Chapter Two : Checkmate
752 Words
If there was one thing I knew for sure about Killian Reyes, it was this:
He didn’t show up unless he planned on winning.
So why was he back?
And why did it feel like I was already losing?
“Focus,” Tala whispered, nudging me with her elbow. “Don’t let him get into your head.”
“Too late,” I muttered under my breath.
Principal Alvarez’s voice droned on in the background, welcoming the entire student body back for the final year at Saint Elysian Academy. I should have been paying attention. Should have been focused on the fact that this was the year I’d be graduating valedictorian, that I was finally on track to crush every single one of my goals.
Except Killian Reyes was here.
Standing not two feet away from me, tall and quiet in the crowd, like he wasn’t already taking up all the oxygen.
And of course, because the universe hated me, he caught me staring.
His gaze met mine. Steady. Unblinking.
I braced for a smirk. Some stupid, smug comment.
But Killian didn’t smirk. He tilted his head slightly, like he was studying me.
And then… he winked.
I almost choked.
“What the hell,” I hissed, whipping my head forward.
Tala snorted beside me. “Girl, you’re red.”
“Shut up,” I snapped, shoving my hands into my blazer pockets.
I was not blushing.
I didn’t blush over Killian Reyes.
But he’d winked at me.
And now I was thinking about it.
⸻
After the assembly, I made a beeline for the Student Council room. I needed somewhere quiet. Somewhere controlled.
“Cassian.”
I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.
“Don’t you have a yacht to polish somewhere?” I said as I shoved the key into the door.
Killian’s chuckle was soft, but it still grated.
“Is that what you think I do for fun?”
I swung the door open and stepped inside. “No. I think you ruin people’s lives for fun.”
He followed me in without an invitation. Of course.
“I haven’t ruined yours yet,” he said.
Yet.
I slammed my bag down on the desk, ignoring the flare of heat in my chest.
“What do you want, Killian?”
He was quiet for a second. Long enough that I glanced back.
He was staring at the Council bulletin board. The list of our student leaders and top scholars.
My name was right at the top.
“Congratulations,” he said finally.
I narrowed my eyes. “For what?”
“Staying number one,” he said, his tone unreadable.
“Did you expect me not to?” I crossed my arms.
He met my gaze again, and this time his eyes weren’t cold. They were… curious.
“No,” he said. “I expected you to fight like hell for it.”
I should have felt smug.
Instead, I felt unsettled.
Because Killian Reyes never gave compliments.
And he sure as hell didn’t hand them to me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked again, quieter this time.
He stepped closer.
“My father wanted me to finish school here,” he said.
“Liar,” I said immediately.
His mouth twitched. “You always call me that.”
“Because you always are,” I snapped.
Another pause.
And then he leaned in, just slightly.
Close enough that I could see the flecks of grey in his dark eyes.
“Maybe I just missed you, Lane,” he said.
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
Because for one terrifying second, I almost believed him.
⸻
The door slammed open behind us.
Tala stood there, wide-eyed.
“Council meeting’s starting,” she said, her gaze flicking between us like she was watching a bomb about to explode.
I stepped back. “Right. Of course.”
Killian stayed where he was.
“I’ll see you around, Lane,” he said smoothly.
And when he left, I realized I was still holding my breath.
⸻
I didn’t trust him.
I didn’t even like him.
But when I sat at the head of the table that afternoon, leading the meeting like I always did, I caught him watching me from the back of the room.
And for the first time in years, I wasn’t sure if we were still at war.
Or if we were about to start playing a different game entirely.
- Writer
