"Nobles don't fight fair. They don't have to. The rules were written by their ancestors specifically so they'd never have to."
***
The scramble for partners began.
Nervous glances everywhere. Students sized each other up like they were negotiating treaties. The politics were complicated. Partner with someone too weak and you looked like a coward hunting easy wins. Partner with someone too strong and you risked public humiliation that would follow you for semesters.
Some went for familiar faces. People they'd known before the academy or met during orientation. The comfort of the familiar beat strategy every time.
Others scanned for targets. Easy marks they could dominate without real risk.
The unlucky ones, the kids with no friends and no social instincts, ended up standing alone like rocks at low tide. Waiting for Blackthorne to assign them partners with all the care of someone dividing firewood.
Fen, obviously, claimed the biggest opponent available.
