Iden smelled burning flesh, the knight bellowing as he dropped to one knee, smoke rising from the wound. Iden withdrew his sword, noting that there wa...n’t a drop of blood. The intense heat had cauterized it.The knight tried to rise to his feet, but faltered, falling back to the ground.“Yield!” Iden demanded, raising his sword as he prepared to deliver a killing blow. “Tell your men to stand down right now!”“Slay the dragon before it’s too late!” the Paladin shouted. “Carry out the mission!”Iden. ‘But why a private booth?’ ‘I just wanted this to be a little more personal for us.’ The lights soon darkened, and the curtain opened, revealing the maestro and his symphony orchestra, with a full choir on their right flank. From opposing sides of the stage, a man and a woman neared center-stage. To applause, the two gave due courtesies and bows before stepping up to separate podia. Elena tugged my sleeve lightly as the applause died down. ‘Are they supposed to have the music with them,. It had changed, the dressing table, full length freestanding mirror & even the pink lamp shade had gone. A small table had been placed in the room, so I put his case on it. I turned to face him as he stood in the doorway. "You're a very pretty little schoolgirl in your summer dress." He said still blocking the doorway. I felt a little easier. "Yes your a right cutie in that girls' school uniform." He added, closing the bedroom door. He couldn't take his eyes off me. "Thank you you pretty little. Samira gave Khozem a tremendous kiss on the cheek after meaningful salaams.“I have been touring,” began Tariq.“And has that been the usual or something exciting?”“The riots in India, although they did not affect us. That was on everyone’s minds. But really, I was not intimidated by it. I will have to decide how to handle the affair. But really that’s all. I did think of you often on the road, or up in the air most of the time. How’s the training going?”“Smooth and steady, just as it has always.