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    Talis jumped up, and quick-stepped away from Nikulo’s bladed staff. Talis parried and spun around, then slashed, but Nikulo knocked the blade away. Nikulo grinned in satisfaction. Talis leapt at Nikulo, swinging his blade at Nikulo’s head. Nikulo raised his staff to block, but Talis kicked his chest and knocked him onto his back.  
    Mara and Talis charged Rikar in unison. Talis sprang at Rikar, while Mara circled around. We can win, Talis thought. He aimed his blade towards Rikar’s chest, but somehow Nikulo had managed to get up quickly, and drove right through Talis and Mara, his bladed staff spinning wide. Talis jumped back, only to feel Rikar’s sword grating along his ringmail chest, issuing a shower of sparks. Talis retreated fast, smelling metallic smoke from the sparks.
    Grinning, Rikar pressed his advantage, slicing and pushing him towards the arena’s edge. Just when Rikar was about to land a blow on Talis’s neck, Talis felt a dizzy sensation. All movement around him stopped, and the light in the arena went gold. The sky was filled with dancing stars.  
    Like the world had frozen, Talis could see the entire scene at once. The weakness in Rikar’s defense. Rikar’s frozen face shone with hate and bloodlust and madness. Talis felt a wind whirling inside his chest.  
    He knew suddenly where he had to strike.  
    Before time rushed on, Talis danced aside and landed a blow hard on Rikar’s hip, breaking through his armor, sending blood spurting, a red stain on his leg. Rikar sank, gripping the wound. That was it. The pain shot up to Rikar’s eyes and across his face. He bit his lip hard and sank to the ground.
    The healer cried out and raced forward. He placed his hands on Rikar’s hip and the armor glowed white-hot, and Rikar’s face was filled with light. Rikar’s reddened eyes glared furiously at Talis.
    “The winner of this year’s Blood Dagger is Talis of House Storm and Mara of House Lei.” Master Jarvis lifted Talis’s and Mara’s arms, and nodded to the victors.
    Talis found a smile coming to his face. They’d won. They really won. Father would finally see him as worthy to carry on the Storm family lineage. He couldn’t wait to run home and tell his family. They’d won the Blood Dagger and won the right to fight in the Arena of the Sej Elders, in front of all the crowds that gathered to watch the fights. Talis remembered his father’s beaming face after his older brother Xhan had won his first Blood Dagger competition.
    The healer finished casting the binding spell to close Rikar’s wounds. Talis offered a hand to help Rikar to his feet, but Rikar slapped his arm away. “Don’t touch me.” He picked up his weapon and limped down the tunnel.
    Talis looked over at Mara, and gripped her hand. “I didn’t think we had a chance. But you were so amazing.”
    Mara blushed, and waved the idea away. “You finished him. What got into you anyways?”
    “It was nothing. I got in a lucky strike.” Talis could feel a redness wash over his face.
    “You’ve improved.” Nikulo stared at Talis, as if puzzled. “That was an incredible move at the end.”
    Master Jarvis Numerian tromped up. “That was a good fight. They outplayed you both at first”—he studied Talis—”but your final blow…deadly fast and accurate.”
    Talis bowed to Master Jarvis, still feeling lightheaded over the win. After Jarvis left, Talis turned to leave with Mara, noticing the air was somehow warmer now. Mara reached out and held Talis’s hand, and they strode down the narrow cobblestone street, tall shops pressing in from either side.  
    “You did amazingly well, Talis.” Mara glanced up at him, pride and wonder in her eyes.
    Talis squeezed her hand and grinned at her, his head bobbing from side-to-side. “I’m starving.”  
    The air smelled of sweet pies from the baker’s oven, with wafts of apple and honey and pear stirring in his nostrils. His stomach complained.
    As they rounded a corner, a