We made camp that evening in a clearing off the main road, wide enough for training but secluded enough to avoid prying eyes. Marcus and Elena set up a perimeter while Valerie's messenger rode ahead toward the capital to find William.
"He might not even be there yet," I said as we unpacked.
"He left Ashford three days before us. He's there." Valerie was organizing training equipment with the efficiency of a general preparing for war. "The question is whether he'll come back."
"What are the odds?"
"Much better than you think. William is pragmatic. He knows Thomas Valdris is a political player, and political players destabilize things. William wants stability." She set down a practice sword. "Plus, I may have worded the letter very carefully."
"How carefully?"
"I told him that if you die in a duel to Thomas Valdris, House Morvan and House Morningstar would be significantly weakened, creating a power vacuum that House Valdris would exploit. That destabilization could affect the crown's ability to respond to the increasing monster crisis."
"So you appealed to his sense of duty to the kingdom."
"I appealed to reality. All of that is true." She looked at me. "The fact that I also mentioned you're the only thing standing between me and a political marriage to someone awful was just... additional context."
I blinked. "You what?"
"If you die, my father will need to secure other alliances. That means marrying me off to whatever noble can provide the most advantage." She said it matter-of-factly, like discussing the weather. "I made sure William understood that outcome."
"Valerie, you're using yourself as leverage."
"I'm using facts as motivation. There's a difference." She handed me the practice sword. "Now stop talking and start moving. We're burning daylight."
---
The next few hours were rough.
Valerie put me through combinations we had never practiced before, she taught different fighting styles designed specifically to counter fire magic users. How to close distance quickly, how to pressure them into mistakes, how to exploit the moments when they're channeling spells.
"Fire mages need time to build power," she explained, demonstrating with gestures. "Big, flashy spells require concentration. You interrupt that concentration, you turn their strength into a weakness."
"And if he uses quick spells?"
"Then you take the hits and keep advancing. Small fire spells sting but rarely incapacitate." She attacked with her practice sword, and I barely managed to block. "But you need to be aggressive and relentless. Make him react to you instead of the other way around."
We drilled until dark, then continued by firelight. Marcus joined us, offering tactical advice from his years of combat experience.
"The formal dueling arena in the capital has a dirt floor," he said. "Use that as an advantage. Kick up dust to obscure his vision. Make him waste mana on attacks that miss."
"That's fighting dirty," I said.
"That's fighting smart. Honor means nothing if you're dead." He demonstrated a move that involved using footwork to stay in an opponent's blind spot. "In formal duels, killing is forbidden, but maiming is accepted. He'll try to cripple you early—go for your sword arm or your legs. Protect those."
Elena added defensive techniques, ways to minimize damage from attacks I couldn't avoid entirely.
"Fire magic burns, but leather armor can absorb some of it," she said. "Take glancing blows on protected areas. Save your dodges for direct hits."
By the time we stopped for the night, I could barely stand. Every muscle screamed. My hands were raw from the sword grip. But I'd learned more in those few hours than in weeks of regular training.
Valerie found me sitting by the fire, staring into the flames.
"You're worried," she said, sitting beside me.
"I'm terrified. There's a difference."
"You don't have to do this. We could leave the capital, refuse the summons—"
"And let Valdris win without even trying? Let them undermine everything we've built?" I shook my head. "No. I fight."
"Even knowing you'll probably lose?"
"Especially knowing that." I looked at her. "Because win or lose, I need to show that I tried. That I'm not the same coward who would have run from this."
She was quiet for a moment. "You're not a coward, Chase. You never were. You were just... lost."
"And now I'm found. Thanks to you."
"Thanks to you," she corrected. "I just gave you a reason to try."
She leaned against me, and we sat in silence watching the fire. Around us, the camp settled into night watch routines. Guards patrolling, horses being tended, the normal sounds of travel.
"What happens if you lose?" Valerie asked quietly.
"Publicly? I'm humiliated. Our credibility is damaged. Valdris gains political capital."
"And physically?"
"Best case? Broken bones, burns, maybe permanent scarring. Worst case?" I paused. "I don't want to think about worst case."
Her hand found mine. "Then we make sure worst case doesn't happen."
----
[One more chapters coming!]