Ty had always hated being told the truth when he was already looking at it.
His king was checked, and the board knew it.
The three lines pressing into E4 made the board feel smaller than it was. The Gilded Sentinel held D5 like a door barred from the other side. The Sapphire Enchantress aimed cold through the gap behind it. The damaged Sapphire Cavalier waited on D4 with a lance that shook every time its mount shifted weight.
The piece should have looked half dead after what the Marauder had done to it.
It looked patient enough to wait for his mistake.
That patience bothered Ty more than open aggression.
He kept his fingers on the king's crown and felt the pressure through the piece. The check felt quieter than a blade at his throat, worse because every square that looked open had a cost hidden under it.
"You wanted him to answer the board himself," Aldric said. "Now the board has invited him properly, Ty."
"That is an ugly way to describe three pieces cornering one."
