Page 125 of Immortal Sun

I take a deep breath. “And you’re so sure your heart is frozen right now?”

“Halfway, at least, unless you keep forcing me to talk to you and humanize you.”

I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. For an ancient immortal, he’s kind of clueless about what he protects. “It’s kind of what humans do.”

He laughs; it’s mocking. “I’m aware. I am, after all, one of their gods.”

“What do you do for fun?” I ask.

He’s quiet for at least four or five minutes and then answers stiffly, “I don’t really know.”

“Do you like to run? Play board games? I mean you’ve at least played Monopoly, right?”

He tenses and stares out at the sea. “I play with the world, with the gods, my creations, I don’t play board games.”

“You should.” I grip his shoulder. “Tell you what, if you play checkers with me, I promise I’ll write another three hundred names tonight.”

He does a double take, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Three hundred?”

“You have to sacrifice soon, right? So the sooner the better? Just play checkers with me.”

He snaps his fingers into the air, Dag appears inside the cave. “Yes?”

“Get a game of checkers for us.”

Dag’s eyes go between us briefly before he frowns. “Um, but why? You don’t like games and---”

“---Do not question me!” Cyrus yells.

“But—” He looks at me.

I shake my head.

I can’t tell if his stare is more judgmental or concerned that Cyrus has finally become unhinged. “Right away.”

By the time he’s back, Cyrus’s been quizzing me on ways to win, competitive god that he is.

And by the time the checkerboard is there he just picks up the pieces and goes. “I’ll be red.”

“Shocker.”

I set up the board, and he stares down at it, tears gone, and smiles.

CHAPTER 31

CYRUS

“One should not ask more than would be thought fitting.”– Króka-Refs Saga, ch.10

Checkers. How basic and simple. She teaches me the rules while I try to ignore the pulsing in my chest. She’s so pretty, I want to hate her.

And again, unafraid even though her death literally looms over her like a dark stormy cloud.

Maybe she’s come to terms with it, just like I have. This beautiful human will be sacrificed for the greater good.

“Your move.” She grins up at me after taking another one of my checkers.

Damn it.

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