Chapter 33: Downfall
Contrary to what most would expect from a man drenched in sweat, sliced open in half a dozen places, and backed into a corner of a collapsing strategy, Kael felt something close to euphoria.
Aric Blackthorn had turned out to be far more dangerous than even Kael’s nightmares had accounted for. The bastard was not just skilled in battle — he was a tactician, a relentless calculator who seemed to perceive the present like it was already a memory.
Aric had mapped out both Kael and Kendal’s movements from the very start. Every dodge, every counter, every misstep had been anticipated. As if he had run the entire encounter in a mental simulation before the first blow was ever struck.
And yet, as Kael exhaled through trembling lungs and wiped blood-slick sweat from his bro
