Playing with King

~Content Warnings: Reader Discretion is Advised~

Some names are borrowed.
Some are broken.
And some are powerful enough to burn everything down.

Elle Langston has spent years building a quiet life behind the counter of a tucked-away bookshop-a sanctuary of worn pages, familiar faces, and shadows that no longer chase her. She doesn't ask questions. Doesn't look back. And above all, she doesn't let anyone get close.

Until he walks in.

Ryvin King is enigmatic, dangerous, and far too perceptive. When a rare crystal chess set brings him through the door, Elle knows better than to engage-but curiosity has a way of pulling even the most careful people off course. And Ryvin doesn't just play games.

He wins them.

As their lives begin to intertwine-through late-night strategy, music that speaks louder than words, and a connection that runs deeper than it should-Elle finds herself facing a past that never truly let her go.

Because secrets buried in blood don't stay hidden forever.

And the name she left behind... is about to be reclaimed.

When survival is no longer enough,
you stop running-
and start taking back what was stolen.