The two knights parried a couple more times before Irene could no longer ignore what Felix was saying about himself or the disappointed expression he wore. She stopped his soft slash with her gloved hand and made him focus on the words he was saying rather than their swords.
"Don't say that," Irene insisted. "What happened that would make you think that about yourself?"
Felix sighed, relenting as he lowered the wooden practice sword. "There are things I shouldn't talk to a woman about, but a woman happens to be my dearest friend, so I'm a bit divided."
"My mother will remind you that I'm hardly a woman at all," Irene joked, still licking her wounds from the night before. "If there's someone you can talk to, it's me."
Felix chuckled and shook his head, but it lacked humor, and Irene felt bad.
"Seriously, Felix," she persisted.
