Leaving the arena, the atmosphere was palpably different. The other competitors looked at me with a mix of wariness and respect. I had suddenly and incredibly announced myself as a serious contender. I might not have been number one in everyone's perception, but it was hard for anyone to consider me as less than the second best threat to take the Griidsuit after my showing. The weight of their stares was both a burden and a strange affirmation.

My emotions were so confused. I was ecstatic to have performed so well. I was bitter to have been beaten so cheapy and easily. I couldn’t believe I had been unable to best Lance. The memory of his smug grin haunted me. It did me little good to remember how shallow the grin had been. What mattered was that it was he smirking down at me at the end, not the other way round. To make matters worse, he would have an entire day to meditate and practice with the suit, growing stronger and stronger while I simply struggled to remain in the competition. The unfairness of it seethed within me.

Outside the arena, I looked up at the sky, trying to calm the storm inside. It was a beautiful day.

It was the earliest finish we had had since the competition began; it was barely past noon. I stood at the steps of the arena, watching as the other competitors walked past me. Their previous haughtiness had evaporated, their eyes downcast. They avoided looking directly at me, their expressions a mix of resentment and reluctant acknowledgment.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned in surprise. It was Lauren. When would her beauty stop taking my breath away. I needed to get a grip.

"I knew you were different, from the first time I saw you," she said, deliberately holding my gaze. "But I never imagined you could..." She paused, her eyes flitting away and then back to my face. "When we were in the woods, I was better than you. I could have beaten you, easily. But while we were walking, I could see you getting better. Your steps were surer, you were catching up with me, and I hated it."

Her voice wavered, betraying a mixture of emotions. She flicked her head, tossing her hair, visibly uncomfortable. "I was ahead of you, but it was like I was stuck in tar, and I could see you catching up. I knew you were going to pass me out..."

I stood there, absorbing her words. I was conflicted. I enjoyed the attention, the praise. I was greedy for it. But I didn’t like to see the discomfort ther. I realized just how much this competition was affecting all of us. Lauren, always so composed, was showing a vulnerability I hadn't seen before.

Her eyes met mine again. For a moment there were no words. We just looked at each other. I wanted to say something to comfort her, to acknowledge her feelings, but words seemed inadequate.

Lauren paused for a long time, and I was speechless. I felt like a rabbit caught in the light of her attention. She seemed to consider her next words carefully. Whe she spoke her voice was measured, controlled.

“I know I'm supposed to be rooting for Lance," she said. "He's like me, born of high station. Father would like nothing better than to see me married to him, but... I can't say why, Tiberius. Maybe it's because we were teammates during the hunt, maybe it's because I wouldn't still be in the competition if it wasn't for you. Whatever it is... If I can't win, then I hope it's you."

My heart leaped and my breathing hitched. I tried to be cool, tried to keep my emotions in check as she spoke to me. I tried to compose myself, but I felt my cheeks redden.

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She grew steely then. Her face hardened. But, for all her sudden seriousness, there was a playful turn to her lips. "I still intend to win the suit, Tiberius. If we lock swords again, I won't go easy on you. And you haven't gone so far ahead that I can't catch you."

She started to walk down the steps then. But she paused, looking back up at me from her position a few steps below. The beating sun made her hair seem to glow. She looked like a goddess visiting earth out of curiosity, radiant and untouchable.

"But really, good luck, Tiberius," she said. "You’ve taught me something about all this station talk. I can't imagine someone more worthy of the suit than you."

Lauren walked away, her carriage waiting below. I openly stared at her as she went. Part of me was processing the meaning of what had passed between us. Part of me just couldn’t turn away from her form. The way she walked, the confidence, the seductive sway of her hips. Her shapely form captivated me, and I found my gaze following her every step. Maybe she really was a goddess.

Suddenly, a female voice cleared itself behind me, startling me badly. I spun around, embarrassed that I had been caught staring. Katya stood several steps above me, her expression unreadable. Nothing about Katya was ever easy to decipher. She measured me carefully with her stern gaze, her small features both intimidating and alluring.

"You have certainly improved your bargaining position today, Tiberius," she said.

"How does that work?" I replied, still flustered.

Katya walked down the steps, getting closer to me. My heart, which had only just begun to recover from being near Lauren, started to race again. Her gaze was predatory but not in a bad way; she was measuring me like a piece of meat, and I found myself surprisingly okay with it.

She said, "You surprised me today. I didn't expect so much from you. You're one of the favorites now."

I stammered, "We never actually made an agreement."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, her exotic features like a painting. "We were close enough, and I have decided that I don't want our arrangement to fade so easily. Let's train, but this time I offer to share my secrets as well. I still want yours. I would prefer to be the Griidlord in our marriage, but I see now, suddenly, that that may not become the case."

I tried to gather myself, attempting to appear barely interested. "I haven't actually agreed to anything," I said. "I might have other suitors."

Katya's eyes flicked to Lauren's carriage as it pulled away. "She would make a fine suitor as well, and I enjoy competition, Tiberius. She has the wealth of a Bostonian noble, but don't forget, I am a Princess. Our children would be royal." My cheeks flushed at her presumption, at the thought of having children with her, and most of all, at the imaginings of making children with her. She continued, "But more importantly, I am Floridian, and we know how to take care of our men. You will be much better off with me, Tiberius. I'll show you."

She descended the steps until she was standing on the same one as I was. Unlike Lauren, she stood much shorter than I did. Her body might not have been as ripe and full as Lauren's, but she was so lithe and petite that she made my heart scream at her closeness. "We bicker over nothing. Tomorrow, one or both of us may be ejected from the competition. I propose we meet here in the evening, at the seventh bell, and see what we can share with each other that may give one of us the chance to make sure our children have a Griidlord for a parent."

Again, I stammered, unable to fathom how to respond. She said, "My trainers are awaiting me. Until this evening." With that, she was gone.

You'll judge me, I know you will, and you're right to, but my eyes followed her backside as she walked away. I don't doubt that both women knew I watched them as they walked away, but Katya, unlike Lauren, walked as though she knew she was being watched. She walked as though she liked it.

I walked down the steps, feeling weak at the knees after my encounters with Lauren and Katya. My mind spun. What was the meaning their words? The fairer sex was such a frustrating mystery to me. I cursed my father again. The other men weren’t like this. They knew how to talk to Katya, Lauren and the others.

My mind wandered to what the evening would hold. To my rendezvous with Katya.

Before anything else, I would return to my father’s house.