---
They traded looks. Dagger cut. Knuckles. Mace head. Elbow. Knee. Heel. Forehead. Breath. Blood. The circle around them widened and then tightened when an officer shouted at it to hold. The crown hummed, a little dimmer each breath as the fear field bled down on its own timer.
Mardek laughed once, breathless. "Not unbeatable after all," he said. "Good. I like it better when monsters like you bleed."
Kai didn't answer. He saw Miryam through the gap in Mardek's shoulder, small in the cage, eyes open now, watching like she was trying to learn how to breathe by copying him. He let her see his mouth shape "I am here" one more time when Mardek's head turned away for a heartbeat. That was the last soft thing he let himself do.
