The suite was luxury defined.
Polished floors. Soft lighting. Expensive furniture. A private billiard table sat in the center. Green felt. Perfect condition. The balls were arranged. Ready for play.
Two girls stood on opposite sides. Wore similar red uniform. Cues in hand. Mid-game.
One girl was small. Maybe five foot four. Butterfly-like features dominated her appearance. Wings sprouted from her back. Translucent. Pink. Colorful. They fluttered occasionally. Gentle movements. Her eyes were large. Bright. Full of energy.
A Fluturan. Native to the Flower Sector. Delicate looking but deceptive. They were tougher than they appeared.
She lined up her shot. Giggled. Struck the cue ball. It rolled. Connected. Sank a solid. "Yay! Did you see that? That was like, totally perfect!"
The other girl watched. Tall. Slender. Light peach skin that seemed to glow under the lights. A pair of small horns curved from her forehead. Subtle. Elegant. Gothic in their own right. Long brown hair flowed down her back. Two white streaks framed her face. Perfectly symmetrical. Gothic makeup accented her features. Dark lipstick. Heavy eyeliner. Silver accessories hung from her ears. Her neck. Her wrists.
An Atrai. From the Terra Sector. Distantly related to humans. Vampire-like features. Sharper canines. Those horns. But not actually vampires. Close enough to make people nervous though.
She leaned against her cue. Unimpressed. Bored almost. "It vas adequate." Her Romani accent was thick. Every W became V. Distinctive. Elegant in a dark way.
"Adequate?! Nara, that was amazing!" The butterfly girl. Hana. She bounced. Literally bounced. Wings fluttering with excitement.
"If you say so." Nara moved to the table. Studied the angles. Calculated her shot. Struck. Two balls sank. Clean. Efficient. "That vas adequate."
"You're so modest!" Hana giggled. Moved around the table. Looked for her next shot. "So! What do you think about the tournament? Aren't you like, super excited?"
"It vill be interesting." Nara's tone was flat. Monotone. "Ve vill vin. Obviously."
"Obviously!" Hana agreed. Cheerful. "Polo's gonna crush it! And we're gonna be right there with him!"
They played for a while. Casual. Friendly. The kind of banter that came from knowing someone well. Trusting them.
Then Hana stopped mid-shot. Her eyes went wide. "Oh! Oh oh oh! The rankings!"
She dropped her cue. Rushed to a nearby couch. Grabbed her data pad. Bounced back to the table. Wings fluttered faster. Excited energy radiating.
Nara raised an eyebrow. "The pover rankings?"
"Yes! Constellation Illustrated! They should be up by now!" Hana's fingers flew across the screen. Refreshing. Loading. Waiting.
Nara moved closer. Curious despite her bored exterior.
The page loaded. Graphics. Colors. Names. Rankings.
The headline dominated the top.
"THE GIFTED GENERATION"
Hana read it aloud. Gleeful. Excited. Voice rising with each word. "Oh my gosh! That's like, such a cool title!"
"Decent title." Nara's response was dry. Unimpressed.
Their eyes moved to the top ranking. Number one. Expected. Predictable.
1. Polo Rossi
"Predictable." Nara's voice carried boredom. Zero surprise. "As alvays."
Hana grinned. Bright. Wide. "Yeah! Polo's like, the total favorite! That means he'll have a huge target on his back though. I guess?"
"Don't bother vorrying." Nara waved dismissively. "He can take care of himself fine. He alvays does."
Hana nodded. Started scrolling down. Looking at other rankings. Other names. Competition.
Then Nara's expression shifted.
Her face flushed. Pink crept across her peach-toned cheeks. Her eyes locked onto the screen. Widened. Fixed. Unblinking.
Her hand shot out. Grabbed Hana's shoulder. Shook it. Hard. "Vho is this boy?!"
Hana blinked. Startled. Looked at Nara. Then at the screen. Confusion flooded her features. "Um. I don't know? Like, I totally have no idea?"
She giggled. Nervous. Confused. What was happening?
2. Julian Weiper
The image showed a blonde boy. Red eyes. Cheeky grin. Thumbs up. Ridiculous pose. Like this was a joke. A game.
Nara's breathing quickened. Her heart hammered. Visible. Her chest rose and fell faster.
"Check his bio." Her voice was tight. Strained. Desperate. "Nov."
"Okay okay!" Hana's fingers moved. Opened the profile. Started reading aloud. "Julian Weiper. From the Outer Rim. No noble background. No special privileges..."
Nara's blush deepened. Darker. Redder.
"Academic records. Um. Ten percent on semester exam..."
A sound escaped Nara. Small. Breathy. Inappropriate.
Hana's eyes went wide. "Nara?!"
"Keep going." Nara's voice was barely controlled. "Tell me everything."
"Combat scores. Off the charts. Like, seriously off the charts. Qualifier performance. Exceptional. Adaptability. Maximum. Threat level..."
"Yes." Nara whispered. Her eyes never left the screen. That grin. That blonde hair. Those red eyes. "Yes yes yes."
Her face was glued to the image. Consumed by it. That grin. That stupid. Ridiculous. Perfect grin. It was doing things to her. Things she couldn't control. Didn't want to control.
Heat pooled. Lower. Deeper. Wrong thoughts. Right thoughts. Who cared about right?
She stood. Sudden. Abrupt. Her chair scraped backward. Loud in the quiet room.
Her voice was clear. Certain. Dead serious. No hint of her usual bored tone. Just conviction. Pure conviction.
"Julian Veiper is my future husband."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Hana stared. Mouth open. Processing. Then she burst into giggles. High pitched. Delighted. "Oh my gosh! Yes! Go get him girl!"
Her thumb shot up. Mimicked the gesture. The same thumbs up from the image. "You got this!"
Nara's face was red. Burning. But she didn't care. Didn't back down. She meant it. Every word. That boy. That blonde. Ridiculous. Perfect boy. He was hers. Destined. Fate.
The door opened.
Calm. Quiet. No announcement. No warning.
A boy entered. Red hair. Curtained style. Perfect maintenance. Red uniform. Military cap. Black with white visors. The red fire emblem in its middle. Stylish. Professional. His face was neutral. Calm. Unbothered by everything.
Polo Rossi. The number one. The favorite. The prodigy.
"Oh! Polo!" Hana bounced toward him. Wings fluttering. She shoved the data pad in his face. No personal space. Just excitement. "Look look look! The rankings are out!"
Polo's dark black eyes moved to the screen. Calm. Measured. He took in the information. Processed it. No visible reaction.
"And guess what?!" Hana giggled. Bounced more. "Nara found her soulmate! Can you believe it?!"
Polo's eyes moved from the screen to Nara. Back to the screen. Specifically to one image. One name. One ranking.
2. Julian Weiper
His expression didn't change. Calm. Analytical. But his eyes. His eyes sharpened. Focused. Assessed.
A threat. Real threat. Legitimate threat.
Number two wasn't a fluke. Wasn't luck. The rankings didn't lie. Ever.
This blonde boy. This Julian Weiper. He was dangerous. Powerful. A monster in cadet's clothing.
Competition. Real competition.
Polo's dark eyes stayed locked on the image. That grin. That casual confidence. That number two.
No words needed. His eyes said everything.
The favorite had found his rival.
And his teammate had found her future husband.