#Chapter 173 – Magic

Luca, I’m horrified to see, is not the same as he was at the beginning of the fight. Gone is the brash young man, all confidence and vigor. Now, as Ben said, all that’s left is the bulldog: grim determination, his jaw set as he moves into the ring. The Atalaxian, I can see, is likewise changed. He knows he has the advantage now – knows that Luca has quite a literal soft spot in his side. And as they come back together, the Atalaxian goes right for it. My eyebrows raise, my breath hitching as Luca dodges the fist that the Atalaxian aims directly for his wounded rib, as Luca moves nimbly away and dodges around to his opponent’s side, landing a blow on the Atalaxian’s cheek that makes him stumble back. As I watch I feel my fingers slip on my bond with Luca, desperate to know how he’s feeling – kind of shocked, really, at how much the emptiness echoes between us now that I’ve closed it off. I hadn’t realized, I guess, how much information I was getting down the bond from him – even when