Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
The guards at Elvarstyne Keep recognize me now. Three weeks ago, they would have arrested me on sight. A Grimsbane in a wolf mask prowling the grounds meant danger and a threat. Now they wave me through with respectful nods.
I’ve spent my entire life being a shadow.
But being Garrett’s shadow feels different somehow.
It feels less like hiding and more like belonging.
Most of the household are asleep as I enter through the servants’ entrance.
Garrett keeps insisting I use the main doors but here I have less chance of running into the older Lord Clayborne, the Silverra who hired me.
I make my way through the familiar corridors, my mind still replaying the evening with Shade and Kitty. When I reach my quarters, I notice immediately that the connecting door to Garrett’s room is open. Lamplight spills through the gap, warm and golden. I hear the soft click of game pieces on wood.
He’s waiting for me.
My pulse quickens. I should go to my own room and close the door, We only have three more days on this contract. Getting closer now will only make leaving harder.
Instead, I push the connecting door open wider.
I find Garrett at the coffee table, arranging chess pieces on an ornate board. It’s a Fae variant. He taught me how to play weeks ago. Extra pieces with strange movement patterns and a board that shifts its terrain every few moves.
He’s changed from the formal robes he wore to dinner.
I know because I watched him from the shadows before leaving to meet Shade and Kitty, making sure he was safe.
Now he’s wearing simple clothes, a soft linen tunic unlaced at the throat and dark trousers.
His golden hair hangs loose around his shoulders.
“You’re late,” he says without looking up, placing a piece on the board.
“I wasn’t aware I had a curfew.” My voice comes out dry.
“You don’t.” He sets down another piece. “But you usually return by midnight. It’s nearly three in the morning. I was starting to worry.”
Something warm unfurls in my chest. “I can take care of myself.”
“I know.” He places the final piece and looks up, meeting my eyes. “But it doesn’t stop me worrying.”
The honesty in his voice catches me off guard. He’s just worried… because he cares.
“Are you going to tell me where you went tonight?” he asks, keeping his tone light.
“I was visiting some friends.” I cross the room and take the seat opposite him, studying the board.
He’s set up an aggressive opening. His prophet and heralds are coordinated for a quick strike, backed by knights ready to exploit any opening. It’s bold and risky.
“You’re planning to attack early,” I observe, moving my first pawn forward cautiously.
“Sometimes the best defense is a strong offense.” He counters with his own pawn, opening a lane for his prophet. “Besides, you’re too good at defensive play. If I let you build up, I’ll never break through.”
But he’s smiling now, some of the tension easing from his shoulders. The worry lines around his eyes soften. “Your move.”
We settle into an easy rhythm after that.
The only sounds are pieces clicking against wood and the occasional crackle from the fireplace.
Minutes blur together beneath the low amber light.
By the seventh move the terrain shifts beneath our pieces from open plains to forested hills.
It transforms his aggressive formation into a defensive cluster.
Garrett adapts immediately, repositioning his pieces with efficient movements, as if he anticipated the change. He’s turning a disadvantage into opportunity.
“You know…” he mutters after capturing one of my heralds with a clever flanking maneuver. “… most people let me win.”
“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.”
“That was hours ago.” He’s already reaching for the package. “What is it?”
I unwrap it carefully. The pastries are works of art. Delicate things dusted with actual gold, filled with what smells like honey and spiced cinnamon. The rich and sweet scent fills the room instantly.
Garrett takes one immediately and bites into it without hesitation.
Damn it.
He has zero self-preservation instincts. No caution whatsoever. Any sensible person would have checked for poison first. What will he do without me after this contract is over?
“Oh, these are incredible.” He closes his eyes in appreciation, making a sound that’s almost obscene. “Where did you get these?”
“A friend gave them to me,” I say simply.
He opens his eyes, studying me while he chews and swallows. “The same friend you visited tonight?”
“Yes.”
He pushes the package toward me. “Have one.”
“I don’t really eat sweets.”
“Wolf. You brought them to share.” When I don’t move, he picks up another pastry and holds it out to me. His fingers are dusted with gold. “Come on, have one bite. Live a little.”
It’s too intimate, this gesture. The way he’s looking at me and his fingers so close to my mouth. I lean forward and bite into the pastry he’s holding. Honey floods my tongue. The pastry dissolves against my teeth, delicate as snow. It’s ridiculously indulgent.
I must make some expression. Whatever crosses my face makes Garrett smile broadly. “Good, right?”
I nod, still taking in the sweetness. The way it coats my mouth, lingers on my tongue.
Another pastry disappears between his lips. He licks the sweetness from his fingers and I need to look anywhere else.
“Tell me about your friends,” he asks casually, reaching for a third pastry. “Are they someone from the guild. Other Grimsbanes?”
“Yes.” I don’t offer more detail.
He doesn’t press, which I appreciate. He takes another bite and chews slowly. “The guild is very busy in Aelfheim lately. Multiple high-profile contracts. Should I be worried?”
Probably.
There are whispers of war. But that’s not my concern right now.
“Don’t worry.” I meet his eyes. “I’ll protect you.”
Garrett smiles warmly at that. “Of course you will.”
He licks honey from his thumb, oblivious to how distracting that is.
“Your move,” he reminds me.
I refocus on the chess game. My position is deteriorating rapidly as my king is running out of safe squares.
I make what I think is a defensive move. Garrett immediately punishes it, his pieces advancing across the board like a coordinated army.
“You’re distracted tonight,” he observes, moving his knight into position for the final strike.
“I’ve had a long night.”