Blue shrugged at them. "What? I got bored."
Graydon's lips twitched before smoothing out. "Would someone like to tell me what is going on here?"
"Nothing that concerns the Emperor's Face," a strong voice said out of the crowd.
Kira caught sight of Finn next to the strange oshota, his guard up and looking vaguely homicidal. It looked like the initiates weren't the only ones who had come to blows.
Graydon raised an eyebrow, his attention settling on Dethos’s oshota. "Nial, why am I not surprised to find you in the midst of this?"
Nial ignored the statement, his expression stony. "Even you can't interfere in a challenge."
Graydon looked around, noting the way Dethos outnumbered them and the interested expressions of those surrounding them. "Is that what this is?"
Nial's posture was ramrod straight. If Graydon's question intimidated him, you wouldn't be able to tell by the way he held himself.
Graydon stepped forward, managing to seem threatening from that one motion. The skin around Nial's eyes tightened saying he wasn't entirely obtuse, reading the danger he was in.
"Because the emperor himself decreed the Lady Kira couldn't be challenged by those outside her House," Graydon said through bared teeth, his smile that of a dragon who'd cornered its prey.
"He said she couldn't be challenged; nothing about her doing the challenging," one of the initiates chimed in.
The oshota's jaw flexed, even as he held his silence.
Graydon fixed a dangerous look on the initiate. "Why am I not surprised to find House Dethos obeying the letter of the emperor's decree rather than its intent?"
Silence answered him.
A heavy sigh gusted from Graydon as he focused his piercing gaze on Kira. "And did you challenge them?"
Kira started to speak only to find Talon already talking. "Dethos struck first. Even by the loosest of definitions, the part of challenger would be considered theirs." His gaze flicked to the oshota. "If you wanted to instigate a challenge, you probably shouldn't have picked a place heavily frequented by Roake."
The oshota's jaw worked as he ground his teeth.
"It is possible my initiates got a little overzealous greeting the lost daughter of House Roake." The words seemed ripped out of him.
Graydon arched an unimpressed eyebrow. "I'm sure." He ran a gaze over the rest. "It seems this scheme backfired on them. I have no doubt half the city will learn your initiates got their asses handed to them by a few humans and a woman you have a distressing tendency to refer to as insane."
Nial didn't respond to the taunt, his movements jerky as he headed for the door, barking over his shoulder, "Let's go."
Slowly the rest of House Dethos filed after him as they shot fulminating glares at the rest of them.
Kira stopped next to Graydon. "I didn't know you were itching for another round in our bout."
His smile came, slow and wicked, tugging at Kira's insides. "Anytime, anywhere,coli.It was the highlight of my week."
His words brushed along Kira's senses, sparking a warmth inside. Call her strange, but fighting Graydon was like having all her senses ramped up a thousand-fold. It was exhilarating and thrilling because she never knew if she'd win—not that she planned to let him know that.
Kira made her way to the table where Wren stood, gazing at the half-destroyed glasses. Surprisingly, a few still stood.
"I expected better of you all," Wren said as she approached.
Raider collapsed into his seat, snagging a shot and drinking it down.
"Don't know why," Raider said, pointing the hand that held the glass at Wren. "I think we cleaned up pretty well."
Especially since one of them appeared to have had more alcohol than they should have, Kira thought with a spurt of amusement.
She was surprised at the feeling of nostalgia and regret that the night was over.
