Then fatigue crept in. My guard dropped—just for a moment.

Lando seized it. His boot connected sharply with my ribs, knocking the air from my lungs. Pain exploded through my side as I collapsed, curling instinctively around the ache.

​

Cold steel pressed beneath my chin, tilting my head upward. Lando’s grin hovered above me, triumphant.

​

“Aww,” he crooned mockingly, “and so the mighty prince falls again. Aren’t you adorable, kneeling like that?” He laughed—a sharp, cruel sound that carried across the training yard.