She explained the rules with a quick breathlessness that pleased him. Stones was a game of aim, dexterity, and speed. The object was to make a path from one side of a grid to the other by landing your stones on connecting squares, while keeping your opponents from stopping you and simultaneously doing your best to stop them. If two stones landed on the same square in the grid, the two players had to race to it by stepping only on those squares occupied by their stones; whoever reached the disputed square and claimed the opponent's stone first won control of the square, while the other player forfeited his stone. The first player to build an unbroken path across the grid won the game.

"Are there any other rules?" he asked, when she was finished explaining. She shook her head. "Good." Inside his mind, where Ellysetta could not see, Rain smiled. It was a tairen's smile, full of teeth and cunning. "And will you grant me a boon if I win this game?”

"A boon?”

"Aiyah. Surely there must be some reward for winning."

"Such as what?”

He ran a finger over her lips. "A kiss, I think.”

She swallowed. "A kiss?”

"I hunger for one.”

She blinked and visibly struggled to collect her thoughts. "And if you lose?”

"Then I grant you a boon.”

"Anything?”

"Anything." What would she ask for? A shame he would not find out. He raised a brow. "Well? Do we have a wager?" He enjoyed her wary frown. She knew there was some catch, but she had yet to figure it out.

"Yes," she finally agreed. "It's a wager. If you win, I'll give you a kiss. If anyone else wins, you'll grant me a wish— anything I want." And with that, the game began. On all levels.

Ellysetta loaned him a spare bag of stones. His were purple with a gold line painted across the diameter of each stone. The players took their spots along the borders of the grid, four on each side, with Rain standing beside Ellysetta. The game began with each player, in turn, dropping a stone on the grid square at his or her feet. It was simple enough, and if truth be told, rather boring, but within three or four plays, things began to get interesting as throwing distances grew greater, paths crossed, and the play converged on the center of the grid.

To his surprise, Rain truly enjoyed himself, and not just because he was looking forward to his reward once he won. In the Fading Lands, even before the Mage Wars, children had been rare and precious, adored and protected by even the most soul-shadowed warrior. Their youthful innocence and wide-eyed delight in the world appealed to the gentle heart that lay at the core of every Fey. The Celierian children, laughing as they leapt like little goats across the Stones grid, were no less appealing for all that they were not Fey.

Even the other warriors were not immune to the lure of childish joy. Fey laughter rang out across the common mental path, accompanied by the picking of favorites and good- natured teasing. No one placed bets. They all knew Rain Tairen Soul played this game to win.

At last, all the players but Ellysetta and Rain had lost their stones. Rain tossed his stone, deliberately landing it on Ellie's square. Like two elf bolts fired from an Elvian fingerbow, the pair of them darted across the grid, leaping nimbly from square to square. She was laughing as she raced across the grid, still laughing as she plowed into his chest when she made the jump to the disputed square he had reached first.

He absorbed her weight easily, and when she raised her face and laughed up at him, he was stunned anew. She was a gift from the gods, this woman with her gold-sprinkled skin, eyes clear and green as lush spring glades, and her soul that shone bright as the Great Sun itself. Aching to kiss her, he instead stepped back and showed her the red-and-green-striped stone in his hand. "I believe your stone is forfeit, Ellysetta," he told her. He tucked her stone into the pocket on the inside of his tunic, close to his heart. "Do you forfeit the game as well?”

Her eyes had followed the path of his hands and were now fixed on the small vee of pale flesh revealed by the opening of his tunic. At his question, she blinked and dragged her gaze back to his face, the bright smile on her lips not quite masking the hunger in her eyes. "Me? Forfeit a game of Stones?" She forced a laugh and danced away. "Never!" She raced back to her home position on the grid. Pleased with the exchange, he followed at a more leisurely pace.

As he prepared to throw his stone to win the game, she inched closer to him. "Take care with your aim," she advised him, smiling. "If you miss, I have a chance to win.”

"I will not miss.”

"Care to wager on that?”

Interested, delighted by her daring, he raised a brow "What did you have in mind?”

"If you don't win on this play, I want to go flying." She paused. "On tairenback.”

"And if I win?”

"Your choice.”

"Agreed." Rain lowered his lashes over eyes that suddenly glowed with heat and satisfaction. Taking wing with his shei'tani astride him would be no hardship.

Still, no Fey ever lost a challenge on purpose, and he would not be the first, especially not with so many warriors looking on. Taking aim, he drew back his hand and loosed his last stone. At that precise moment, his shei'tani stood on her toes and blew directly into his ear.

His entire body clenched. His throw went wild. Rather than landing with Fey precision on the winning square, his stone hurtled through the air over the heads of squealing, ducking children, skipped three times across the surface of the river, and sank like … well … a stone. Ellysetta was bent double, laughing. "I win," she gasped between laughs.