"Sylvia," Lucas said, adjusting the hemisphere in his arms and watching the standoff ahead of him with the mild expression of someone observing something they have no strong feelings about. "Don't you think you're enjoying this a little too much?" He tilted his head slightly. "You could've ended this already if you actually wanted to."
"It's MINE—"
The shout arrived at the same moment the offensive cadet did.
He was gone from Sylvia's sightline between one breath and the next — a burst of speed that blurred his figure sideways, reappearing in front of Lucas mid-air, blade already angled down toward the hemisphere, the gap between them closing in a heartbeat.
'Hah.' The grin was already on his face as he came down. 'You first-years really think you belong up here with us. Maybe the girl has something. But him?' His eyes locked on the glass sphere in Lucas's hands. 'All I need is this. One move and it's done.'
The distance collapsed.
His hand reached forward. Inches away.
