The hot desert wind lifted fine particles of sand that came to sting the skin. The air was heavy, charged with an almost palpable electricity. Olivia, motionless, nevertheless seemed elsewhere, her senses stretched toward the horizon.
"I think it's already started," she murmured with a smile.
Olivia gently brought her gaze back to Adrian, who stood a few meters away from her. Her smile widened, but her fingers mechanically caressed the ornate guard of her khopesh.
"And if we started too?" she added in a calm voice.
Adrian remained frozen for a few seconds. Then a mocking rictus stretched his thin lips, revealing his perfect teeth.
"Start?" he repeated, tilting his head slightly. "What made you think, even for a single second, that you're on my level, little sister?"
Olivia did not answer, her fingers wrapped around the handle of her curved weapon.
