electrical charge in the air as the two of them met in the middle of the tilt wooden barrier.
As they shook hands, they uttered a few words. None of which anyone could hear. Then they both dropped their eye guards
down before heading back to mount their horses.
“Four rounds, they only have to go four rounds without knocking each other off their horses,” Talia muttered as the first
round began.
As the first round began, they both avoided striking one another. The crowd voiced their disapproval in loud boos. Things
changed in the second round. Norok hit Cole, making him rear back. Cole barely managed to stabilise himself to keep from
falling off his horse. Cheers rang out as Cole lost his lance in the process.
Someone collected the lance, handing it back to Cole. When the third round began, this time they rode faster than before.
They were clearly egging each other on, hoping to give a finishing blow as they grew closer to the middle. Once they were
within reach, they both raised their lances and prepared to strike.
As Norok rode past Cole, he missed him by an inch. However, Cole caught Norok, the crowd letting loose a collective
gasp. When Norok lifted his helmet off, there was a dark red mark on his neck that I assumed to be blood. Hopefully it wasn't
something that would later cause problems with Father.
The arena grew silent in anticipation. The last round would declare the winner. Whoever won would go onto the final
round against the last rider. Norok and Cole both did equally well in all of the rounds they’d been placed in. They were evenly
matched.
As they set up their final shot, I leaned against the bannister of our box and watched. My stomach started doing twists and
turns as I swallowed hard. My nerves were wrecking themselves through my body. Talia clung to one of my arms, Gelda held
tightly on the other. Even Father had shifted forward to watch.
If Norok was beaten by a lord, Father would not let it go. He, after all, was our crowned prince. That meant he should not
be beaten. Although I knew Norok wouldn’t want to win by someone throwing in the towel, he was competitive. That meant
winning the fair way.
The air was charged with adrenaline.
As the bell rang and the flag went down, they began charging at each other with great speed. And as much as I wanted to
cover my eyes, I could not make myself look away. I needed to see what happened.
My breath stalled in my lungs as I watched Norok fall from his horse. Gelda let out a shrill scream from beside me. To
everyone's horror, the frightened horse trampled over Norok before bolting off.
I stood frozen to the spot as many people ran towards Norok. Even Father left his seat, rushing to his aid. I couldn’t
breathe.