She moved her Bishop.
"Checkmate. Again."
Outside the drawing room doors, Sir Gallahan and Sir Boris were silently weeping with joy, passing gold coins back and forth.
Kaelus sat back in his chair, staring at the ruined obsidian army.
He wasn't angry. He was completely, utterly captivated.
The terrifying brilliance of her mind was the greatest puzzle he had ever encountered.
The pain of the letter, the dread of his siblings, it was all eclipsed by the burning, obsessive need to figure out how this six-year-old kept trapping his Queen.
"Reset the board," Kaelus ordered, his eyes glowing with manic, competitive zeal. "I have discovered a flaw in your left flank. I will shatter you this time."
"You can try, hedgehog," Seraphina grinned, happily setting her white pieces back into place.
She was having the time of her life.
