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Lord Adrogan snorted. “I’ll win back my jerky yet. That Telemakhos is the size of a bull. I bet these velvet shoes the artist loses.”
“The ambassador clearly isn’t a warrior,” Lord Gaius mused. “No wonder he lost. But in a contest against a professional soldier? Yes, I think we will see Lysandros lose this time.”
Predictable Tenebrans.
Lyros left the men’s arrogant predictions in the dust when he won the first round against Mak.
Lord Severin was the first to say it. “Lysandros is a real warrior.”
“You don’t sound surprised,” Lord Gaius observed.
“He saved my life at Martyr’s Pass. You should not be surprised, either.”
“How do we know all this isn’t staged for our benefit?” Lord Adrogan scoffed. “Maybe their skills aren’t real, and all that was an act.”
“Any real warrior,” Lord Severin replied, “could not watch the battles we just witnessed without recognizing them for what they are and standing in awe.”
Lio jumped to his feet to cheer. Victory was sweet. Pride filled his heart as he watched his Trial brothers. Mak took the second and third battle, then Lyros emerged the victor once more in the fourth. As their fifth match stretched on, all three groups of the initiates stood together in a crush as close to the fight as they could get, too enthralled to notice which of the banners they were helping each other wave.
When Mak and Lyros’s stalemate had lasted eighty minutes, Aunt Lyta tossed a black handkerchief between the two blurs that were her Stewards. They came to a standstill and looked at her as if woken from a dream.
Their mentor’s face and aura shone with pride. “Eighty minutes have passed, and you have yet to best each other. You have won the same number of rounds. I can only declare you equal in skill and equal in victory.”
Mak and Lyros joined their bloodstained hands and held them up for the applauding crowd. The initiates levitated right out of their seats, pumping their fists in the air and embracing each other. But Lio cheered for his Trial brothers louder than anyone, joining his voice with Kia’s and Nodora’s.
Mak and Lyros rejoined Aunt Lyta and Kadi on the dais. The entire Stand faced the embassy.
“Honorable and courageous warriors from Tenebra,” Aunt Lyta called, “tonight we have shown you a demonstration of the Hesperine battle arts. Now we invite you to show us your ancient and beloved traditions of war.”
The Tenebrans were silent, but Lio and all his fellow Hesperines could sense their murmurs of surprise and wary grumbles in the Blood Union.
Aunt Lyta gestured to the sand. “We have made every effort to accommodate mortal warriors in the gymnasium tonight. Usually snow fills this ring. We have replaced it with sand. However, that is not our only means of placing ourselves on equal footing with you.”
Kadi stepped forward. “My Grace, Master Healer Javed, has devised a potion that will reduce any Hesperine to mortal strength. Challenge us, and we shall meet you in battle as your physical equals, armed only with skill.”
Unease skittered up Lio’s spine, and he saw Cassia knot her hands in her lap. He wasn’t the only one who still had misgivings about this part of the plan.
“Challenge us,” Kadi dared them.
Cassia got to her feet. The lords looked at her in dismay, and some of them even laughed. Lio longed to drag them into the ring. He could handle those Tenebran clods, he was sure.
Cassia rested a hand on Knight. “You invited me to give you a demonstration of my liegehound’s abilities. Knight and I will take this opportunity to accept.”
That silenced the men’s laughter, and her supporters applauded her by stamping their boots on the floor in the Tenebran way.
“Which of us will you challenge?” Aunt Lyta asked.
Cassia looked from one Steward to another. “Who among you has the greatest experience with liegehounds?”
Aunt Lyta held out a hand to Kadi. “That would be my daughter, Master Steward Arkadia. She is the Stand’s expert at combating liegehounds. She teaches her techniques to all our trainees.”
Cassia drew a deep breath. “Master Steward Arkadia, I challenge you to a match with Knight.”
Kadi bowed. “It will be my honor to meet your challenge.”
When Cassia turned to descend from the stands, Benedict halted her with a hand on her elbow and fretted over her. The whole audience watched while she stood her ground and tried to assuage his worries. In the end, he did not let her go. She and Knight simply walked past him.
“We welcome you,” Aunt Lyta announced, “the first mortal Tenebran woman ever to compete here.”
