Since I knew what could happen between the two of them, it was almost painful to see Victor’s face every time he glanced at Frid. He had it bad for her, and she had no idea how desperate he was. I wondered how long it would take for them to figure it out.
“Ty? Is everything alright?” Frid asked when they got closer.
“Yes.”
“How come you’re so nice to him?” Victor gave the girl a side eye.
“What are you talking about? I’m always nice.”
“When you're asleep, maybe.”
“It’s time for me to teach you a lesson. Don’t you think, Ty?” Frid glanced in my direction.
“What lesson?” Victor asked.
“We haven’t sparred in a long time. I remember the satisfaction of throwing you on your ass. I think we should do that again.”
“Are you mad?”
“What? Are you scared?”
“No.”
“You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“It’s not that.”
“What is it then?”
“Frid, I hate to be the one to tell you, but...” Victor tilted his head. “You’re a girl.”
“So?”
“I am not going to fight a girl.”
“That’s so disrespectful!”
“How’s that disrespectful?”
“You don’t see me as a serious opponent. You only see me as a girl.”
“Um . . . but youarea girl.”
“If you don’t accept my challenge, I will tell everyone that you’re too scared to face me.”
“Just out of curiosity; by everyone, you mean... Sol?”
“Oh, shut up.” She turned around and marched away.
“Thank you for your help, by the way,” Victor muttered.
“Has anyone questioned you staying here?” I asked instead.
“Here?” Victor chuckled. “They’re terrible at running this place. I had no idea how bad it was. You can literally live here year round without anyone noticing. We don’t come for training, we don’t sleep in the common rooms. No one cares. Aside from some weird looks I get sometimes, no one ever bothered us; even with Sol single handedly consuming half of the rations and never showing up for practice.”
Footsteps sounded at the end of the corridor and I turned to see Frid had come back with a murderous look on her face.
“What now?” Victor muttered.
