Perhaps it was because she was rattled and off her game, perhaps the rising stakes gave Alios a reason to play seriously. Whichever reason you believed, Seraphina found herself struggling against her opponent. Unlike before, neither of them spoke a word to one another. Now their eyes were focused entirely on the board between them as the simple pieces shifted across the briar-wood squares.
Knight to N6
Rook to E8
Attack, parry, advance, retreat.
It felt like a dance. Seraphina felt herself growing caught up in the intricacies of the game, leaving behind her earlier fears and distracted thoughts in favour of the rush of a true competition. It wasn’t until Alios’s voice rasped out the words “checkmate, princess” that she realised that she had lost.
“Damn it,” she huffed out without
