#Chapter 34: Time To Breathe

Rowena

I pushed through the crowd that had formed around my brother and another warrior. They were circling each other as though they were about to fight, although just a few minutes ago Eric had been standing by the poolside.

“What’s going on?” I asked, tapping a nearby warrior on his shoulder.

“This guy just challenged Eric Griffith, of all people, to a spar,” the warrior replied. “He’s about to get his ass kicked.”

I furrowed my brow. The warrior who had challenged Eric seemed younger, and judging from his posture and muscle definition, he wasn’t nearly as experienced with fighting as Eric was. But it was already too late for me to step in; the fight had already begun, and now I could only hope that Eric would take it easy on him.

As I watched the fight begin, I felt my blood pressure slowly rising. The other warrior’s footwork was all off; he was too green of a fighter for this. I tapped on the warrior’s shoulder beside me again and leaned over.

“Who is this guy?” I asked.

“Oh, I