It teically wasn’t the worst case sario. That would have been a party hunting down enemy delving groups with io kill. Iheir opposition was a group of other Teudents, so their literal safety—ihal sense—was assured. Maybe tensioween House Beaumon and Parda-Halt were high, but Natalie was y-nine pert sure that murder wasn’t oable. Especially since Liz wasn’t that important inside House Beaumon. Though maybe that was worse for their situation. Natalie really wouldn’t know. Politics.

  Elida’s party was posed of, unsurprisingly, five people in the archetypal yout. Elida herself was her team’s rogue. The heavily armored boy at the front, the tank, hadn’t removed his helm, so Natalie couldn’t make out much of him. From his gear alohough, she could tell he was even more defensively focused than the average tank. She thought his name was Otto, but wasn’t sure.

  The fighter, a boy with green hair, a crooked nose, and a scar on his lower lip, Natalie reized from yesterday’s spars. Another member of css twelve, as Elida. She couldn’t remember his name. He’d been good—as all of css twelve.

  Finally, the bae was posed of their healer, a girl with long brown hair, and a mage with short e hair. Natalie didn’t reize the mage, but the healer was another of css twelve. That wasn’t surprising; petent delvers usually wao group with one another.

  Natalie didn’t get a ake more than a superficial appraisal of her oppos. Arriving within a distahey could casually speak, Elida was happy to take the opportunity.

  “My, my, my,” the red-head’s amused voice rang out. “What do we have here? Is that you, dear Elizabeth? And your wonderful colle of strays, no less. How fortuitous of a meeting.”

  By the girl’s tone alone, Natalie’s hopes that this enter wouldn’t be antagonistic evaporated. Now, she just hoped it would be refraio insults. Even that she found herself dubious on. The glint in Elida’s eyes was a bit too excited—a bit too opportunistic.

  “Elida,” Liz returned frostily. “Yes. How o see you.”

  Hearing Liz take an unfriendly tone was, funny enough, the most shog part of everything. Natalie got the sudden impression that more than a house rivalry, there was some personal dislike mixed iweewo girls.

  Which, great. Eveer.

  The ‘colle of strays’ ent hadn’t endeared Elida to Natalie, obviously, and she was definitely pissed off from it, but she was still digesting what was going on. She would really rather this unfortunate enter ly and without i. She wao be on with delving—seeking out a boss, not dealing with Te politics.

  “And you as well, of course,” Elida said politely, her expression belying the seemingly friendly tohe two girls studied each other for a long moment, when Elida finally tinued: “So. How’s the delve going, Lizzy?”

  “Don’t call me that,” Liz said ftly.

  Elida’s grin wide the response. She didn’t address it. “We haven’t been having much luck, ourselves. Not a single unon, the whole way through—and we’ve found two mini bosses. The dungeon’s being stingy, today.”

  Natalie would’ve sympathized—that was rather unfortu for obvious reasons, failed te up ahy.

  “I was starting to wonder whether the whole expedition would be so unlucky,” Elida tinued. “But, ah, it s forever. Here it is. Our windfall. In such wonderful form.” Her eyes roved across Natalie’s party, the predatory smirk apanying her words making her iions clear.

  Natalie internally grimaced. Not that she was surprised. She’d had a feeling what this would turn into the moment they’d bumped into another party—and doubly so when it turned out to be Elida.

  “I like that wand, especially,” Elida said. “Is it new? I wonder how much it’ll go for on the Exge.”

  Liz’s grip tightened on the shaft of wood. She, like Natalie, didn’t seem surprised at the threat.

  So.

  This would be ing to a fight, then.

  Natalie sed the faces of Elida’s team. Though the red-haired woman had jumped to the implication of a fight in just a few sentehe rest of her team didn’t seem half as eager. Rather, all four of them seemed unfortable by this enter. Though not unwilling. They might not want to attaatalie’s group, but it was clear where their allegiances y. If Elida—the clear leader of the this group, by status if not literally—told them to, then they would.

  And Natalie didn’t like her team’s odds. At least three of their oppos were from css twelve, which yesterday’s spars had shown to be, probably, the best students of the year. As expected of Elida’s teammates—who Camille predicted to be easily withiop five, possibly the best siudent of the year.

  No, if it came to a fight, Natalie didn’t see them winning. That stung, and she had zero iions to roll over and give up, but she could still face the facts. They were outmatched.

  “You wouldn’t,” Liz finally said. “It’s against Te policy.”

  The statement was endearing, though it made Natalie want to snort. She had a feeling Elida didn’t care much about policy. And attag other students in the dungeon wasn’t an expelble offense. Not an insignifit oher, but Te didn’t miing rivalries foster between their students. flict created better delvers. Just no killing.

  “I wouldn’t?” Elida asked ily. She looked around, blinking to her teammates, in fake surprise. “If you ask me, not taking easy pigs when they arrive—that would be uncharacteristic. But I uand. You’ve always had too high of an opinion of me, Lizzy. I’m not half as nice as you think I am.”

  “I said don’t call me that,” Liz growled.

  Again, the hostile response had Natalie off-foot. She’d never heard Liz be more than mildly annoyed, much less ht angry.

  “And I think in exge for a pay day, we handle some kit duty,” Elida said. “See, I don’t miing my hands dirty. In fact, I quite like it.”

  She tilted her head.

  “But more importantly than the loot,” Elida said, “getting to take a Beaumon down a few notches. That’s the real prize.”

  “One corre,” Natalie said.

  Elida turo her, seeming surprised that Natalie had spoken. Both teams had remained quiet, this clearly being—more than anything—an enter between Beaumon and Parda-Halt.

  Still, the surprise annoyed Natalie more, somehow, thahing else. As if it wasn’t Natalie’s pce to be iing herself into this enter, wheeam—and she herself—had also been threatened.

  “Oh?” Elida asked, sounding genuinely intrigued.

  “You said easy pigs,” Natalie said. “I’m going to have fun proving that wrong.” She shrugged. “Just wao say that.”

  Maybe an attempt as deescation was the proper way to hahis. But not only had Elida pissed her off, but she didn’t think defusing the situation ossible. The heavens had clearly interveo make this happen. sidering who was oeam, and who was on the enemy’s, there weren’t many ways this ended without violence.

  “My,” Elida said, appraising Natalie in a new light. “Maybe that’s even true.” She smiled. “For strays, I will admit I’ve been impressed. Natalie, right?”

  “So is it a fight, or what?” Natalie asked. She had no i in sparring verbally with this woman. She’d probably lose. Natalie would normally take so the fact she could win the real fight, but that wasn’t true either, likely. She rolled her grip on her hammer, a that.

  “And so eager, too,” Elida said. “It’s a shame you’re with Lizzy. I think I like you.” Her eyes flicked across the group, to the rest of Natalie’s team. “Please know it’s not personal. You four are simply on the wrong side of the li’s how these things go.”

  An attad robbery, mixed with insults, wasn’t personal?

  Somehow, Natalie even sehat Elida meant it.

  Nobility.

  “But yes,” Elida said. “A fight.” She raised her daggers, then sneered. “If you call it that.”