Page 109 of House of Crimson Cloak and Silver Teeth

“I’m not going to.” I move my knight to threaten his prophet, forcing him to respond. “You love the challenge too much.”

His expression shifts to something soft and warm that makes my pulse quicken. “You really have been watching me.”

That look lands low in my stomach and twists hard. “It’s literally my job.”

“Is it?” He takes my rook in a move I should have seen coming. “Is that all this is to you? A job?”

The question settles between us, thick as fireplace smoke. Neither of us moves for a second. Firelight flickers across the board and glints against the gold threading his sleeves.

Garrett waits quietly, fingers resting against the captured rook. The truth sits ugly and dangerous at the back of my throat. One honest answer changes everything. It will make the last three days of this contract unbearable.

But he asked. I find I can’t lie to him. Not anymore.

“No,” I admit quietly.

“No?” He leans forward, elbows on the table. The chess game forgotten. “Then what is it?”

I can’t find words for what this has become. Instead, I focus back on the board, moving a piece without really seeing the strategy.

Garrett doesn’t push and merely shifts his knight. The move that makes no immediate sense but will probably destroy me in three turns. I’ve watched him play enough to recognize when he’s setting a trap.

“I need to find all the units,” he says after a moment, his voice dropping. “Everyone involved in what happened. “The Aeonians are still feeding. Every day I wait, more die.”

My fingers nudge a piece across the carved wood. “Charging in angry might feel noble, but it’ll only hand them another corpse. If you go after them unprepared, you’ll die and they win twice.”

He looks at me, and his eyes are haunted.

“Maybe that’s better than living with this knowledge and doing nothing.” Garrett’s voice turns bitter and frustrated. He moves a piece aggressively, threatening my king. “Why are you still here, Wolf?”

The question catches me off guard. “What?”

He looks at me intently. “I know you said you’ll stay. I need to know why. You owe me nothing. Why keep involving yourself in this mess?”

I study his face. The exhaustion carved into the lines around his eyes and the desperate hope he’s trying to hide. “I’m going to make sure that whatever you become, whoever you have to be to finish this, there’s still something left of you when it’s done.”

His breath catches softly. Those dark eyes lock onto mine.

“Even if I have to drag you back from the edge of hell myself,” I add and mean every word.

He opens his mouth like he wants to say something, then closes it. Instead he reaches for the board and makes his move.

I see it immediately. My king has nowhere to go.

Fuck. I forgot he’s a genius.

Every escape route is covered. I scan the board desperately, looking for a way out, but there isn’t one. He’s boxed me in without me noticing and coordinated his pieces into a net I walked right into. I’m three moves from checkmate and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“You’re brilliant,” I mutter, shaking my head. “And ruthless.”

“I learned from the best.” The corner of his lips quirks into a smirk that means he knows he’s won. “Your move, Wolf.”

I stare at the board and my inevitable defeat. Rather than continue the losing game, I reach into my pack.

“I brought you something,” I say, pulling out the package Shade left for me.

Garrett’s eyes light up immediately. “Please tell me it’s food.”

I smile despite myself. “You just ate dinner a few hours ago.”