintings of foreign, sunny-dappled landscapes hanging from the walls made me feel anything but warmth.
I marveled at everything. Every piece of furniture must cost a fortune and, yet, seemed utilitarian and lived in, as if the people who inhabited this place felt perfectly comfortable here.
Quickly, it became clear to me that there was a woman’s touch in the interior design, a certain quality that everything had been arranged with care and without any fear or dislike for the light entering through the huge windows at the end of room, windows that must, in the mornings, allow sunlight to spill in like a river.
“Bianca, this way,” Knight Kelsus said as I got distracted by the white sculpture of winged angel dominating the room.
I nodded and, shaking myself, walked into the hall he had indicated. Our boots were silent on the carpeted floor. The walls were free of paintings and decorations, but it didn’t need them. The wallpaper was enough with its inlaid, golden roses as intricate as if they were real.
Slowly, the natural light died and by the end of the hall, the sources of light turned out to be two lone sconces in the shape of flowers.
We stopped in front of a set of filigree doors. Neither Knight Kelsus nor Knight Ferko knocked but, after a few seconds, a footman opened the door and let us in.
I stepped into darkness, followed by the two Knights. I squinted, willing my eyes to adjust. A single candle glowed at the very back of what appeared to be a large room.
Knight Kelsus placed a hand on my elbow and led me forward. The echo of our heels tapping against the floor reverberated through the room. As my eyes adjusted to the light of the lonely candle, a figure started taking shape.
First, two bare feet peeking from under a dress. They rested on a small, upholstered stool. Then, delicate hands resting on the arms of a large, ornate throne made of carved wood and red velvet.
Lastly, the Queen took shape, a slender woman with white hair and glowing red eyes. She sat straight, her head poised regally atop her long neck. Dark veins spidered over her pale face as candlelight reflected on her marble-like features.
I was in the throne room, the Queen of Acedrex regarding me from her elevated position on the dais. Her fingers drummed on the wide arm of her throne. Her colorless hair was arranged in a beehive, making her head appear long as if it belonged to an insect and not a once-woman.
Why was she here with all the curtains drawn and nothing but a candle to illuminate the space? She was supposed to love daylight. Did this mean her only Trove, Varujan, had finally died?
“I thought you’d called because you’d found me a new Trove, Ferko,” the Queen said her contralto voice as deep as Knight Kelsus’s.
A trickle of sweat slid down my back. If she only knew how right she was.
“I will, my Queen,” The Decapitator said, bowing her head. “Just not today. My apologies for that.”
“If not a Trove, what then?” Lovina asked, the glow of her red eyes shifting to me.
“A First Pawn who has dishonored her contract,” Ferko said.
“No,” Knight Kelsus corrected. “A First Pawn who needs her Queen’s fair judgment.”
“Once more, you’re in disagreement, I see,” the Queen said.
Ferko huffed while Kelsus simply inclined his head respectfully. There was silence for a moment.
The Queen broke it with a bark of irritation. “Explain!”
Ferko began. “Earlier this afternoon—”
“No, not you. Her.” She pointed a lean finger in my direction.
Knight Ferko pushed me forward. I staggered and nearly fell at the Queen’s feet. Straightening my jacket, I composed myself, my back so straight it would have made my governess proud. I stared at the Queen’s bare feet, unable to meet her unnatural gaze. Her toes were long and bony, their nails painted white to match her skin. Or was that their natural color?
Lovina’s fingers drummed on her throne. I swallowed. Every sound seemed magnified in the large room as I pondered what to tell her. How much truth? How much lie?
“This afternoon,” I began, talking around the throbbing heart that seemed to have gotten stuck in my throat, “I went down to the city to enjoy my free day. I was walking down the street when I noticed someone was following me.” I cleared my throat in an effort to sound confident and not like a lying coward. “It was Rook Neculai.”
“Whom she promptly proceeded to kill,” Ferko said in an angry growl.
“Did you happen to be present, Ferko?” the Queen asked, never taking her eyes off me and showing no reaction to the news that one of her Rooks was dead.
“No, my Queen,” The Decapitator responded, sounding like nothing but a scared, squeaking mouse.
“Then don’t speak again, unless I ask you to do so. Continue, please.”
I did as I was told. “When he realized I had spotted him, he came directly to me and forced me against the wall. He said he had an offer for me, said I should be his ally.”
One of the Queen’s pale eyebrows went up. “You, a fresh First Pawn, ally yourself with a thirty-year veteran Rook?”
She seemed to find the idea ludicrous, and it was. Neculai’s interest in me had had nothing to do with me helping him become Bishop as he’d told me. That had been an empty proposition, something he’d hoped would get me under his sheets. I shivered at the mere thought.
But dare I mention this to Lovina? Would she blame me for not going to Knight Kelsus with a complaint and, instead, killing her Rook?
“He wanted to bed you,” she said, figuring it all without my help. Her red gaze traveled the length of my body as if appraising my qualities. “That is the only reasonable explanation for his offer.”
I nodded, seeing that it would do me no good to deny it. “I refused both offers,” I said. “I am loyal to my Quadrant.” I glanced back toward Knight Kelsus. “Rook Neculai wasn’t happy and threatened to kill me if I didn’t agree.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I avoided the White Queen’s piercing gaze. I was afraid she would spot the lie. Neculai had never threatened my life. Instead, he’d said he had a trap laid out for Knight Kelsus, one that would have helped Neculai defeat and replace my Quadrant leader. On top of that, he had known about Nyro, had seen my interest in him, and that was something no one here needed to know.
“I feared for my life,” I added, my insides twisting with the memory of all of Neculai’s blood and flesh smeared on the pavement.
I considered my next words very carefully. If I admitted I’d killed him on instinct, without thinking, would the Queen condemn me for being weak and allowing the heat of the moment to drive my hand? And if, instead, I said that my actions had been purposeful, would she condemn me for openly breaking the contract?
Did an option that could save my life even exist?
I pondered for a second. The Queen was a cold-blooded creature, wasn’t she? Maybe she would be willing to forgive a kindred spirit.
You have nothing else to lose, Bianca. You’ve lost everything already, I told myself, though it felt like a lie.
This had been true enough a couple of weeks ago before Nyro kissed me. But, as ludicrous as it seemed, hope had sprouted in my heart since that moment. It was nothing but a tiny bud, like the ones Talyssa and I used to plant in our garden. But I knew well how, with only a small bit of care, a bud could grow and turn into something wonderful.
You have nothing else to lose, I stubbornly repeated before I met Lovina’s gaze and said, “I acted on self-defense and pushed him in front of a speeding carriage.”
The Queen rose to her feet and descended the dais steps. She stood right in front of me, her nostrils flaring, her head cocked slightly to one side. Her eyes seemed to dive into mine, making me feel exposed as if she could read all the lies on my face, hear them in my thundering heart, and smell them in my fear.
I held my own, somehow keeping my chin high, even though I wanted to curl up at her feet and beg.
“You’re a brave little thing,” she said as if I were a child and not her same height. “You’ve only been here...” she turned to Knight Kelsus, “how long?”
“Four and a half months, my Queen,” he said.
“Four and a half months,” she repeated, “and you’re already First Pawn and have perfectly positioned yourself to become Rook.”
“Rook?” Ferko echoed, sounding outraged. “What do you mean? She just killed Neculai.”
“Neculai, Neculai,” the Queen said, turning on her heel and walking toward the lonely candle. “In all his years as a Rook, do you know how many Troves he brought to me?”
Ferko said nothing.
Lovina put her hand over the flame of the candle, watching it flicker against her fingers. It should have burned her, but it did nothing but stain her skin with soot.
“One... very weak... Trove,” she said, measuring her words. “A Trove that died after a few squalid meals. That was it!” she exclaimed, turning away from the candle and facing us again.
“Rook Daciana isn’t much better,” she continued, glancing toward Kelsus. “She did find Varujan, but he was already old and he’ll likely die the next time I feed.” She paused, then added through clenched teeth. “And after that, I’ll be confined to this insufferable darkness until one of you, useless humans, can find me a new Trove. I think it’s time for a change. And this very ambitious, very clever girl might be the answer to our very stale and stagnant White Board. Girl, do you wish to live despite the fact you broke your contract?”
“I do,” I said, feeling the truth in my words, knowing for the first time since King Maximus killed Papa that I wanted to go on and experience all the things my life had to offer, no matter how limited.
“Very well, then,” the Queen said. “You will fight Knight Ferko’s First Pawn for the vacant post of First Quadrant Rook. The Board must be complete.”