Clang!
Wind screamed between them as a blur of steel intercepted his blade.
Caspian was pushed back a few feet as Oliver stood before him.
"You're not getting that easy win," Oliver said. "Zaxen's mine to protect."
Caspian's eyes narrowed, grip tightening. Damn it.
Too fast.
Just as he adjusted his footing to counter, another figure came flying from the side—
Lyrius.
"Where are you going, huh?" Lyrius muttered with a smirk, blade swinging in a sharp arc toward Oliver. "You're mine."
Oliver had no choice.
He clashed with Lyrius, sword meeting sword, wind colliding with lightning-infused steel.
The impact scattered dust across the arena floor.
Caspian didn't waste the opening.
He turned and found Zaxen struggling to get up, blood at the corner of his mouth.
The assassin had already taken one heavy slash from earlier, and the two capsules on his belt were gone—only one remained, barely attached to the lower edge of his cloak.
Now.
