Combat of fire and blood (2)

Silence reigned in the Arena.

Ophelia wanted to facepalm herself so hard because she had not anticipated Nikolai to act in such a way. The tournament was proceeding just fine and as normal as it was supposed to go but he just had to ruin it. 

She couldn't help but sigh as she noticed that the family had fallen silent just like the crowd. Seating next to the Novikovs was an honor, but Nikolai had likely wrecked her chance to win their favor.

It was difficult to identify the mole because they were all so peculiar. She could see a tiny reason why they all despised Nikolai. He was a red flag. The reddest of them all and she felt certain that this was just the beginning.

She let out a heavy sigh, covering her face with her hands, bending her head to keep any eyes from meeting hers.

"You're fortunate," Sasha spoke abruptly in a strained, low voice.