Chapter 96
The afternoon sun slanted through the windows of the palace's eastern sitting room, a quiet space that Elizabeth had claimed as a retreat from the formal halls.
The furniture was comfortable rather than grand—overstuffed chairs, a low table scarred from years of use, shelves filled with books that had been read and reread.
A chess board sat on the table between Lucas and Ethan, the pieces carved from dark wood and pale stone.
Austin sprawled in a chair by the window, pretending to read a tactical manual while actually watching the game.
Kaya sat cross-legged on a cushioned bench near the hearth, a book of Lotus Clan techniques open on her lap, though her eyes kept drifting toward the board.
Ethan moved his bishop, capturing Lucas's knight with a soft click of wood on wood. "Check."
Lucas's jaw tightened. He studied the board for a long moment, then moved his king out of danger. "You've played this before."
"Logan taught me. He said chess was the only game worth learning—everything else was just luck dressed up as skill." Ethan captured another piece, a pawn this time, his expression maddeningly calm.
"That makes five games," Austin said from the window, not looking up from his manual. "He's beating you five times."
"Six," Ethan corrected gently. "We played One before you arrived."
Lucas's eye twitched. He moved his rook aggressively, trying to break Ethan's defensive line. Ethan parried the attack without visible effort, sliding a bishop into position to support his queen.
"You're thinking too many moves ahead," Ethan observed. "Planning for what you want to happen, not what's actually on the board."
"I know what's on the board."
He captured another pawn.
Lucas stared at the board, frustration warring with reluctant admiration. "Fine, What's your strategy then?"
"Letting you make mistakes." Ethan smiled. "You're very good at those."
Kaya snorted from her bench, quickly covering her mouth with her hand when Lucas glanced at her. "Sorry. I wasn't—" She gestured vaguely. "Continue."
Austin abandoned his pretense of reading, leaning forward with obvious enjoyment. "Tell me you're not going to let him win again."
"I'm not letting him do anything," Lucas said flatly. "He's just..."
"Better," Ethan supplied helpfully.
Lucas moved his queen, sacrificing her to draw Ethan's defense out of position. Ethan saw the trap immediately, his smile widening as he sidestepped it with a simple knight move.
"See? You're thinking in straight lines. Chess isn't about what you want. It's about what your opponent doesn't want you to see." He captured Lucas's queen with a bishop. "Like that."
Silence fell over the room. Lucas stared at the board, then at Ethan, then back at the board.
"That's six," Austin announced.
"It's not over."
"It's over," Ethan said gently. "You've got a king and three pawns against my queen, both rooks, and a bishop. But if you want to play it out—"
Lucas knocked his king over with a decisive tap. "New game."
Ethan laughed, gathering the pieces. "You're getting better. The first game took ten moves. This one took twenty-three."
"That's not comforting."
"It should be, you're learning."
Kaya rose from her bench, crossing to the board to watch the new game begin. She settled on the arm of Lucas's chair, close enough to see the pieces but not so close as to be intrusive.
"The food in this kingdom," Austin said suddenly, apropos of nothing. "What's the best thing you've eaten?"
Ethan considered, moving a pawn. "The lamb, at that place you took me, i think you said the princess showed you that place."
"Agreed." Austin's expression grew dreamy. "I'm going to eat there again before we leave. Twice, Maybe three times."
"You'll bankrupt the princess."
"She offered. I'm not going to refuse royal generosity." He stretched, arms over his head. "What about beasts, though? Best tasting beast you've ever fought?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You eat the things you kill?"
"Sometimes. If they're edible." Austin shrugged. "There's a boar in the forests around the Hidden City—big tusks, mean as anything, but the meat is incredible. Slow roast it with honey and spices, and it's better than anything you'd get in the markets."
"I've eaten that boar," Lucas said, moving his knight. "It was fine."
"It was better than fine."
"It was adequate."
Austin made a rude gesture that Ethan pretended not to see. "What about you, leader? What's the best thing you've killed and eaten?"
Ethan's hand paused over the board. "In the war, we were hunting a Moon Class beast that had been terrorizing supply lines. Big thing—scales, claws, breath that could melt stone. We tracked it for three days before we cornered it in a canyon."
He moved his bishop. "When we finally killed it, one of the older soldiers took a chunk of the tail meat and cooked it over an open fire. Nothing fancy just salt and whatever herbs we had."
"And?"
"And it was the best thing I've ever eaten." Ethan's.
Then Austin nodded slowly. "You should show us were that beast is."
Kaya spoke up, her voice soft. "In my clan, there's a tradition. When a cultivator reaches a new stage, they hunt something worthy. They bring back the best part of the kill, and the whole clan eats together."
She smiled slightly. "My father brought back a sky serpent when he reached the Gold stage. The meat was terrible—tough, stringy, tasted like lightning."
"Like lightning?" Lucas looked at her.
"Left a tingly feeling on your tongue for days." She laughed. "My mother made him sleep in the guest house until it faded."
Even Ethan cracked a smile at that. "Your father sounds like an interesting man."
"He's something." Kaya's eyes held warmth. "He's the one who taught me that strength isn't about never being afraid. It's about being afraid and doing the thing anyway." She glanced at Lucas. "Some people need to learn that."
Lucas didn't respond.
The game continued. Lucas lost again—seventh, Ethan's queen sliding into position for a decisive checkmate. He reset the pieces without comment, his expression focused.
Austin, bored of watching, drifted to the bookshelves, pulling down a worn volume with a faded title. "History of the Northern Kingdoms. Who reads this stuff?"
"I do," Lucas said. "When I'm not losing at chess."
"You're always losing at chess."
"I'm learning."
"You're losing and calling it learning."
Ethan captured a rook. "Eighth."
Lucas's hands stilled on the board. He looked at the pieces, then at Ethan, then at the door.
"I'm done," he said, rising from his chair.
"Running?" Ethan asked mildly.
"Reassessing." Lucas crossed to the shelves, scanning titles until he found what he wanted—a thick volume bound in dark leather, its pages yellowed with age.
He settled into a chair by the window, opening it to a chapter marked with a ribbon.
Austin raised his eyebrows. "You're just going to read? While we're sitting here?"
"I'm going to read while you sit there, Yes."
Ethan began resetting the board, his movements automatic. "The structure of the Hidden City," he said, almost to himself. "Have you thought about what happens after? After the demon, after we go home?"
Lucas looked up from his book. "After?"
"There's going to be war. Not immediately, but soon." Ethan placed the pieces with care, each one finding its proper square.
"The other Hidden Cities have been waiting for their chance. The Sky Empire isn't what it was. Five Saint Classes down to two—that's an opportunity they won't ignore."
Austin's expression was relaxed, "That was clear but when would they attack?"
"A year, Maybe two or sooner. They'll test first probing attacks, border skirmishes. See how much fight we have left." Ethan's voice was matter-of-fact, clinical. "Then, if they think we're weak enough, they'll move."
Kaya asked. "Which ones would attack first?"
Ethan ticked them off on his fingers. "The Hidden City of Lightning, in the Zenith Empire. They're aggressive, well-trained, and they've been building strength since the last war."
He lifted a second finger. "The Hidden City of Sand, in the Masan Empire. Desert fighters, patient, ruthless. They don't win fast, but they don't lose slow either."
A third finger. "The Hidden City of Cloud, in the Aethel Empire. They're the ones who worry me most. They watch, they wait, they gather information. When they strike, it's always where you're weakest."
"And the fourth?" Lucas's voice was quiet.
Ethan's hand paused. "The Hidden City of Light, in the Luminara Empire. They're the oldest, the most traditional. They fought alongside the Sky King in the last war—on our side. But allegiances shift when power does."
"So four cities, maybe five if Light turns." Austin's jaw tightened. "Against us."
"Against us." Ethan met his eyes. "Unless someone changes the math."
Lucas returned to his book, but his mind was elsewhere. The novel had shown him this future—the war, the betrayals, the reshaping of power across the continent. But knowing what was coming and being able to stop it were different things.
"What's that?" Kaya asked, nodding at the book in his hands.
Lucas glanced at the title. "History of the Eldorian Kingdom. Their founding, their wars, their kings. The Queen's family line." He turned a page. "Understanding your allies is as important as understanding your enemies."
"Find anything useful?"
"Found out that Elizabeth's great-grandmother once challenged a Moon Class elite to a duel and won by tricking him into walking off a cliff." He smiled slightly. "The royal family has interesting bloodline."
The moment passed, the weight of the future lifting slightly. Ethan finished resetting the board and rose, stretching.
"Austin, you want to come? We can run through some training before dinner."
Austin stood, grateful for an excuse to move. "Yeah. I've been sitting too long." He glanced at Lucas. "You coming?"
"I'll catch up. Want to finish this chapter." Lucas didn't look up from his book.
"Sure, Don't take too long." He followed Ethan out, the door closing softly behind them.