Once in a Dragon Moon - Ophelia Bell Page 0,28

better. His original argument to his dad for their trio finding a mate they could share was because it would strengthen the alliance between the three clans, while also giving him and his three best friends a bit more cover to remain lovers. The subtext, of course, was that the three heirs would then step up to lead.

Teague clapped him on the shoulder. “If it makes you feel better, we can just not tell the three old codgers that we found her at all. They’ve waited four years too. They can wait a little longer for the news. The way I see it, it isn’t lying. It’s a secret, but one that’ll benefit everyone involved for the time being. Especially since her priority is becoming a champion.”

Jacob winced at that reminder. It had been almost two weeks since they’d found Ksenia and given her their marks, yet she was still holding off on marking them. He wondered if it had anything to do with whatever she was hiding about her origins. The wait was killing him, but he was just as invested in helping her achieve her dream as the others, and he hoped to hell Teague was right and she’d tell them in her own time.

An excited squeal from downstairs made them look up in surprise, then running footsteps sounded, followed by a slower set.

Ksenia burst through the door with wide eyes and a big grin. She was still in her robe and wearing nothing beneath. The big fluffy garment was her preferred attire on days off, which lent itself to frequent trysts, an activity she seemingly had boundless energy for, much to his and his partners’ delight.

“They posted the solo bracket! I finally get to see who I’m matched against. I haven’t opened the message. Will you guys look with me? I’m so excited I’m shaking!”

She held out the small tablet that indeed wobbled in her hand. Gunther caught up to her a second later, an indulgent smirk on his face and a kitchen towel tossed over one shoulder. He slid an arm around Ksenia’s waist, and she leaned into him with a small sigh as Teague and Jacob stood and came around the desk, taking the tablet from her.

Jacob tapped the screen and swiped the announcement, then tapped again so the larger screen on his wall filled with the message. Another tap and the multi-pronged design appeared, with names and logos on each section to indicate which solo champions would fight each other in each round.

There were about two dozen fighters in the first round, matched at a variety of skill levels, but as was expected, the highest ranked fighters were at opposite ends of the bracket to avoid meeting up too soon. But as a newly minted champion, Ksenia had no official ranking so she was a wild card, which meant she could be matched against anyone in the first round. Jacob hoped that the League would take her virtual scores into account and assign her a seed appropriate to her skill, rather than her lack of fighting history, but there was a chance she’d wind up last no matter what, which didn’t bode well. Typically the lowest-ranking fighter went up against the highest in round one.

Jacob blew up the graphic so they could get a better look and scrolled down the list of pairings. His heart nearly stopped when he got to the line that read “Desert Flame.”

“Oh, fuck,” Teague muttered.

At the same time, Ksenia said, “Fucking hell yes! I’m fighting Midnight Star!”

11

Ksenia

“Guys, how is this not a good thing? If I win, it means the rest of the tournament is a sure thing. Or don’t you think I’m up to the task?”

“Honey, it isn’t that,” Gunther said. “Astra’s the reigning solo tournament champion for a reason. I have no doubt you’d give her a good fight, but this doesn’t bode well for a first match. If you were up against anyone else, your odds of winning would be a lot higher. Not her.”

Ksenia speared him with a hard look. “Yes, she is the best, which is why I’ve been studying her fights for hours at a time, over and over. I’ve run simulations countless times against avatars created with her style built in. After all that practice, don’t you think I understand her fighting style better than anyone’s? I know I can beat her. I learned as much from her as I learned from you guys.”

“There isn’t anything we can do about it now,