Chapter 969 Come Hit Me

• Far across the shattered courtyard, Thalen hovered above the rubble, robes snapping in the dry wind. Steel-gray light flooded his gaze. Blocking Finneas' first strike could be called luck, he reasoned, but the second, the third—now a fourth? Sweat gathered at Thalen's brow as he locked onto Finneas' faint, unsettling smile. Something is off. I can feel the threads of this battle twisting where I cannot see.
• "Thalen, stop playing around!" Selene streaked through the air, silver veil whipping behind her. She had assumed her senior brother was merely toying with the upstart, prolonging the duel for sport. "Finish him—now! The way he smiles makes my scalp crawl!"
• "Oh, look at you, all high and mighty," Finneas called, tongue sliding across the blood on his lip. "Weren't you going to dismantle me from the inside out? Then hurry up! Come on—hit me. I haven't felt a good beating in ages, and my patience is wearing thin."