The training yard had never held this many witnesses before.
Lords lined the stone walls, nobles crowded the upper balconies, and Garrick stood near the front with an expression caught between satisfaction and uncertainty, clearly unprepared for the challenge Elena had turned into something he had not fully anticipated.
Elena stood at the center of the yard, stripped of formal robes, dressed instead in simple training leathers, a practice sword resting easily in her grip. Logan faced her from several paces away, his own blade steady despite the wound still healing beneath his shirt.
"This is the Trial of Worth," the royal adviser announced to the gathered court. "By ancient Alpha law, the challenging bride tests her intended through combat, witnessed by the full court, until one party y
