cute."


    Shut up," Arta hissed, cursing the fact that she was now blushing furiously. Doing her best to ignore Karani''s snickering, she turned towards the front of the room to where the three ast Sakran siblings stood together, apparently deep in conference with one another. Darius, of course, was unmistakable, and in his armor, he looked more like some sort of hero from the histories than an actual flesh-and-blood human being. Something about him made Arta shiver, though she couldn''t put her finger on what. Perhaps he just seemed too artificial to be real. His sister, beside him, was cut from similar cloth – Tariti, Arta thought she''d heard her name was. She wore her armor as elegantly as if it was a gown, but the hand that rested on the hilt of her sword had an easy confidence and familiarity.


    that be, and why was she in the VIP box? – but then the woman looked up and lowered her hood. The regent''s blood froze as he recognized the face, even from a distance and even though it had been years since he''d last seen her, and she''d been a child then. Midaia? He thought What are you-? But when he looked again, she was gone. Had he imagined her there? With Aestera and Artakane on his mind, he must have. Shaking his head, he returned his thoughts to the matter at hand.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    him as my opponent. Still, I never really expected to make it past the first round, so at least it was sooner rather than later."


    so much about meeting you last night." Arta was certain now that, were the room''s lights to go out, her blush would provide plenty of illumination on its own.


    trembling," Arta replied with a cool smile and a tone she was half-conscious recalled Midaia''s; her opponent growled and charged forward. But she had him now – he was too angry to think clearly, and that meant he wasn''t going to be putting that training of his to good use. Arta ducked aside from his charge again and let his momentum carry him past her, and then as he spun towards her with sword raised, she caught her blade on his in a tight parry. For a long moment they strove against each other, him pushing her back slightly with his superior strength, but Arta was ready. She twisted her blade away, wrenching his from his hands and sending it flying onto the floor. He stumbled forward, but it was only to find the point of her sword now resting at his throat.


    That was not normal. Had Galen''s weapon malfunctioned – or, worse, had he deliberately cheated?