#Chapter 168 – The Nation’s Champion

My stomach twists uncomfortably and I put my glass of wine down on the wall in front of us, not sure if I can have any more, not sure that I’ll be able to keep it down. I’m suddenly so worried about Luca. Not that I think he can’t handle himself - I just have…no idea what the Atalaxians are going to throw at him right now. “Calm, calm,” Rafe murmurs to me, putting a steady hand at the center of my back. “Nothing good or bad is going to happen just because you’re freaking out.” And I laugh a little, snapped out of it by my steady brother, and heave a big sigh. “Do you want some tequila?” he asks, his voice still low as he quirks an eyebrow at me. “You might want some, Ari – you are wound up –“ I grin, glancing over my shoulder again, thinking that that’s not half a bad idea, but suddenly my eyes light on something that surprises me. Ben, sitting in one of the plush black chairs set out for spectators who don’t want to stand at the edge of the box, his head in his hands. Instantly