“Sir Mauralus.” I stumbled to my feet and tugged at the servant’s frock.

  “I don’t mean to disturb you, my lady. I wonder if you would grant me some of your time. I will be waiting downstairs when you are ready.”

  Fifteen minutes later, I found Griffin in the dining room. He was facing away from the door as he removed wooden figurines, a sailboat, then a winged fish, from a lacquer box depicting whirlpools and fantastical island foliage.

  “Is that Sisirium?”

  Griffin stepped back to reveal the grid board with painted islands fading from heavy use. “Your descriptions of playing the game with your mother… You were so passionate that I could not help but grow curious. I admit that I wasn’t familiar, but I bought a board off a dear friend of mine and learned the rules.”

  I hesitated. In all the previous threads, we’d never played.

  “I wouldn’t ask for anything improper. Your brother has agreed to chaperone from the parlor.” He added. Indeed, Wesley was in the parlor, staring intensely at a newspaper and trying very hard not to listen.

  Sisirium was a Pearilean game that drew from the legend of Sisiri, a young maiden who crossed the sea to a mythical island where the Wind God Suir lived. On her way, she collected gems with magical abilities, but at each turn, the demigod Bin tried to draw her away from her quest and into his deathly embrace by placing challenges in along her journey.

  The game reenacted her path crossing from the lower left corner of the board to the upper right. One player acted as Sisiri and the other as Bin. If Sisiri crossed the board, she won. If Bin could catch or ensnare Sisiri so that she couldn’t progress, he won. They had their pawns: Sisiri’s whale pups, sea snakes, and winged fish; Bin’s horned octopus, vampire snail, and whirlpool. Each had its own method of movement. As Sisiri and Bin reached various islands, the player drew gems. These gem cards, such as the obsidian that doubled the distance of any move or the opal that allowed two pieces to swap positions, had the power to turn the tide. It was a game that relied heavily on both strategy and a bit of luck.

  “Do you prefer plight or blight?” I asked.

  “I favor blight.”

  I took Sisiri’s wooden ship figurine and placed it on her home island of Gerullia. Each of the other pieces I arranged according to my preferred defense across the board. Griffin took Bin’s trident and placed his own pieces. When the board was set, I moved Sisiri off the island to begin the game.

  “You must be excited for your first trip to the capital.” Griffin moved his vampire snail first. Every square it touched could not be crossed. It was an aggressive strategy that could easily ensnare his own pieces.

  “I’ve heard so much about it from my family that I feel like I’ve been there before.” I readied my sea snake. It could zoom from island to island, cutting open a path. It would prove a useful avenue of escape if he continued with his strategy. I may have lied about having magically enhanced intelligence, but my skill granted me decades for dedicated practice.

  “Many young women from all over the kingdom come to debut at court. To be honest, I didn’t know the Derullias had a daughter until your brother approached me with the marriage proposal.”

  “Wesley never mentioned me at the academy?” I asked.

  “He was several years ahead of me, so we were only familiar in passing. If I had known I would marry his sister, I would have spent more time with him.”

  Or perhaps he would have discounted me entirely had he known Wesley’s personality any better. When I asked Wesley to arrange the match, he too was surprised. It was only by good fortune that he saw a business opportunity in it.

  “I prefer the quiet when I can find it. It gives me the space to work on my inventions.”

  “With our visit to the royal family, the Prince’s hunt, and the wedding, there will be little quiet these next few months.” Griffin placed the whirlpool, an immovable piece that would swallow any other that crossed that square. Its position blocked Sisiri’s sea snake. He’d seen through my defense.

  “Indeed.” Sisiri landed on the western island, granting me a gem.

  “But after the wedding, we will retire to my estate.” Bin reached the eastern island, granting and slowly drawed a card, prolonging the moment. When he spoke again, it was cautiously. “I recognize our marriage is important for our houses, but from our letters, I had hoped you were interested in something more intimate.”

  A soft smile pulled at my lips. In the last thread, we spent every moment we could together. We slowly discovered one another in those precious moments in my father’s garden, on the carriage ride, and over dinner here at the trading house. But every thread is different. Now, all we had was the early hope of those first letters.

  “Lord Maulus,” I said, “when I briefly mentioned my fondness for the blackberries on my family’s estate, you attended and recounted in detail a lecture held at court on developments in the crossbreeding of Centrulan and Bellevessan blackberries. You even described the taste of the Centrulan blackberries, ‘sweeter but bitter like honey in tea.’”

  “You didn’t find the notes confusing, did you? I tried to parse it, but I could only pray that farina fecundans was spelled correctly.”

  I laughed. When it had arrived, I too had searched through my papers trying to decipher it. How strange it was for a couple on either side of the country to puzzle over the same texts, each trying not to disappoint the other. “It was clear you were interested in a love match, and that’s what I want too.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  The tension seemed to leave Griffin’s shoulders. “I hoped to surprise you when you arrived, but I planted blackberry bushes in the garden. I can’t hope to compete with your estate, but I hope it brings you a bit of home.”

  My eyes met Griffin’s, lingering in those hazel eyes. After a moment, I said, “It’s your turn.”

  “Ah, right.” Griffin advanced Bin, approaching Sisiri who was now advancing toward the narrow gap left by the snail. “I hope you come to trust me, Lady Cassia.”

  “If you are trying to lull me into a false sense of security, I’ll have you know I can’t be tricked that easily.” I laid down the emerald gem, transporting me to the nearest island and allowing me to draw another gem card.

  “I’m not so foolish to think I can trick a woman with an intellectual skill. I hope only for a draw, if I can manage it.” He advanced his horned octopus toward the Wind God’s Island. No doubt he was trying to ensnare Sisiri in the closing.

  We both fell into focus on the board. My whale pup moved to ensnare his horned octopus as Bin approached Sisiri on her island. A giddy thrill tickled in my chest as I planned my escape.

  “I came across a strange story recently in my historical reading that you may find interesting. I wonder, are you by any chance familiar with a woman named Catalina Sorren?” Griffin asked.

  “No, I don’t recognize the name.” I positioned my winged fish closer to the northern island where Sisiri was blocked from advancement.

  “The Sorrens were a house of shapeshifters who rose to power with the defense and capitulation of the Northern Tribes of Carpascus. Their head was an ambitious man named Carlos Sorren who demanded absolute control and perfection.” Griffin moved Bin ever closer. In two more moves, Sisiri would be captured and the game lost. It would be a narrow escape. “His only son and heir took after him, beating the servants mercilessly for the smallest mistake. Among the servants was a young maid, only fifteen, named Catalina.”

  “If this is a romance, I don’t much care for it.” My winged fish was now in position.

  “The heir obsessed over the maid’s obedience until he drove her into a blind rage. She turned on him, growing claws and eviscerating the young man.” Griffin moved the horned octopus towards the Wind God island, a risky move when so close to perceived victory. “It wasn’t until that moment that Catalina knew she was the daughter of Lord Sorren.”

  My lip curled in disgust. What would it have felt like as that emotional high left her confused, drained of energy and drenched in blood?

  Griffin continued, “The court demanded punishment for the death of a noble and summoned both father and daughter before them. Lord Sorren had his house stripped from him. His assets were distributed to his relatives, as he had no successor, and he was sentenced to twenty years of involuntary service.”

  I laid down my obsidian card. In one swift move, my winged fish ferried Sisiri away from the island and out of the reach of Bin.

  Sisiri’s whale pup ensnared his octopus, leaving Sisiri’s path to the Wind God Island unimpeded. “And Catalina?” I asked.

  “Catalina was granted her title as her birthright, but a murder, no matter the circumstances, could not be forgiven. She, too, was sentenced to twenty years of service.” Bin reached the empty northern island and Griffin drew a card. “The sentence hardly mattered. Both were dead within a month of entering the service, Catalina from a training accident, Carlos from a contaminated batch of pork.”

  I moved Sisiri further forward. Griffin revealed his own obsidian card, moving Bin two squares forward. At this point, though, the attempt was futile. Sisisri was only one square from victory now.

  “The Lighteran court is not as forgiving as the Pearilean islands of your mother’s home. Secrets like Catalina’s are best revealed before they fester into something unforgivable. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  I moved the final square. “That’s the game, Lord Mauralus.”

  Griffin set down his remaining gem card on the table, no doubt a quartz, which only reverses their previous move, or a diamond, which doubles the pot when playing for stakes. “Well, it was only a matter of time, I suppose.” Griffin stood up from the table.

  “Won’t you stay a little longer? We could play another round or just enjoy a cup of tea.” I offered.

  “It has already grown late, and your brother has already retired. It wouldn’t be appropriate.” I looked back to find Wesley gone from his perch. I had been so focused that I had not noticed.

  “I hope we can play again soon.” I said.

  Griffin looked to the floor. “Of course, my lady.” His tone was not hopeful, but melancholy and distant. “Good night.” In a moment, he was out the door, his footsteps creaking on the stairs.

  “Good night.” My words fell into the silence of an empty room.

  I collected Sisiri, Bin, and the other pieces into the lacquer game box. When it came to collecting the gem cards, I hesitated. Griffin’s unplayed card… I turned it over to reveal the opal: reversed fates. With this, he could have swapped Bin for his octopus. In two moves, he could have caught Sisiri and won the game. With the piece’s positioning so close to the end, he must have drawn this card early in the game. I should have seen the strategy. I would have-

  My blood ran cold. He knew.

  ***

  The next day, we set sail in a boat from my brother’s merchant fleet heading for Frante, the capital of Lightera. I recognized the beauty in the sunlight sparkling off the rolling waves and the distant coastline which we followed, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t dismiss the dread of being so close to the water. I spent my days cloistered in my room, recreating the fourteenth journal from memory. That thread had been so long that I had grown comfortable. I cut the time on my nightly reviewing of journal entries, and so many of the finer details blurred. It was an infuriating process, as frustrating and monotonous as threading a sewing needle. When it came time to write about Eleanora, I could only set down the pen.

  On the second night, I found Griffin in the hallway in the evening. I took his hand and pulled him into a storage space. Jars of pickled vegetables and hanging dried meat filled the cramped room.

  “Lady Cassia-” he warned in a hushed tone, but I interrupted.

  “I wasn’t trying to trick you.” I whispered.

  Griffin stood six inches taller than me. In the tight space, I was suddenly aware of our difference in height. I stepped back so that my back pressed into a barrel of wine, but it wasn’t far enough. His presence was overpowering.

  He didn’t back away. He leaned in, eager to know. “Then tell me, what is your skill?”

  “I- I don’t have one.” It was a ruse I’d used before in another thread. To admit I had no skill as a noble was humiliating, but the alternative… I couldn’t live through that again.

  His hazel eyes met mine. One second, two, I turned away. His gaze still burned into my mind. “You would still lie to me?” he whispered.

  Silence fell between us, leaving only the soft clinking of glass jars with the rocking motion of the boat. I reached out for his hand, but he drew away.

  “If it is a business marriage you want, I can live with that, but please respect etiquette, my lady. I expect a chaperone at our next meeting.” He opened the door and left me alone once again.

  After that, every meal was the very image of polite society. And without another precious moment shared, we arrived in Frante.