A few minutes before

  Nicholas first realises that there might be a problem when Maxence and Clarissa both turn their heads to glance at the rest of the hall and their gazes stay fixed. Since both of them had previously been active participants in the lively discussion they had been having, the change is noticeable. He follows their eyes and sees a man in green and red striding towards the heirs’ table. House Fell – the heir. The one Markus had an altercation with earlier in the day.

  “What is it?” Ionith asks as half of his tablemates go silent. Then he hisses. “What is that fool doing?”

  Nicholas glances to one side – Melia looks curious. It isn’t at her prompting, then: Lady Flameform isn’t that good of an actor. Clarissa is – it means nothing that her own expression is polite curiosity. However, it’s when he looks to his left that Nicholas is fairly certain he knows the root cause of this disruption: Torrent has a faintly smug cast to his expression.

  Nicholas doesn’t challenge him on it. Fell’s target is clearly the heirs’ table, and stepping in now would be a declaration that he feels his heir needs his protection. Intolerable weakness in their circles, especially with the competition looming. Revealing that he knows Roland is behind it is handing the other man a card to play. Better to let Torrent think that he is safe and undiscovered – for now.

  Heir Fell stops by the heirs’ table and Nicholas feels the tension among his peers peak as the Lesser heir summons his sword. Nicholas catches a subtle movement from Ionith as he signals the guards. An honour duel, then, surely. Heir Fell must know that any other reason for pulling out a weapon in the Golden Hall would see him in chains shortly after.

  Should I stop him? Sarran has taken to the communication method that the Tame Bond has created like a dragon to the skies – and that the communication network allows even the Bonded to communicate with each other shows just how much Markus values such a thing.

  No. Nicholas’ answer is firm. If this is a demand for an honour duel, Markus must face it. If it is not, Markus will have to manage long enough for the guards to intervene.

  “Heir Titanbend, I, Valence, Heir of House Fell, declare that you have insulted and wronged me and, by extension, my House. I challenge you to an honour duel! Do you dare to meet me in the field? Or are you as honourless as your birth?”

  Well. It could be worse.

  Except, of course, they haven’t covered honour duels yet in their etiquette lessons – Nicholas was hardly expecting it to be relevant. Perhaps he should have learned that expectations go out the window around Markus. Fortunately, there is an easy solution to this.

  You must accept, he tells Markus firmly, pushing the words along the Bond he currently has with Markus. It feels a little odd to be on the Tamed side rather than the Tamer, but the mechanics are much the same. Aware of Clarissa’s presence only a little distance away, Nicholas makes sure to keep an impenetrable mask of polite interest on his face. Tame or not, the revelation that they are connected by a Bond could be disastrous.

  Why?

  Because to do otherwise is to admit fault in the matter. And worse, to admit that you are not strong enough to stand up for your actions. You must accept.

  And if I lose? That’s not worse than turning down the duel now?

  You will have your honour intact, win or lose. That's more than can be said for if you do not accept. Especially since it is a duel offered by a Lesser House. Rejecting it would impact our House badly. For the sake of our agreement, you must accept.

  Fine. How?

  Nicholas, relief going through him that Markus is listening to reason, quickly outlines the etiquette for accepting the duel and makes a suggestion of when it should take place. Fortunately, Markus seems to be using more of his Intelligence attribute as the discussion takes significantly less time than it would have if they had spoken aloud. The pause before Markus speaks again is a little long, but not enough to imply automatic rejection of the duel.

  “Heir Fell. I, Markus, Heir Titanbend, deny wrongdoing or an attempt to insult you or your House. On my honour, I accept the honour duel. I set it for three days hence, at noon on the day of the Hunter.”

  It is fortunate that as the one challenged, Markus is able to choose the date – it gives them a little time to prepare. Heir Fell, as the challenger and the ‘wronged’ in the matter, is able to choose the weapons, and Nicholas has a sinking feeling as he sees the slight smirk on Torrent’s face.

  “I accept this date. The duel shall be external Skills and non-ranged weapons only.” Nicholas’ dread ebbs and a wary relief takes its place. He had been fearing that the duel would be restricted to weapons alone – that, Markus would find almost impossible to win. Fortunately, Torrent has made some assumptions that will cost him – and his milaspaw even more.

  Say ‘I accept’, Nicholas coaches Markus. There isn’t any choice here either.

  “I accept.”

  With that, Heir Fell drops into a stiff bow, nowhere near as deep as it should be considering he’s a Lesser heir, speaking to the heir of a Great House. Nicholas is pleased when Markus gives him just as stiff a nod in return. Fell turns and strides out of the room. Nicholas’ narrowed gaze follows him until he disappears out of the closest set of doors. He looks afraid – as well he should be.

  Nicholas turns to Ionith and gives him a respectful nod.

  “Your majesty, I humbly beg your leave to take my heir back to our rooms. I believe we have much to discuss.”

  Ionith waves his hand casually.

  “Take him and go, Lord Titanbend.” Then he leans forwards and winks even as he quietly murmurs, “Make sure he wins, won’t you Nicholas? Roland is so amusing when disappointed.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Nicholas murmurs back, just as quietly. He doesn’t let one iota of the amusement he feels express itself on his face. Clearly Nicholas isn’t the only one to suspect that Roland is behind this particular disturbance.

  “Clarissa, Melia, Roland, Maxence, I bid you goodnight.” He nods cordially to all of them, though his nod to Torrent is a little stiff. But considering they’re usually rivals, no one will think anything of it.

  “An honour duel, eh? I do hope nothing untoward happens. They can be such risky affairs.” Roland tsks and shakes his head. He looks mournful – at least, he would if not for their long association which allows Nicholas to see the smug twinkle in his eyes.

  “Fear not for my heir,” Nicholas answers him airily. “I’m sure he will acquit himself perfectly.” He allows his gaze to drift over to Torrent’s son and is satisfied when he sees the man stiffen just slightly. Not interested in continuing the wordplay, Nicholas turns on his heel and strides down the steps to the heirs’ table.

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  “Well, I think this is marvelous. I love watching honour duels. Especially ones that end in the death of one or both of the fighters. Tell me, Markus, who do you think is more likely to die on the field – Fell or you?” Torrent’s spawn is as difficult to tolerate as the man himself.

  “I’m pretty good at surviving,” Markus responds without losing any of his composure. Nicholas sends him a flicker of approval – he’s getting better at this game.

  “Markus,” he interrupts calmly. All the heirs turn, Torrent’s and Flameform’s spawn showing a hint of startlement. Nicholas disapproves of their lack of awareness of what’s happening around them. This might be the Golden Hall, but that does not mean it is without threat. Being overheard saying the wrong thing is at least as dangerous as an actual attack.

  “Is it time to go, my lord?” Markus asks levelly, but Nicholas can hear the relief in it.

  “It is.”

  Nicholas’ heir stands, inclines his head to each of his companions.

  “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow night, then,” he says, a wry note creeping into his voice. Nicholas knows that he was hoping to be back at the manor sooner rather than later, but needs must. Given what his trainers have said, he definitely needs to have the maximum time allowed for a duel’s preparation.

  “I look forward to speaking more with you. There’s so much I am interested in knowing,” Goldmine’s heir answers – her niece Elyra. Not quite as poisonous as Clarissa is herself, but she’s young yet. She’ll get there in time. Nicholas hopes Markus realises that. At least he seemed to show adequate awareness of the dangers Goldmine could pose him based on how he talked about their conversation earlier.

  “Sure,” Markus answers, a little too casually, and then he and Nicholas manage to escape the torture that Ionith insists on putting them through nightly. There are several reasons why Nicholas tries to avoid the palace, but the requirement to be at the dinner meal is definitely one of the most influential.

  So, what was that whole ‘external Skills and non-ranged weapons only’ thing? Are all weapons which are not thrown or shot accepted? Which Skills count as external Skills and which don’t? Markus asks as soon as they’re clear of the immediate clutter of nobles. They did their best to say little, but it was impossible to leave without a word. Not unless Nicholas wanted to be the one offending lords and ladies this time.

  Sarran knows to stay as long as he can remain unnoticed, watching and listening for information which might aid them. Though, in this case, Nicholas thinks that the whole affair is rather straightforward. A little too straightforward, perhaps, though that might just be his paranoia speaking. Roland isn’t known for his subtlety.

  Any weapon which is held by a part of your body and remains so throughout its attack is considered to be a non-ranged weapon, Nicholas explains. There are no limitations otherwise, though some feel that whips should not be considered as a non-ranged weapon. Spear, mace, and daggers are all valid weapons for this duel.

  And the Skills issue?

  External Skills are considered to be anything that works externally. For example, all of your Shaping Skills count, except for using Flesh-Shaping for healing purposes. Since this is an honour duel, neither of you will have access to healing potions, nor will you be permitted to use healing Skills unless you are somehow able to have them work externally.

  It’s a bit of a relief that I have access to some Shaping Skills then, right? Markus asks.

  It is, Nicholas agrees. And it is only because you have advanced differently from the way our family normally does that you are not currently easy prey for Fell. He feels Markus’ confusion wash over the link between them. Nicholas’s lip twitches at the younger man’s lack of control. He’d had to pinch their connection almost shut during the dinner or he would have been far too distracted by Markus’ emotions to concentrate on his own conversations.

  Why is that?

  House Fell is known for having a specialised enchanter Class. Their main tools are their weapons and armour in which they imbue their Skills. They have few active Skills which they use in combat, but the rules of external Skills only will have limited effect on Heir Fell as, if their Skills are acting through their armour or weapons, they count as external Skills, even if they have an internal effect.

  For example, healing, Markus suggests, a whirlpool of dread forming on the other side of the Bond.

  Precisely, Nicholas agrees grimly. Healing, enhancement of different attributes, resistance to types of damage…those are all possible Skills which Fell may be able to use – and you won’t.

  It’s…it’s a pretty bad match, then, Markus concludes, just as grim. His dread pulses against Nicholas’ side of the Bond. So what happens if I lose? Nicholas is glad that even though he is clearly afraid of the possibilities, he’s not even considering backing out.

  Normally, it would be an awful match, Nicholas agrees. A suspiciously bad one.

  You think this was planned?

  I do.

  Even the encounter near the market? But how would anyone know that we would go down that route, or that I would react like I did?

  I don’t think that it was planned that far, Nicholas refutes, feeling a hint of amusement at the thought. Torrent – a strategian of such calibre? Not likely. Nicholas might consider it possible of Goldmine, but she doesn’t tend to go in for such improbable plots. Though her presence in the market and so close to the altercation…. No, it’s too coincidental, relying on Markus being different from other noble heirs in very specific ways. If an enemy could predict Markus that well, they could have manipulated him far more subtly – and Clarissa would have.

  No, it seems most likely that Torrent saw in Heir Fell an opportunity. Though how he managed to convince the heir who had previously backed down to press his case, and so publicly…a bribe? But what bribe could be worth potentially losing his freedom if he loses? Even if it was on Lord Fell’s order, and is not Heir Fell’s will, it still seems a steep price for the House to pay. Especially with how badly such an unfair match will reflect on their honour.

  Unless…. Nicholas nods absent-mindedly. Maybe Torrent let it slip that Markus has only been a Tamer for a year. Of course, they wouldn’t be expecting Markus to be the over-achiever that Nicholas knows him to be. They would be expecting someone who was perhaps level five at best, with a few Skills under his belt – and all the usual ones for the Titanbend family. And if Fell wins, he’ll be able to ask for so much more in recompense from the Titanbends than they’d have ever been awarded through the courts.

  They were expecting you to be easy prey, Nicholas realises, putting the pieces together.

  What? Markus sounds confused, unsurprisingly so. Nicholas quickly fills him in on his theories.

  They were expecting you to have a few Bonds, Nicholas concludes, perhaps only with the five you have shown so far. As for Skills, our family is known for being able to enhance ourselves and our Bonded – which wouldn’t help you in this duel. We are also known for being able to take elements from our Bonded – also an internal Skill – and some minor combat Skills. We are not known for our weapons Skills. If I were to be forced into a duel like this with someone at the same level, I would be hard pressed to win it, even if normally I would win every time without restriction.

  But as it is, I have far more than the normal Skills accessible to me, Markus points out.

  Precisely. Which is why you might stand a chance. However, though I don’t know much about Heir Fell, I know that their family is known for their martial prowess. This won’t be an easy fight, Nicholas warns. You’ve got three days to prepare.

  Markus breathes out audibly.

  I think I know what that means.

  Training. Their voices overlap.

  The word hangs between them like a promise. Markus might have a difficult battle ahead of him, but neither of them are willing to accept defeat before the weapons have even been drawn. They have three days – they’d better make them count.

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