Lisen Vaal moved first—not to attack, but to retreat.
Smart.
A mage-class needed distance to cast, and she was already stepping behind the command table, her hands coming up, static building in the air around her fingers. The duelist moved at the same moment, closing the gap with the speed of someone whose entire class was built around killing things at close range. His blade was a thin rapier, the point gleaming with condensed dimensional energy, and it came at Cael's throat with the precision of ten thousand hours of practice.
Cael sidestepped. Hollow Step folded the space, three feet to the right, and the rapier passed through empty air. The duelist recalibrated instantly, the blade redirecting in a tight arc. Cael was already gone. Predator's Wind pushed him through the gap between
