Checkmate

The White King

Clan Leader.

It wasn't possible.

And yet, there he was. Standing at the head of the room, flanked by four Warriors, dressed in the simple black ceremonial robes that were meant only for Clan Leaders, wearing the Clan Leader's medallion. 

He was Clan Leader.

The male I'd been trysting with, whose lips I'd kissed, whose body I'd explored so thoroughly I knew every inch of it - whom I'd been inside every day for the past week.

I tried to think clearly but all I could do was stare as he bowed and addressed the gathering, barely hearing what he was saying except to register that familiar voice.

It really was him.

I've been sleeping with the Clan Leader of Clan Vargas. 

My hands were cold.

I watched as he came forward, the Leader of Galae by his side, and someone from Clan Petral's delegation stepped forward and bowed, then introducing him to the other members of their delegation. He responded with a gentle smile and an inclination of his head as he conversed with them, the bearing of leadership and authority in his every gesture and movement, the mantle of that leadership looking natural and easy upon him.

Then they were moving away from the Petral delegation.

Coming towards ours.

I manoeuvred myself towards the back, keeping my head down as I heard Leader Iola greet him. I heard his murmured conversation with her without hearing the words, waiting until they'd moved on to the next delegation beside us before I felt it safe to raise my head. 

I watched his progress around the room, all the while trying - and failing - to marshall my thoughts.

It was only when he was back at the head of the room, addressing the gathering again, that my brain kicked in.

"I look forward to our discussions tomorrow, my sisters and brothers." He was saying, as his ocean eyes scanned the room. "I am hopeful this will be a fruitful Congress and it is our honour to be your hosts." He smiled. "And now, before I stop talking, I ask you to join me in a toast to the success of this gathering of the Clans and to continued peace and cooperation in the Clanlands." He accepted the goblet handed to him and raised it. 

My neighbour pushed a goblet into my hands and everyone raised their glasses as the call for peace and cooperation was repeated, with cheers after the toast. 

In the buzz of chatter that followed, I quietly extricated myself, slipping out through the nearby side doors.

Once back in my chambers, I stripped my formal robes off swiftly, opened the balcony doors and stood there, letting the windrush cool my flushed skin, inhaling deeply. I looked down at the courtyard below, quiet and empty except for a few Guard on patrol. I watched them, letting the quietness calm me so that I could think. 

Clan Leader Xent of Vargas.

I thought back to when we'd met in the forest all those months ago. I'd just assumed he was Intelligence, like I was. He hadn't corrected me. He'd been deliberately vague about the work and at the time I'd assumed it was for the same reasons as mine. Now, I saw clearly how adroitly he'd sidestepped talking about who he was and what he did.

Not such a direct Vargan after all.

Then again, I'd made it easy for him by never asking. All I'd been concerned about was whether he was a threat. He hadn't raised any red flags, so I'd trusted my experience and my instincts and hadn't looked further. I'd focused instead on being careful, on concealing my own identity, on safeguarding myself and my Clan by being circumspect.