Professor Hanae looked up from her clipboard when we walked in, took one look at my face, and set it down.
"Cabana," I said.
She wrote it down without comment. She'd seen enough tournaments to know that arguing with the student who just broke Julian Valerius's hand in front of twenty thousand people was a waste of everyone's time.
"Finals start in ninety minutes. Don't be late."
We walked back out.
Isabelle fell into step beside me, her spear resting against her shoulder at an angle that would have looked casual on anyone else. On her it looked like a queen carrying her own scepter. She didn't say anything for a long moment. The corridor smelled like disinfectant and old stone.
"You know she'll have spent the last hour adapting."
"Yeah."
"She fought Natalia and Kira simultaneously. Created ten marionettes at once. That's not just talent, that's professional conditioning. She'll come in fresh enough to be dangerous."
"I know."
"And you're choosing her anyway."
"Isabelle."
