Saturday morning arrived with William sleeping through dawn combat training for the first time in months. His body had apparently decided that after three consecutive days of intense competition, it deserved actual rest regardless of his normal schedule.
He woke around mid-morning to find Kai still reading at his desk.
"You missed breakfast," Kai observed. "Also missed about fifteen people knocking on the door looking for you. I told them all you were dead and to come back later."
"Helpful."
"I try." Kai turned a page. "There's food on your desk. Mira dropped it off an hour ago and insisted I make sure you ate it."
William sat up and found a wrapped plate with bread, cheese, and some kind of meat that was still warm. He ate while Kai continued reading, the comfortable silence disturbed only by occasional page turns.
"The house celebration is tonight," Kai mentioned after a while. "Mira said it's mandatory for the three team members. Those were her words, not mine."
