Jia Sol led Vell through the auction's west exit and into a practice yard above the warehouse roofs. The black Project V case rested visibly on a bench beside her coat, but stealing it would start the fight early.
Yenna stayed near the stair door with both chains loose at her sides. She had recovered from the anchor procedure, but this was Vell's decision and Jia had made that plain from the start.
"Three minutes," Jia said, drawing a narrow practice blade from her harness, "no Forge tricks, no borrowed traits, and no Yenna helping when you make a mistake."
"You bought the fragment to get a sparring partner," Vell said, checking the rooftop rail behind him, "that is an expensive hobby."
"I bought the room's best lie detector," she replied, lifting her sword, "now I want to know whether you can fight when a screen does not save you."
