When Cassian comes to, it's the middle of the night. He's lying on a cot in the infirmary, a strange weight pressing against his chest. When he opens his eyes fully, he finds Lilvyra, in her human form, lying atop him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spots another figure nearby. Eiric, in the bed beside him, is already awake and staring at him in silence, his tone thick with bitterness and frustration. That draw — which to him is nothing more than a disguised defeat — torments him more than he can bear. After all, having to share first place with Cassian is something he hadn't even imagined in his worst nightmares.
«Don't think for a second things will change now,» Eiric growls. «Even if the fight ended in a draw, I've no intention of showing any respect to someone like you. I know there's something hidden behind all this, Cassian. Sooner or later, the truth will come out — and you'll meet the same end as your father, count on it!»
