ELIA
Still on the ground, still finding her bearings, Elia shook her head again and forced herself to answer. "I can't fight someone who is mentally imbalanced," she said thickly. Her head rang, though it was fading quickly. But her jaw felt like it had been unhinged.
Lucine's eyes went wide and she seemed to swell, but before she took another shot at Elia, Lerrin caught her elbow. "Ignore her. She's taunting you. Again."
Lucine looked at him and something passed between them that niggled in Elia's stomach. Then Lucine nodded. When she turned back to Elia, her expression was blank, though her anger was still in her eyes. "Get to your feet," she commanded. "You are disputed. You may stand there and let me kill you if you wish, but we end this now."
Elia felt like she had been doused in ice water that froze her in place and stopped her lungs.
She was going to fight Lucine.
And she was going to lose.
