The oil lamp burned low in Raziel's room while Lucian sat in the heavy wooden chair across from the small desk.
He leaned his head back against the wood closing his eyes and sleeping from physical exhaustion.
Dark bruises formed on his ribs from Gideon's bear hug.
Raziel sat on the edge of his bed.
The final match started at noon tomorrow and Mordecai trapped them in a perfect corner, refusing to fight meant an automatic forfeit and a one-way trip to the southern war front.
Losing on purpose was out of the question since Mordecai sat in the front row with his detection artifact and would recognize a thrown match in a second, executing them both for mocking a holy evaluation.
Tying was illegal because the Ascension Tournament rules demanded a clear victor in the final round.
They had to fight for real.
Raziel activated the blue interface in his vision to calculate the odds.
