*****

"Where did Valerio go?"

"He said he had some business at one of the ports owned by his family", Caden replied smoothly.

Allister narrowed his eyes. "What kind of business?"

"I wouldn't know now, would I?", Caden shrugged noncommittally. "No one does until Valerio wants them to know! You know how he is."

"Why do I think that it is related to Amara?", Allister muttered.

"Why would it be?",Caden asked rhetorically, leaning back against the balcony railing. He wouldn't admit but it was a thought that was at the forefront of his mind too.

Allister's didn't answer immediately, his eyes sweeping over the Sullivan Estate grounds, a contemplative expression on his face.

"Have you seen Valerio interact with her?",he finally asked.

Caden's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Just once at the party and at the dinner the other night. Why?"

Allister scoffed. "You should spend a little less time with your girlfriend then. Maybe then you'd realise what is happening in our sister's life."

Caden's face became stone cold. "Don't even go there Romero", he warned. "I care about Amara as much as you do."

"Do you?!", Allister muttered coolly.

Caden's eyes darkened. "Don't make me forget the basic principle of guest rites. My mother will be very cross with me if I do!"

Allister snorted.

"Get to the point now", Caden snapped impatiently.

"He is different with her", Allister answered, "unlike anything I could've ever expected from him. Unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. Whenever he looks at her...", he sighed heavily, a faraway look in his eyes. "It's like she is the reason why he even breaths."

Caden raised his eyebrows, highly amused. "That was very poetic. Are you taking lessons on literature in your spare time?", he mocked.

"This is not funny!", Allister snapped. "Valerio has loved her for far too long. He is...", he stopped, searching for a suitable word, "desperate for her affections. Starved almost!"

The humor on Caden's face dissappeared at once. "What are you insinuating?"

"Nothing!", he shrugged. "I just have a feeling that something major is going to happen during our time here."

"You're thinking too much about it", Caden muttered. "Valerio probably just got annoyed with the time we lost in that useless interrogation room. That man knew nothing of importance."

"It was a waste", Allister agreed.

The two boys fell quite, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Father told me last night that we would be going to Chicago earlier than what was planned", Caden broke the silence.

"Yes, I heard something similar as well. How early though?"

"Two, three days at best", Caden answered. "We won't be here for the entirety of the Fest."

"It was anyway an elaborate hoax conducted as a cover for our activities at the Chicago convention", Allister muttered dismissively. "Will your entire family attend the gathering?", he asked curiously.

"Grandpa wants Liam, Cian and I to go with him, off course. And Uncle Logan will be flying down from Australia."

Allister was stunned when he heard that.

Logan Sullivan, Cian's father and the Don Sean Sullivan's second son, had become an absolutely reclusive man in the past few years, and for him to attend any such conventions... Allister couldn't help but think that there was something else to it!

"Amara will be ecstatic", he offered.

Caden's eyes softened. "I'm sure she will be. Afterall, the last time they met was a year ago."

******

A heavy silence engulfed the room. The only sound were that of shoes hitting against marble as Damien paced frustratedly, a worried frown on his face.

Amara kept her eyes on him the entire time, a similar expression being reflected on her own face.

"Damien", she began hesitantly. "I..I need to tell yo-"

"Tell me what?", Damien snapped. "And why now anyway? Why not when you were submitting your name for the bloody combat?"

"Calm down, will you?", Veronica broke her silence then. "You didn't seem this worried to me a few minutes ago."

Damien glared at her once, to which Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Getting selected to compete in the Combat for the First Blood is an honour, Amara should consider herself fortunate", she stated.

"An honour?", Damien repeated in disbelief, "I'd like you to say that in front of your boyfriend. And Allister. And Valerio", he scoffed. "Definitely, Valerio. He'd show you what he thinks about this honour."

Amara sank further into the couch as he turned his disapproving gaze towards her. "Amara is not going to be competing."

"You don't take decisions for her Damien. You are not the Don of the Romero family. You have no authority over her!",Veronica exclaimed.

"I am her brother",Damien replied back coldly. "You on the other hand have no say in our family matters until Caden puts a ring on your finger."

"Not long then",Veronica shrugged nonchalantly.

"Guys!", Serena, who had been watching the entire fiasco silently finally spoke, "The next round is going to begin in ten minutes. Amara should -"

"She is not fighting", Damien glared at Serena.

"Amara cannot back off now", Veronica spoke. "You cannot back off once you are selected for the combat. She is now fighting in the name of her family's honour."

Damien's eyes hardened at her words.

Amara rubbed her temples tiredly. She couldn't believe that it was only ten minutes ago that she had been sitting out and enjoying her first day back, but it had all gone up in toss after she had been selected for the next round of the combat event.

An event which she had not even voluntarily participated in!

Amara bit her lip nervously, glancing at Damien. She wanted to tell him that she had never put her name down for any fights or competitions. She had no interest in competing!

"Damien, please listen -"

"What is your problem?", Veronica shouted over her voice.

Amara jumped slightly as Damien banged his fist against the table in frustration.

"My problem", Damien spat,"is the customary way of how the combat ends."

"You're worrying about nothing", Veronica replied brazenly. "Amara wouldn't have put her name in for the competition if she wasn't confident about winning. Right, Amara?"

"And what if she never applied to take part in this event?", Serena finally burst out, stunning the other two. "I saw her expression when the participants for the next round were declared", she continued. "It wasn't an expression of someone expecting to be selected."

"You are being irrational", Veronica interjected calmly. "Who else would dare something like this? And why would anyone even do it? The kids in the academy aren't stupid. After the public display of how your cousin dealt with Niall and his friends, do you think anyone would dare commit such a grave mistake?"

"Keep quiet for two seconds, will you?",Damien muttered, annoyed. "Can you leave us alone for a few minutes?"

Veronica opened her mouth to object but Damien snapped, "Now!"

Serena left the room immediately followed by a grumbling and huffing Veronica.

"You shouldn't be so rude to her", Amara murmured softly. "She was trying to help in her own way."

"I don't like her, I don't know what Caden sees in her", Damien replied, "And she wasn't trying to help us in anyway. Veronica is a manipulator and she was trying to manipulate the situation according to what would suit her best."

"Why would she....?", Amara trailed off.

"Your win would be someone else's loss", he stated vaguely. "A loss worth celebrating as far as Veronica is concerned."

Amara blinked at him in confusion.

"Amara",Damien began, "I need to apologise to you first. I was just so shocked that I didn't even care to ask you whether you had really signed yourself up for the combat or not."

"I didn't", Amara finally told him. "I've been trying to tell you that but you didn't want to listen to me", she spoke dejectedly.

"I'm so sorry sorellina",Damien spoke, pulling her in for a loose hug. "I knew this wasn't your style but I was just so worried. You're suppose to be taking it easy and not fighting. You don't need to participate though. I'll sort everything out."

"How?", Amara murmured against his collar.

"Seeing who your opponent was going to be, I think I know who must have applied your name for this combat", Damien answered carefully.

Amara pulled away, staring at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Cian", he spat harshly. "He was the one. I'm sure of it! "

"No", Amara objected at once. "Why would Cian....? No!", she exclaimed.

"It makes sense", Damien replied, the gears in his head turning. "Who else would dare to do something like this except the one who refuses to follow rules when it comes to you? Who else would dare?"

Amara shook her head vigorously. Damien had it wrong. She knew it! She could feel in her bones how wrong the accusation on her Irish cousin was!

"No, it's not Cian",Amara repeated with conviction. "You can't just accuse him! "

"He has been behaving strangely since the morning. Cian was supposed to attend the meeting being held at the Sullivan manor along with the rest of the boys but he choose not to and instead came to school", Damien told her.

Cian had skipped a meeting?

Amara knew what meeting Damien was talking about. The meeting was the reason why none of her older cousins or Valerio were in the school at the moment.

"And he's been following us around."

"It's not him. Please stop saying it", Amara pleaded.

"Then who do you think is it?", Damien asked her coldly. "Look out! ", he jerked his head towards the glass panels, "There are more than a hundred students out there and yet no one would dare try anything. What do you think would Allister and I do to the one who tries?", he asked rhetorically. "And Valerio?!", Damien shuddered, "Do you have any idea of what limits he hmwill cross if you are hurt even slightly?"

Amara's mouth had turned dry as Damien continued speaking.

"One public display of his power and dominance is enough to keep everyone at bay except Cian. He's been asking for it!"

"You've got it wrong. Cian would never do that to me", Amara murmured emotionally.

Damien's eyes hardened, an old memory flashing before his eyes.

A dark night. Two kids. A piercing, shrill, scream...... And then, silence!

"We both know what he's capable of", Damien said bitterly.

"Come." he pulled her closer to the glass doors overlooking the arena. "Look out there. More than a hundred students are out in the stands right now. If not Cian then it's definitely one of them who is the culprit. Tell me who it is!",he ordered.

"H- how would I know?",Amara stuttered.

"Exactly my point!",Damien replied sternly. "You can't know that it's not Cian. And what a coincidence it is that your opponent is his —"

"What's happening here?",a familiar, gruff voice asked sternly.

The two teenagers jumped, turning towards the source as one.

Pietro strode inside the room, his eyes cold as he assessed the situation.

"What's taking you kids so long? Amara needs to come out now. The round is about to begin."

Amara glanced towards the crowded stands once again.

"Should I tell Uncle Pietro?",she thought internally.

Amara knew that if she told Uncle Pietro the truth then he wouldn't let her participate either. He would do his hardest to hunt the person who had signed her up for this without her consent.

And so would Valerio!

Amara had come to realise that he never gave out ideal threats and especially after the incident with the peppers, he had become more protective of her.

He would go ballistic and hunt the person responsible. But in the way how many would be put to blame? Would any innocent suffer because of one person's mistake?

"I was just about to come out", Amara told him, lowering her eyes. "Damien was explaining the rules to me."

She heard Damien suck in a sharp breath and she could clearly imagine the look of shock on his face at her blatant lie.

Pietro walked towards her, raising her chin gently. "You always lower your eyes when you try to lie", he told her calmly.

Amara opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off.

"I don't know what led you to participate in this event. You've never liked showing off your this particular talent", Pietro continued, chuckling gruffly at the last bit, "But I know that you are capable of winning", he stated firmly.

"You think so?",she asked him in a small voice.

"I know so, my warrior princess", he chuckled.

Amara smiled slightly, feeling relieved.

"Come, I'll explain the rules to you on our way out", Pietro ordered her.

Amara shuffled slightly, peering at Damien who had a hard expression on her face.

His eyes softened at her pleading look and he walked towards her, kissing the top of her head once. "Good luck! I know you can win. But if you feel unwell at all then you are to step out of the fight", he commanded. "It's only your first day back. Don't stress yourself too much."

"Please don't tell anyone about what I told you", Amara whispered softly in his ear.

Damien nodded reluctantly.

As Amara was about to step out, something struck her. She whirled around immediately. "What made you think that Cian.....who is my opponent?"

Damien stared at her with an undecipherable look on his face.

"Her name is Harley. And she is Cian's girlfriend!"

*******

A hush fell over the spectators as Amara walked out towards the fighting arena.

She scanned through the crowd once. From the sheer number of spectators, Amara was sure that more than half of the student body was out here.

"Here", Uncle Pietro said, walking towards her and carefully handing her the sword that she would be using.

The sword was as light as what a fencing sword was expected to be, but unlike it, the blade wasn't blunt. It was sharp and pointed.

"You remember your lessons, si?"

Amara nodded once, running her index finger along the blade carefully. "Three touches. Simple, ruthless and - if I get them right then painful to my opponent", she recited the childhood lesson.

"It's called the Combat for the First Blood for a reason, child", Pietro sighed. "I know that you don't like it but that's the only way. It's only with the spilling of blood that the combat ends."

"You can win, you will have to win because even if a single drop of your blood spills then both your grandfathers would make rivers of blood flow through this earth", he continued internally. "Not to forget what your Valentini admirer would do!"

"I know that I can try and win without making my opponent bleed", Amara stated, shaking him out of his musing."There are other ways too."

"Do what you think is right", Pietro told her, glancing around the arena which was now packed with students and guards alike. "Good luck princess."

Amara nodded her head once as she turned around and started walking towards the centre stage. On the outside, she appeared calm to the onlookers but on the inside, she was in a turmoil.

And the reason behind her worry was her opponent. Harley. Because how could Amara hurt the girl who her brother possibly loved?

A booming cheer went up in the crowd as Amara stepped inside the fighting circle. It was there that she saw Harley, already waiting for her.

Amara's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She had seen this girl somewhere before!

She didn't get a chance to think about it or even offer any introductions because soon after a whistle blew, indicating the start of the combat to the loud cheers.

Amara raised her sword high up, swinging it expertly once as the two girls began circling each other.

"So...you are Amara. Cian's sister", Harley spoke and without giving Amara a chance to answer, she lunged at her.

And Amara, she simply sidestepped her. That was all she had needed to do in her defence.

Amara had been trained in fencing and basics of sword fighting since a young age by Uncle Pietro, much to the consternation of Grandma Patricia.

Pietro had also taught her how to read her opponents. She had learnt long ago that if she wanted to win a fight then she would need to be evasive, rather than on the attack.

If Amara lacked what it took physically to win a fight, then her mind made up for it.

Amara darted to the right, hitting Harley in the ribs as she moved past her.

The crowd cheered loudly.

"Don't hold back, Amara!",she heard Uncle Pietro and Damien yell simultaneously from the sidelines.

Harley spun around and lunged toward where Amara had been standing. But Amara was no longer there, she had moved to the opposite side, striking Harley sideways for the second time as she did.

Their movements continued. Harley lunging and Amara darting away at the last moment before striking.

Harley was growing more frustrated with each hit. This girl before her was not sparing. No! She was dancing! Even in a physical combat, her movements weren't clumsy or half thought, they were graceful!

She felt foolish. Harley regretted underestimating the girl. She had assumed that this fragile looking doll would not know how to even raise a weapon let alone use it with such ease as she was doing now!

She needed another plan. Harley was sure that she wouldn't be able to take another painful hit. Her eyes narrowed in contemplation, a plan forming in her head.

This time she moved closer to Amara, with only a single purpose in her mind. It was a move that she had always felt difficult to play. But if it turned out right then Harley was sure that she would render Amara incapable of fighting back.