Royal Rivalry
My ears rang, my head throbbed, but the sound felt… off.
I realized that some of the students weren’t cheering for me to succeed. They were cheering for me to falter. They were doing it for Theo’s amusement. It finally clicked but it was too late. Yes, I had fallen for the trap but if I win, they might end up cheering me.
So I tightened my grip on the sword. We exchanged one final series of attacks. I tried something unpredictable, pushing all my skill into one decisive lunge.
As if he saw it coming, he stepped to the side. Before I could react, his sword tapped mine in the perfect strike.