10. Game On

CHAPTER 10

Game On

A few days later, Ryker was back in the crimson hammock. He was settling into a routine. After breakfast, he would spend most of the day in the ballroom, getting to know the women. Eventually, when the Choosing was past the halfway point, they'd move onto actual dates, but for now, they focused on creating that connection.

Surprisingly, at least to Ryker, he was enjoying this process far more than he thought he would. Who knew talking could be so agreeable?

He crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. "What do you do when you're not hunting for a husband, Brynleigh?"

The vampire was his first date today, and he'd be lying if he said an enormous grin hadn't stretched across his face when her voice came through the headphones.

He still didn't know what she looked like, but it didn't matter. They were building a connection that wasn't based on how the other looked. He wanted to know more about this humorous vampire that made him laugh. Of all the women here, Brynleigh and Valentina intrigued him the most.

Brynleigh chuckled, and the sound was tinged with a touch of darkness and the night. "I work for my Maker. "

That wasn't inherently surprising. Most vampires in the Republic of Balance preferred to remain with others like them. In fact, outside of the Choosing, Ryker hadn't met many vampires. They had a division in the army, but the Night Corps tended to keep to themselves. It probably had something to do with their aversion to sunlight… or maybe their general dispositions made them better suited to working alone.

"What do you do for her?" he asked.

"Odd jobs, mostly. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Whatever she asks of me."

That , he understood. Life in the army was regimented, and whatever his superiors said, he did. It was the way of military life.

The hammock swayed beneath Ryker as he glanced at the garden wall. "Do you like it? Your work?"

She paused. "Mostly."

"I understand," he murmured. "There are moments when I wish I were anywhere else."

Like that stormy night six years ago.

He frowned. That was… not something he liked to think about. He shoved the thought from his mind and focused on the vampire speaking with him.

Brynleigh sucked in a breath. "That makes sense. Sometimes the things I do for Jelisette… I wish things were different. That's all."

A comfortable silence stretched between them, an understanding that each saw the other and knew where they were coming from. Ryker had never considered that he might meet someone who would understand him so profoundly in such a short period of time.

"How about you?" Brynleigh asked after a few minutes passed. "What does Captain Ryker do when he's not searching for a wife?"

Ryker's lips twitched at the obvious change in the topic of conversation. "Would you believe me if I told you I enjoyed playing games?"

A light, harmonious laugh rang through the headphones. It was like wind chimes tinkling in a night breeze. The sound of the vampire's pleasure seeped into his bones and stirred something deep within him. He would cherish her laugh and replay the memory repeatedly when he was alone .

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that," she said when her laughter died.

He chuckled and palmed the back of his neck. "No? What did you think I would say?"

"Honestly, anything else." There was a smile in Brynleigh's voice. "I, too, enjoy games. Especially chess."

Ryker's eyes widened, and he grinned. "That's my favorite."

There was no hiding the enthusiasm in his voice.

He'd been playing the game since he was a child. When he hadn't been at school, he studied strategies, memorized moves, and played against any willing opponent. Even now, he gravitated towards a chess board after a long workday.

Most people only played chess against Ryker once. Not because he was bad at it, but because Ryker played to win.

Every. Single. Time.

He firmly believed there was no point in playing a game if he wasn't trying to win. He was competitive, not just with others but with himself as well. He constantly strove to be the best at everything. He enjoyed games, liked the structure of rules, and he always aimed to defeat his opponent.

"You're joking," was Brynleigh's response.

"Not at all." Ryker sat up and placed his feet flat on the floor. Resting his elbows on his legs, he stared at the visual wall. Today, blue and pink flowers stretched as far as the eye could see. "I have a chess board from one of the ancient Eleytan abbeys. It dates to the time of the Vampire Queen who fought during the Battle of Balance."

Many artifacts from that age had been lost to time, having disappeared when the ancient vampires chose to sleep. Ryker's father gifted him the chess board on his eighteenth birthday. Ryker cherished it, and it remained in his apartment to this day. He rarely played with the ancient set but often admired the hand-carved black and white marble pieces.

"Truly?" A hint of suspicion entered her voice. "Are you pulling my leg?"

"Not at all," Ryker smirked. "Fae can't lie, after all."

"Hmm. I suppose that's true. "

He chuckled. "It is. I swear to you that I can't, even if my life depends on it."

But he was skilled at twisting his words. All fae were. It was a skill passed down from generation to generation, a way to remain powerful while still telling a version of the truth.

"I'll give you that," Brynleigh conceded.

Ryker sipped his coffee. "I'll have to show you the board. Maybe challenge you to a match?"

Was it presumptuous of him to make plans outside the Choosing already? Maybe. But he didn't want to ignore the connection between them. And this, her playing chess, felt like a sign from the gods.

"At your home?"

"Yes."

She sucked in a breath, then murmured, "I'd like that more than you know."

Ryker's smile widened. So would he.

Their conversation shifted to different chess strategies, which occupied them until the chime rang.

"Apologies for the interruption, Captain Waterborn, but your next date will begin in five minutes." Celeste's voice was crisp and to the point. "This date will be over in sixty seconds."

"Damn," Ryker growled. He didn't want to say goodbye. Not now.

"Our time's up already?" Brynleigh sounded as surprised as he felt. "It feels like we just started talking."

"Doesn't it?" He capped his pen. "I really enjoyed this, Brynleigh. I hope we'll get to talk again soon."

A pause, and then she breathed, "Me too. You know, Ryker, you're nothing like what I expected. This was… nice."

"It was." He raked a hand through his brown hair. "Have a good day."

"You too."

Later that night, as Ryker replayed their conversation, he tried to picture the vampire. Was her hair dark like his or light like his mother's? She must have had the same black eyes that all vampires did, but what did her face look like? Was it round or heart-shaped? Was she tall or short? Curvy or slim or somewhere in between ?

Even as he considered the possibilities, he rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. It didn't matter what she looked like. Not really.

All that mattered was that the vampire was occupying more and more of his thoughts.

The next day, after lunch, Celeste connected Ryker with Valentina. "Good afternoon, Ryker. I'm so glad we get to chat again."

"Likewise." He opened his notebook and turned to the page where he'd been keeping notes about the fae. "I find it interesting that we've never crossed paths before."

There weren't millions of fae in the Republic of Balance, and even fewer ran in the upper echelons of society. Unlike the other species that called this continent their home, the fae hadn't always existed here. Their ancestors had made the Great Migration from the Obsidian Coast after a series of natural disasters had destroyed much of their land. They'd brought technology with them and shared it willingly. Their technological advancements had shaped the Republic into the country it was and earned the fae seats on the Council of Representatives.

The Republic of Balance was divided into five regions. Each had a Representative from each species. These formed a council, which was ruled over by the Chancellor. The position used to be elected, but that hadn't been the case for several hundred years.

"It is strange, isn't it?" Valentina hummed pensively. "I must admit, Mother was a little… strict with my upbringing."

"I can relate to that." Ryker's mother wouldn't be considered warm by any stretch of the definition.

"It's ironic, considering Mother's position, but she doesn't like the press," Valentina said. "She wouldn't let anyone take pictures of me, and I spent most of my youth in private schools."

Ryker palmed his neck as memories of running from the press flashed through his mind. After dealing with the fallout of the storm, he learned the value of privacy. He probably would've started living at work if it weren't for his dog.

The last thing he had wanted was to run into one of the so-called journalists from the Daily Dragon or any other news outlet in the Republic of Balance. They fed off salacious information like starving sharks. He was certain that if given the chance, they would drag his family through the mud.

He sighed. "That, I understand. The press is?—"

"Awful," Valentina interjected, at the same time that Ryker said, "Terrible."

Ryker didn't trust the press. They always asked questions about his family, always wanting information, and they never took "no" for an answer. He'd always been worried they would pierce through his shroud of privacy and destroy everything he'd carefully built.

Valentina snorted. "Yes. The press is a… necessary evil."

He wasn't sure they were necessary, but they were a part of life. Every Representative and their family dealt with them.

Settling back in his seat, Ryker twisted the top of his pen. "I'm glad we finally had the opportunity to meet." He liked Valentina's frankness. "Where did you go to school?"

"Mother wouldn't settle for anything less than the best. When I was six, she enrolled me in prep school," Valentina continued, telling Ryker all about how she attended Highmountain's School for Young Fae, a renowned preparatory school for girls in Golden City.

The Chancellor's daughter was everything a Representative's wife should be—well-educated, polite, and of a good pedigree. Ryker knew his mother would be overjoyed if he brought someone like her home.

But even though he tried to focus on Valentina and learn more about her, every so often, Ryker's mind slipped back to Brynleigh. He wanted to know more about the vampire, too.

Two weeks had passed since the Choosing started. Ryker stepped out of the shower, rubbing a towel over his hair as he mentally prepared for the day ahead.

Who knew dating was so exhausting? They weren't even leaving the Hall of Choice yet, for the gods' sake. But apparently, being emotionally and mentally available for days on end took a toll on one's body that was similar to the most stringent military training.

Whenever his parents talked about their Choosing, they never mentioned being this tired. Ryker felt as though he'd scaled the Koln Mountains with his bare hands, not spent the past fourteen days talking to women.

To call the experience abnormal would have been an understatement. Ryker did not ask the women about their appearances—he wanted to maintain the integrity of the Choosing and was enjoying getting to know them without thinking about how they looked—but that didn't stop them from invading his dreams.

Especially one particular vampire.

Brynleigh de la Point was a frequent guest in Ryker's mind during all hours of the day and night. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

He learned more about her each time they interacted, but it was never enough.

The vampire captivated him and made him comfortable. He always desired more time with her. Their conversations were easy, and their dates always passed quickly. When they weren't together, Ryker thought about her.

A lot.

He thought about the way she'd feel beneath his hands. About her body beneath his, pressed against a mattress. About the way she'd taste. About the sounds she'd make as he made her his in every way.

Ryker was becoming a master of listening. He'd learned that Brynleigh often sucked in a breath when she was surprised by something, that she laughed rarely, but when she did, it was a beautiful sound, and that in the morning, her voice was rougher than when they met in the afternoons.

He yearned to hear that voice after a night in his bed, hoarse from calling out his name as he spent himself inside her.

Ryker tugged on jeans and a navy sweater, turning to face himself in the mirror.

"You have it bad," he told his reflection.

Ryker hadn't officially made a Choice, but his decision was becoming clearer every day. It wouldn't be long before he knew which woman he wanted.

Pleased with his appearance, Ryker headed to the ballroom.

Matron Cassandra was waiting for him, standing next to the guards who had become commonplace around the Hall of Choice. The rebels hadn't attacked again, but Ryker had repeatedly overheard the soldiers discuss unrest throughout the Republic.

The Matron bounced on the balls of her feet, and the corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled up at him. "It's ready," Cassandra whispered, her head barely coming up halfway on Ryker's chest. "She's going to love it."

Last night, he'd asked the Matron if he could send a gift to one of his dates. Evidently, Cassandra was a romantic because she'd eagerly agreed.

"Do you think so?" Ryker was surprisingly nervous about this, which was strange. He'd given hundreds of gifts throughout his lifetime, but none had meant as much as this.

"Absolutely." The Matron nodded enthusiastically. She clasped Ryker's larger hand between her wrinkled ones and squeezed. "Young man, if that beautiful vampire doesn't already feel something for you, this will certainly push her in the right direction."

He hoped she was right. "Thank you, Matron."

Grinning up at him, Matron Cassandra released Ryker's hand and tapped him affectionately on the arm. "Go get your girl."

He couldn't help but smile as he entered the ballroom and grabbed his headphones. As had become his routine, Ryker ordered a coffee while Celeste informed him his date was incoming. He picked up a breakfast sandwich and went to what had become his hammock.

The item he'd asked Matron Cassandra to procure was waiting for him on the table. His grin widened. It was perfect.

He slid into the hammock, getting comfortable while balancing his coffee.

Today, the visual wall was taking them on a tour of a desert garden in the Southern Region. It was filled with vibrant flowers that ranged from the darkest of blues to the lightest of yellows. He was certain each shade had a name, but he didn't know what they were. Still, the garden was relaxing, and tension left Ryker's body as he waited for his date to begin.

He'd finished chewing by the time the classical music clicked off. He sat forward, almost falling out of the hammock in his haste to talk to Brynleigh. He felt like a schoolboy who had sent his crush a note, except… not. This was far bigger than that.

Reminding himself that he was a fully grown, Mature fae who was more than capable of conversing with the woman he had feelings for, Ryker cleared his throat. "Good morning, Brynleigh."

"Morning, Ryker." The smile in her voice was evident. "How did you sleep?"

"Well, thank you." Wondering where all his confidence had gone, he quickly added, "I sent you a gift. It should be on the table next to you."

"Really?" She hummed, and he pictured her searching for it. It didn't matter that he didn't know the shape of her body or the color of her hair because he was getting to know her .

He knew the moment she saw it because she inhaled sharply. "Oh, Ryker. A chess board."

His lips twitched as he reached over and picked up the matching one. "Not just any board. It's part of a set. The pieces are holographic, and I thought we might…"

"Play together?" She finished the sentence for him.

Gods, how was it possible that they were already in sync? It felt like they'd spent a lifetime together. "Exactly."

"I don't know, Captain," she teased. "What will you do when you lose?"

A chuckle started deep in Ryker's chest and rumbled through him. "Sweetheart, you don't know this about me yet, but I don't lose." He slid his finger down the side of the board and pressed the hidden button. It lit up, and he added, "Ever."

She snorted as black and white pieces appeared, flickering before stabilizing. "Maybe that used to be true, but now you've met me. You should get used to losing, Ryker. You'll be doing it a lot in the future."

"Cocky much?" Smirking, he settled the board on his lap.

"Only when I know I can win. "

Ryker grinned, watching the board carefully as Brynleigh made the first move. "Game on."