From within the shadow of her hood, she watched the scene unfold with little interest.
Standing near the edge of the plaza crowd, half-hidden among a cluster of spectators who were far more interested in the argument unfolding ahead than the quiet girl in the purple hoodie behind them.
Three boys.
One from a powerful family.
Two slum rats.
A story as old as the Vale itself.
The Valerion heir stood tall and polished, arrogance practically radiating off him like perfume. Even from here, she could hear the soft edge in his voice as he ordered the ragged boy to kneel.
Her gaze drifted to the boy he was speaking to.
Silver-blond hair.
Thin frame.
A bow slung across his back.
He didn't kneel.
Instead… he laughed.
She paused, curiosity piqued.
Interesting.
"-even if the gods came down and threatened me with eternal damnation, my knees will not touch the ground today."
She watched as one of the Valerion's boys stepped forward, skin turning into granite.
Her finger slipped into the pockets of her hoodie, feeling the metal against her skin. She brought out a copper Drachma, resting it lightly against her thumb.
Heads... Or tails.
She flipped the coin into the air.
It spun lazily above her hand, glinting once… twice… before dropping neatly against the back of her fingers.
She covered it with her palm.
Paused.
Then lifted her hand to see the result.
A soft smile pressed against her thin lips.
'Lucky you.'
***
Kent bolted backwards as if struck by a powerful force.
Xaden watched as the arrow bounced off his skin, snapping in half.
'What the...'
Kent landed next to the well-dressed boy, his eyebrows furrowed as he was taken aback. Squatting down, he picked something up from Kent's head and inspected it—a small, gleaming material.
A single copper Drachma.
He raised his head and looked towards somewhere in the arena.
Xaden followed his eyes. And saw a hooded figure hidden within the chattering crowd. It wore a dark purple hoodie, with a single strand of brown hair stretching forward from it.
Xaden felt Leo's arm on his shoulder.
"What did you do?" He whispered.
"I didn't do-"
He watched as the figure slowly left the crowd of spectators, a glint of light glinting off the piece of metal it tossed in the air.
The Valerion boy glanced back at the drachma, turning it between his fingers, seemingly amused.
For a moment, the area was silent.
Then Leo suddenly stepped forward.
"Yeah," he said loudly, clapping his hands together once. "That's about right."
The crowd blinked, their attention now on the spiky, red haired boy.
Leo hooked a thumb toward Xaden like a proud salesman presenting his finest product.
"My guy just knocked him out."
Xaden turned towards him.
What are you doing?
Leo grinned at the crowd, completely unfazed.
"Precision shot," he continued. "See that gap in the granite? Right between the joints? Arrow hits there, shock travels through the skull, bam."
He does a quick motion with his fingers.
"Lights out."
Several people in the crowd looked impressed.
Others looked confused.
The Valerion boy raised an eyebrow.
Xaden stared at Leo for half a second.
Then began to chuckle softly.
"Honestly," Xaden began, gesturing lazily toward the broken arrow on the ground, "I was trying not to embarrass him."
Leo nodded solemnly.
"Very considerate, this guy."
Someone in the crowd whispered.
"Did he really do that?"
"Impossible…"
"But the arrow did hit him…"
"Defeated by a single arrow, just what type of monster do we have here in Sector 45?"
Leo exchanged a look with Xaden and shrugged.
'Just go with it.' He seemed to say.
The Valerion boy stood slowly, brushing invisible dust from his coat.
His eyes moved between the snapped arrow… the copper Drachma… and the unconscious Kent.
For a moment, it looked like he might call their bluff.
Instead, a smile spread across his face.
He began to chuckle.
"Interesting."
He flipped the drachma once more, letting it fall onto Kent's chest.
Then he turned and walked toward the arena gates, his remaining guard quickly dragging Kent's limp body behind them.
The tension in the plaza snapped like a stretched wire, finally breaking.
People started talking again.
Leo grabbed Xaden's sleeve.
"We gotta go."
They quickly pushed through the crowd.
A few people stepped aside for them now.
Some even looked at Xaden with new curiosity.
When they were finally far enough away, the two boys burst out laughing.
"You were trying not to embarrass him?"
"Precision shot?" Xaden laughed, "That's new."
"I swear you should have seen the way you looked at me."
"I was just suprised ok."
It took a minute before they could catch their breath. Living on the streets certainly came with a set of skills.
One of which was an inherent ability to lie shamelessly.
Leo leaned closer.
"So if that wasn't you…"
Xaden's eyes drifted back toward the crowd behind them.
His eyes were searching for a purple hood.
A glint of metal spinning through the air.
Leo nudged him.
"Dude."
"If someone out there can knock a guy like Kent out with a coin…"
Leo whistled.
"I'm suddenly very excited for Threshing."
Ahead of them, the massive doors of the arena groaned open.
And the crowd surged forward. Xaden and Leo exchanged a look before joining the procession.
***
The High Gallery overlooked the arena like the balcony of a throne room.
From this height, the hundred or so people below were reduced to shifting patterns of color and movement, their voices blending into a distant, restless hum. Soft golden lights glowed along the polished terraces, reflecting off crystal railings and polished metal floors.
Servants moved quietly between the seats with trays of wine and data tablets, careful not to disturb the gathering of powerful figures who had assembled there.
Commander Darius Kade, overseer of Sector 45, stood near the railing with his hands clasped behind his back. His uniform was immaculate—black beast armor with silver plating, the crest of the Valeguard etched over his chest.
Below him, the candidates were beginning to gather near the Threshing pods.
Sixteen to eighteen-year-olds.
Mere children pretending they weren't terrified.
Kade's jaw slightly tightened.
"They look smaller every year," he muttered.
A dry chuckle came from behind him.
"Or perhaps you grow older, Commander."
The voice belonged to an elderly man seated comfortably in one of the velvet chairs. His white hair was combed back neatly, his figure draped in a long coat of deep blue fabric. On the breast of that coat was embroidered a symbol unmistakable to anyone in the Vale—
A white hand holding a double-edged sword.
The symbol of House Valerion. One of the four great houses Subvaleum.
Cassian Valerion swirled the wine in his glass lazily, watching the arena floor with half-lidded eyes.
"Fear is good for them," Cassian continued calmly. "The Threshing was never meant to comfort the young."
"But rather as a means to curve out the weak."
Another official standing nearby—a thin scholar with mechanical lenses resting over one eye—adjusted his device.
Commander Kade said nothing.
He had no clue why such an esteemed guest had landed all the way to this lowly sector.
What was he looking for... Or rather, who perhaps.
Kade didn't ask questions. Not because he was weak or timid, but because he understood how rigid the hierarchy in their society really was. Needless. He kept his wits about him, anywhere around Cassian Valerion.
His eyes remained fixed on the arena floor.
The slum-born kids from Sector 45 mix with the ones from better-off families. Although basically, anyone from Sector 45 could be said to be poor.
A woman dressed in military robes stepped closer to the railing.
"Do you expect trouble today, Commander?"
Kade exhaled slowly, then chuckled lightly.
"Haven't you heard?" He grinned at her, "Trouble is constant in Sector 45."
Before anyone could respond, a sharp chime sounded from the device clipped to his wrist.
Once.
Twice.
Kade glanced down.
His expression hardened instantly.
"What is it?" the scholar asked.
Kade tapped the device, projecting a small holographic display into the air.
Red warning symbols flickered across the screen.
VALE PERIMETER ALERT — BREACH DETECTED
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then the commander straightened.
"Excuse me."
Cassian raised an eyebrow.
"A problem?"
Kade's voice was cold.
"A breach has occurred in the northern region of Sector 45."
He turned toward the exit corridor.
"Beasts are already pouring in."
The scholar's mechanical lens whirred faintly.
"During Threshing?"
Cassian took a slow sip of wine.
"How… inconvenient."
Commander Kade didn't respond.
He tightened his fists.
He was already walking quickly toward the gallery doors.
Below them, the arena lights flared brighter and brighter.
Threshing had finally begun.