Chapter 34 Clashing Blades

The noise of the loud music was finally gone, and the crowd of people were already dispersing, opening the door in front of me with a push of my foot, I stepped out of the balcony.

My heart was pounding loud in my chest, *dun* *dun* I felt an excitement flowing through my veins, I was ready. I tightened my grip around the hilt of the sword in my hand, Zuri, my small fairy companion was fluttering her wings rapidly, keeping up with my pace.

I glanced back at the balcony where the king was sitting before, hoping he would come outside and watch me fight Ewen. But there was no time to waste on sentimentality. I had a job to do, and I was determined to see it through to the end. I turned away from the balcony and made my way down the spiral staircase, Zuri trailing behind me.

As we descended, I could feel the weight of the situation bearing down on me. I had to prove myself, prove my status and don't allow any ridiculous rumours of me being weak to spread. Finally, we reached the bottom of the staircase, and I stepped out into the garden.

"Rowen, do you really have to do this?" Irene's and trembling voice greeted me, having Nari and Serenu behind her, 'oh, here he is,' I thought while I looked at Serenu and then at Nari.

"Nari said she was okay with it, don't you think you're overreacting a little bit now?" She spoke slowly, in a curious tone, slightly moving her head.

She was intelligent and I knew she didn't like violence, but that was not the point, "Irene," I called out her name, "If I won't do anything right now, everyone will take me as a coward," I slowly began explaining, "a coward who feared to fight, this way not only my name will be tarnished, but our family's too..." I looked at her eyes, they were filled with concern for me, "...and I can't let that happen."

"You shouldn't have to do this alone, don't you think?" She asked, "you should ask Serenu instead..."

Her sentence made my inner self sigh. But I shook my head, "no, I'm doing this because I want to prove that no one should mess with Dragon's family, we're the family of Dukes, God damn it!" I raised my voice, "our family is the second family on the throne and do you think people will respect us if we show any weakness or decide to back down?" I looked at Irene, "do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Yes," she said, nodding.

"Good, so help me out and make sure to stay away from the battle, you and Nari," I assured while giving a small glance at her.

She still looked like she had no pride in herself, "I will take care of this," I looked at Serenu, "make sure they're safe," seeing him give me a small bow, I walked away.

"Zuri, can others see you?"

[No, unless you order me to reveal myself to others, but they can hear you when you talk to me] she replied to the other question I was going to ask, she was intelligent, indeed.

"Good, so don't show yourself!"

While I was lost in a conversation with Zuri, it didn't take long for Ewen to appear. He emerged from behind a nearby tree outside the garden. His face twisted as he brandished his own weapon. I tensed my grip on my sword, tightening as I prepared for the coming battle, "and here I thought to have a fair one on one fight," I shook my head, "Zuri!"

[Roger that] She flew inside the sword I was holding onto.

The minute she vanished, the sword in my hand got bigger, making me change the way I was holding it.

I took a step forward, preparing for the attack. My body became tense and my heart was thumping fast, I could feel the sweat running down my forehead. The moment of truth had come, I was about to experience the third battle of my life.

Without a word, we charged at each other, our weapons clashing in a shower of spark, 'tsk!' I fought with all my might, my mind focused solely on the task at hand. I knew I couldn't afford to let my guard down for even a second.

As the minutes ticked by, the struggle between us grew more and more intense, [Rowen, lower your sword] Zuri spoke from the inside, and I listened.

The minute I did that, his blade stopped its swing, and he turned around to face me. His eyes met mine, and I could see the determination in them as well, he wanted to win just as badly as I did.

"You will never win against me," he spoke through his gritted teeth.

I clenched my jaw as I didn't want to waste any energy arguing with him, but I had to reply, "just saying that doesn't mean anything."

Before he could retort, I attacked, aiming at his throat, but he managed to block the blow with his own sword, making the two of us stand still, "Zuri!" I shouted and my sword got smaller, immediately, feeling lighter, I swung at Ewen's arm.

He blocked the strike and brought his blade to rest on my shoulder, making the ground tremble.

'Shit, how did he manage to block that?'

[Rowen, his left side is weak, use it to your advantage]

I did exactly as I was told, jumping backwards, so that my feet were now under my hips, I stabbed my sword at his belly, hoping to hit something vital, but he caught my wrist with his free hand, "damn it!" I yelled as the blade slid along his arm, hitting his shoulder instead.

"Well, you've proven your strength," he smiled as blood dripped down his arm.

But my mood changed the instant I saw the blood dripping on the ground.

"Damn it!"

I grabbed his wrist and twisted it, putting enough pressure on him, hoping to break his bones, "uugh!" I gritted my teeth, trying to stifle the pain and frustration that coursed through me.

At the same time, I pushed forward, swinging my other fist at his jaw, "you son of a bitch!"

My heart raced as I thrust my tired arms at him, frustration boiling inside me as my adrenaline surged.

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "Ow! shit!"

His face flew back, making him release my wrist, and I threw him to the floor, where he fell unconscious for a moment.

The next thing that happened, surprised me. I knew Rowen had that talent, but I thought I wasn't ready to use it, I didn't even know how to use it… The falling blood from my nose detached itself from my skin, "blood???" I felt a lot of pressure forming in my head, "this can't be! Blood manipulation!"