章 67: The Prodigious Nim, Part Thirty-Six

{Melisa}

The arena was buzzing with excitement as Melisa made her way through the crowd, the final rounds of the tournament already underway.

She spotted Armia in the stands, the darian girl's usually proud posture slumped and defeated.

Melisa's heart ached a bit for her.

She knew how much the tournament had meant to Armia, how hard she had worked to prove herself on this stage.

But, Armia had lost. 

She slid into the seat beside Armia, offering a gentle smile as the darian girl looked up in surprise.

"Hey," Melisa said softly, laying a hand on Armia's shoulder.

Armia looked away, her golden eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"I lost," she said, as if Melisa didn't know that, her voice rough and raw. "I gave it everything I had, but magic alone wasn't enough. I failed."

"You still did so well, though! You made it all the way to the semi-finals!"