"I didn't expect everyone to be interested in this," Valerie said, looking around the VVIP room. Her crimson uniform stood out sharply against the room's dark wood and pale silk.
The observation chamber hung high above the arena. Its walls were made of one-way glass that gave an unbroken view of the preparation grounds below, where the twenty were already gathering in the late-morning light. Plush chairs stood in tiered rows, each bearing the crest of an academy or a continental power. Crystal decanters of rare spirits sat untouched on the side tables. Nobody in the room was paying them any attention.
