Lucavion ate with unhurried ease, as though sliding into their meal were the most natural thing in the world. He lifted his fork, gestured loosely between them, and spoke as if connecting thoughts that had been forming from the moment he arrived.
"So," he said, "you two met today and were placed in the same group?" His eyes flicked first to Elowyn, then to Valeria. "Then it must have been the Combat Awareness Trial."
Valeria nodded once. "It was."
Lucavion's lips curved into a small, knowing smirk. "With the two of you in the same group," he murmured, "I imagine it was a breeze."
Both girls narrowed their eyes at him, almost in perfect simultaneity—yet neither saw the other do it.
Elowyn's reaction was quiet, analytical.
Valeria's was instinctive.
