"Academy boy, step away from the prize before I stop asking nicely."
Aldric stared at Gears as if the sentence had insulted the room. It probably had, which meant Gears had chosen his first weapon before either sword came out.
The two black orbs at Gears' boots split open along clean seams. Smoke poured low across the broken board, hugging cracked gold, burned frost, and the edge of Ty's king until the match looked like someone had dragged a black cloth across its wounds.
Ty tightened his hand on the king. His body still stood in the battle space, but his actual body was somewhere outside it, asleep or trapped or worse. He had no useful way to check, and Gears had already stepped into the cover.
Aldric moved his pieces before answering with his mouth. The Gilded Sentinel shifted in front of him. The Sapphire Enchantress pulled cold toward his left side. The damaged Cavalier dragged its broken lance to the right, still limping, still dangerous enough to punish a bad angle.
