The notice went up before breakfast.
A parchment, thick and heavy, stamped with the red sigil of House Estrix.
By the time Soren and Mira reached the courtyard, half the Academy had already gathered.
Mira's curse broke the tension. "They didn't. They didn't actually—oh for the love of—, read that."
He did.
A formal challenge.
Public.
Irrevocable.
Live steel.
Students whispered around them like circling crows. Some looked excited, others horrified, but all of them kept stealing glances at Soren as if he were already halfway to the arena.
Mira grabbed the edge of the parchment, scanning it twice. "Rivan Estrix? They sent him? That's not a challenge, that's a sanctioned beating."
Soren didn't answer. His face didn't shift at all.
Valenna's voice brushed down his spine. It's a trap dressed as honor. 'Accept only if you intend to destroy the trap.'
