A Pixie’s Concerns (Dani’s POV)
“I can’t believe she has to duel with Ian. I’m not sure whom I feel worse for.” I flopped ungracefully onto the couch beside Sheldon. The fuzzball lifted his head from his nap long enough to survey me before lowering his head again.
“If the duel was between Hudraer and Ian, there would be no contest. The Dragon would destroy Ian faster then we could expect. Ian against a Dragon warrior would at least be a fair fight. Ian against Kat though… she isn’t a speed caster, she isn’t a trained warrior, she isn’t a full blooded anything.” Sheldon rolled over, exposing his belly, and looked at me. “Ian will most likely win and there is about a 50/50 chance he may kill Kat in the process. If he doesn’t, who knows what Cariss will do to her.”
“I can’t believe that Hue is letting this happen. He’s so protective of Kat.”
“Yes, but understand this isn’t about the life of one, it’s about the lives of everyone in the nest. Sometimes being the leader means making the hard sacrifices.” Sheldon had wanted to know all about the duel when I returned home. Oliver had done his best to explain everything to us both but now that it was just the cat and I we could discuss it easier.
“I don’t want my bestie to die. Is there a chance she could win? I mean she did beat the high priestess.”
“That was fate,” argued Sheldon. “Fate is written and can’t be undone.”
“Don’t let Kat hear you say that. She firmly believes we write our own destiny. Let’s say it wasn’t fate?” I begged.
Sheldon looked deep in thought for a moment.”Ok, let’s say that Fate holds nothing on her. She has no threads in the grand tapestry that apply to Kat, then yes. Yes, there would be a chance that Kat could defeat Ian. She’s in theory much stronger and better trained than she was when she faced off against Avrae. She has trained with Hudraer… so I guess if it gives you a layer of hope, then yes it is possible.”
“Why do you make it sound like such a long shot?”
“Because it is,” he purred. “She accepted the terms. She named Ian as the other duelist. She could have requested being allowed a champion or let Cariss choose the competitor. I think she is foolish, personally. Pregnant or not I would have challenged Briar. Kat could have defeated Briar.”
“Kat’s sense of honor runs too deep to do that.” I reached out, reflexively petting his stomach. In times of stress, petting Sheldon always made me feel better.
“Then her sense of honor will be her downfall. It’s unfortunate – despite her being a bad influence on you she always fed me the best morsels of food and kitty treats.”
“Stop it! Stop talking about her like she has already lost. I believe in her.”
Sheldon sighed heavily and closed his eyes saying nothing else on the topic.
