"I honestly must say that Seraphine Walker is a worthy contender, because I never expected her to last even a single second against me, yet she managed to stay in the game longer than almost anyone I have ever faced across a chessboard."
The statement rolled through the room in Voren's calm, measured voice, and the moment his words settled into the heavy air of the gathering hall, applause erupted from several corners of the space, the sound spreading like a ripple across the polished marble floors and high vaulted ceilings where the wealthiest men in the room had been silently observing the match.
