Another day. Another ball. Although for this one, Eileen had a specific purpose in mind. She’d left Ayla talking with some of her acquaintances after telling her to stay within sight. Eileen knew Calvin O’Quinn was here and their chat was long overdue.

As she wandered through the droves of people, trying to find him, Eileen also tried her best to stay out of the sights of one person. She knew she was bound to run into the pompous prick at some point considering she was in his home, but she didn’t really want to deal with him again so early.

If she didn’t have a lead to chase, she’d never have come to the Prince mansion. That and Ayla’s mother’s insistence on it. The fact that there were likely people here who would remember Ayla had not slipped her mind. It was one of the reasons she insisted Ayla stay within sight.

No one was going to forget the fountain incident. At least that’s what she’d overheard Ayla’s mother saying when she’d gone to pick her up for this ball. It was easier to drive here and much more convenient if they wanted to leave early.

Glancing to the side, Eileen was pleased to see Nathaniel Prince nowhere in sight. Good. Hopefully it stayed that way for at least a few moments more if not the entire night.

Narrowing her eyes, she tried to spot a man with the russet brown hair and light bearding O’Quinn was said to be characterised with. It took only a few more seconds before she spotted him. A flicker of a frown came to her face. He wasn’t alone.

Creeping close, she made sure to stay just out of sight. Although the crowd of people around him was detrimental to the conversation she had wanted to have, it did help her blend in with the crowd.

“Was it very difficult handling that pack of wolves?” One of the men closer to him was asking.

“Not at all,” he answered in a flippant manner, “I had people around me who were of a lot of help in dealing with them. My men had already held slew the majority of them.”

“Still, going to handle rogue wolves outside of the Teodes border is so brave of you. You saved us all from their attacks.”

Eileen wanted to roll her eyes at the last remark. It was rare enough for wolves to be violent without being provoked. If they had, they’d be more likely to run off with chickens than attack people. They certainly wouldn’t want to travel so outside of their hunting ground to come into a city as large as Feagold.

“It was my pleasure, m’lady,” the man embellishing the task told her with a smile.

Once again, Eileen had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Although she had come over to talk to him about his talking about her family, she didn’t really think it was too necessary. Seeing him up close, he was a lot younger than she thought he would be.

She still found him suspicious, but a boy of fourteen was definitely not going to be behind a conspiracy to kill one of the most influential families in Teodes. Eileen didn’t know what she had been thinking. Had she really been that desperate for a lead?

Sighing, she decided it would be better to just go back to Ayla. It wasn’t as if she’d be able to ask him about her family without looking suspicious, so there was no point in wasting time. Maybe her possible meeting with Joseph Ellis would yield more results.

“I don’t believe we’ve met.” It took her a few seconds to realise he was talking to her, but the way the people around him turned towards her clued her in.

“We haven’t,” she told him easily, “but it seems you’re otherwise occupied, so I suppose it’ll have to wait for a little longer.”

“Nonsense,” he waved the remark off, glancing over her before smiling, “Kiran Knightwood I presume?”

Eileen blinked a little, “You would be correct,” she shook her head, “although I’m not quite sure how you know of me.”

Seriously, how did he know who she was? Was the rumour mill in Teodes that fast? It had only been barely a month since she’d gotten here. And a little less than that where the name “Kiran Knightwood” had even come into existence.

“How could I not know of the man everyone has been making such a fuss about?” He gave her a once-over with his blue eyes before giving her a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes, “Is it true you caught a knife at your first appearance in Teodes?”

“Yes he did!” A woman jumped in to reply before Eileen could, “I saw it. He just caught it of midair like it was nothing.”

“It was very impressive,” the man next to her added, before turning gleaming eyes towards her.

“Thank you, ” Eileen told them, giving a small smile. Internally she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed she was never going to live that down. “Although it was more of a reflexive action than anything, nothing too impressive.”

“Yes it was! I heard you weren’t even facing the direction it was coming from. No need to be humble, young man.”

“Yes,” Calvin’s eyes flickered over her with a scrutinising gleam, “It speaks of well honed reflexes.”

“Thank you,” Eileen gave him a smile, “but they’re not quite that impressive.” The last thing she needed was for him to see her as some sort of rival or something.

“It reminded me a lot of the Great General when he was young!”

“Yes,” an elderly man exclaimed turning to his partner, “do you remember when he came in here and threw those mercenaries into the wall? Gods, I thought I was seeing things. A boy of barely fourteen going up against them and winning!” He turned to Eileen at the end of the sentence, “You should have seen it, he caught an axe going for his head without even looking and smashed it into the man in front of him!”

Grandpa did what? She hadn’t heard this story, which was shocking when two of her best friends were such Emmett Devencrux fanboys. She honestly didn’t know why she was so surprised, it sounded exactly like something he would do. For a moment she was stunned silent, but then she registered his last words and a tight smile came onto her face at the comparison.

“Oh, I don’t think I’m quite at the level of the Great General,” Eileen told him. In her periphery, she could see a frown on Calvin O’Quinn’s face.

“Nonsense,” the man waved her off, “A little more time and I imagine you would be just like him.”

Eileen’s lips twitched as she smiled, thanking him for the compliment. He didn’t know just how right he was, and she thought it better not to tell him. As he and his companions started talking about her grandfather’s feats, Eileen’s gaze turned back to Calvin.

Just in time to see the glimmer of hatred in his gaze as he looked at the crowd before it was gone. She internally blinked at the intensity of it. Was she seeing things, or was there a tinge of envy in between the hate. Once again, she wondered why he hated him so much.

“Do you disagree general?” She turned to give him a curious glance.

He blinked, “disagree with what?”

“With what they’re saying,” pointing offhandedly to his previous entourage, she continued, “You seem a little too silent.”

Instead of answering, he gave her another considering stare, his face a lot more stony than earlier. “I find it strange that you’re picking up on such things,” he told her, “It’s decidedly suspicious.”

" No need to feel threatened,” she lifted her hands in mock surrender, “it was just an observation.”

“An observation…Yes,” he stepped in to move closer to her, a strange smile on his face.

A moment later, she knew exactly why he was acting this way, but it was a moment too late. She had already reacted on instinct and caught the fork he’d subtly thrown at her face. Clutching it in between her fingers as she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Was there a reason for that act,” she asked him in a bored tone, “or are you just in the habit of attacking people you’ve just met?”

“Just trying to see if the rumours are to be believed,” his smile was too shark-like for Eileen to take his intentions to be innocent.

“And now that you have?” Eileen gave him an unimpressed stare before shaking her head, “if it’s a fight you were after, you could have just asked instead of using these underhanded tactics.”

The kindness was now missing from his stern face, instead replaced by a glare. “It would be an unfair fight.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but throwing a metal implement at someone when they’re unaware is also unfair,” Eileen knew it was immature to taunt him but she did it anyway, “Unless of course, you’re afraid you would lose?”

“I would not lose!” His voice was a little too loud and the conversation in the room went silent. Noticing the stares, he cleared his throat, coughing into his fist before giving them an apologetic smile. When they shrugged and went back to their conversations, he turned back to face her with a glare, “I would not lose.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” she shrugged, having a little difficulty keeping the grin off her face, “do you? I’m simply offering you the opportunity to spar you seem so desperate for.”

“Fine,” he said between gritted teeth, “I accept your offer of a spar.”

“Excellent,” she told him with a small smile, “I have other places to be, so I must bid you farewell for now. Try not to attack more unsuspecting people, I imagine the consequences would be more dire.”

“Wait! Are you simply going to leave? What about the spar?”

Eileen turned to shoot him a smile, “It’ll simply have to wait for a more opportune time. Unfortunately, I don’t have time for one right now.”

Then she walked away from the fuming general before he could retort. It was time to get back to Ayla. But first, she really needed a drink after that conversation, even if it was simply a sip of non-alcoholic punch.

She hadn’t been planning to ask him for a spar. But seeing the way his demeanour had changed after hearing someone gush about her grandpa had made her do so anyway. It was the look of someone who thought they were better than the person being spoken about.

Eileen scoffed at the thought. She might be a bit biased, but it was an objective fact acknowledged by everyone that Emmett Devencrux was a powerful fighter and stronger than most who came before him. It was why people called him the Great General to begin with.

It was laughable for some newbie fighter to assume they could be better than him when they hadn’t been fighting for even half the time he had. Not to mention things were a lot more peaceful after her grandpa had taken care of the most grievous threats to the kingdom.

But what had really made her want to fight with him was how he had thrown a fork at her at an implied threat. It spoke of a man who couldn’t stomach someone being on par with him, someone who was vain enough to think they’d always be the strongest around. It was a dangerous mindset.

If he’d hated her grandfather less and been trained by him, he would have known that there could always be someone better. To think otherwise was a fallacy that could get your men killed. She couldn’t count the number of times her grandpa had drilled it into them to not make the mistake of doubting their opponents.

No matter how strong you were, there was always the risk that you’d lose. A well constructed strategy was often more effective than pure strength alone. A sigh left her at the reminder of one of her grandfather’s lectures, a smile creeping soon after.

It was a lesson they’d taken to heart. And one Calvin needed to as well, otherwise he would undoubtedly put himself and the kingdom in danger. He needed to lose to not act so stupidly. If Eileen had been someone else, that fork would have either cut her throat or led to a brawl in the ballroom.

Neither of which was an ideal outcome in a room full of people. She winced as she imagined the panic it might have started. Yes. He needed to learn the hard way not to act quite that reckless.

And not in an all out brawl with her friends as Eileen and Damian had. It made her embarrassed to think about it now, but they’d been children and not an adult like Calvin was. Another thought came to mind at the reminder. Her lips twitched. If he’d spent even a few minutes with her grandpa, he’d have also known not to let an opponent goad him into a fight so easily.

Oh well. He’d learn soon enough.

“You!” A familiar annoyed voice once again cut off her peace, “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

Eileen sighed as she turned towards him. Well, he was bound to find her eventually. It had been a little ambitious to think she wouldn’t have run into him in his own home.

“You didn’t wait around to hear it,” she shrugged, “it’s not my fault you decided a dramatic exit was more important than getting an answer to your question.”

“You could have just told me you were the Kiran Knightwood everyone has been talking about,” he groaned.

“Everyone’s been talking about me?” Eileen lifted her eyebrows before taking a sip of her punch, “Wow. I’m honoured.”

Nathaniel Prince narrowed his eyes at her, “You’re still as impudent as ever.”

“I told you, just because your surname is Prince, doesn’t mean you actually are one.”

He gritted his teeth, “Why didn’t you tell me you were aKnightwood? Were you trying to embarrass me.”

“I am aKnightwood,” Eileen told him, “but the world doesn’t revolve around you. Like I said, you simply didn’t wait around long enough to find out.”

She would have continued on, but she’d seen something in her periphery that needed her attention a lot more. “As much as I would love to continue this redundant conversation, I must be going.” She shot him a polite smile, that may have come off as taunting if his reaction was any indication. “Enjoy your party Mr Prince.”

For the second time that night, Eileen walked away from a seething man. However, she had no time to dwell on it. She could see Ayla looking increasingly uncomfortable.

Eileen’s eyes narrowed. The man was standing too close. She didn’t like how he was looking at Ayla.