She was a real challenge, unafraid of me no matter what I threw at her and capable of matching or even besting me in every way. I’d never met a girl like her before. She was my equal. She had no interest in my power or my name so every piece of attention she threw my way was earned by me. She actually cared about who I was over what I was. And even though she hated what she found most of the time, she still saw me. And the idea of that was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.

