While I sat in my boudoir, I looked at the invitation in my hand. There was a big parade going on today. There'd be toweringly enormous floats. I used to like parades quite a bit as a small child, but now that I understood that parades were where people were meant to see and be seen, I wasn't as eager to go.

If I went, I'd be in a special box on a balcony meant to display how wealthy I was and how generous my parents were. I'd have to do my hair and makeup immaculately and wear a dress that made it clear that the people on the street were scum.

I didn't want to.

Instead, I found my thoughts drifting back to Xuan. I had no business getting involved with Phuong's brother, of course, but I could not deny the magnetic attraction between us. Just thinking about his smile made my heart tug painfully. My adoptive mother was sure to point me in the direction of a more suitable pureblood Draka noble instead of a Yore.

The more I tried not to think about Xuan, the more time I spent lingering on him and everything that he made me feel. Lord Georgius made me feel repulsion. Xuan didn't.

I decided to go for a short walk in town. Maybe a few breaths of fresh air would help me. I threw a scarf around my neck and headed out the door. Immediately, the smell of roasting meat assailed me. I went to find the shop that it was coming from.

It was a soup shop, the one around the corner that smelled pho. It must be a Yore feast day, though, because they were selling roasted pork. I went in and bought a box of it. My mother would never let me eat it on the street like this, like a commoner, but here I was, eating with my hands. The grease of the roasted pork was all over my hands. I was deliciously dirty. I wasn't wild enough to lick my fingers, so I surreptitiously wiped my greasy hand on the napkins that they had provided in my bag. They took care of the worst of the grease, although I knew I had to stay away from touching anything.

Throwing the bag into the trash compactor, I walked into town where some flashing lights caught my eye. The sparring boards were up since there were fights on. I was about to look away when I saw Xuan's name.

I swallowed hard. If I went to see him fight, surely that'd be fine? My mother would be surprised if I went to a fight, but it wasn't as if it were actually forbidden. I wondered where I could get tickets or where the fights even where.

I wandered closer to the display and, to my great relief, there were posters underneath with an address. It was a block away.

I walked to the address. I could hear the roar of a crowd as something happened inside. As I walked up to the ticket counter, I was acutely aware that I wasn't dressed like everyone else was. The Yore were dressed casually for leisure. I was aware that my paler skin and embroidered dress in the Draka style made me stick out like a sore thumb.

"One ticket, please," I said to the guy behind the counter.

"You sure you're in the right place? This isn't the ticket counter for the symphony, my lady." The way that he said the last two words sounded like an insult. "And we're almost sold out."

"I'll pay for a ticket wherever you want to put me."

"Sure," he said. The smile on his face kind of scared me. But he gave me the bill.

"This is way more expensive than I thought it would be." My whim was going to cost me the same as a hand-stitched evening gown. My mother would probably not be pleased when we went over accounts at the end of the month.

"Like I said, we don't have much left. You can come back another day or buy an advance ticket now."

"I'll pay," I said, paying enough credits to get whatever he'd sold me.

"You have a map," he said, gesturing to make it spring to life. "Just go up those stairs and to your left. It's the second door. The number is on your ticket."

"Thank you." I swept the ticket and map into my hands and went to the stairs. I climbed upwards. I'd either just wasted a ton of money or bought the chance to see Xuan again. I decided that it was worth it and ignored the little voice in the back of my head that told me that I could've just gone to his shop again.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I turned left and found the room that corresponded to my number. It had tea brewing already, which was nice. I saw a small case of cold drinks, which was a lovely touch. I could see everything below me and had a TV screen with cameras zoomed in on the fighters' faces, close enough that I could see individual beads of sweat. I had gotten what I'd paid for.

I was in luck. Xuan was in the ring at the moment, facing off with a larger Yore whose muscles spelled trouble for Xuan. Xuan stayed still, though, while the larger Yore danced around him. Xuan only moved as much as he needed to dodge the larger Yore's blows. I worried because Xuan wasn't attacking at all.

As I watched for a few more minutes, I realized that Xuan was letting the big guy tire himself out. If any of the blows had landed, the big guy was likely to knock Xuan into next week. But none of them seemed to. Xuan was never in the same place for more than a few breaths, although he was incredibly economical with his motions.

When the big guy braced himself on his knees was the moment that Xuan moved. I almost missed it because he was so fast. One moment he was purely defensive. The next moment, his fist was hitting his competitor's jaw so hard that he slammed sideways onto the ground. A ref was on the ground, tapping out ten seconds.

And then it was done. The TV screen in my box was showing a reply of that lightning-fast strike. The play of muscles across Xuan's back was shockingly erotic. His smooth brown skin accentuated each dip and curve.

Now that the fight was over, pretty

girls were flooding the cage. Xuan was being hustled off by a team of a couple of Yore, one of whom was handing him a little water. He drank it carefully as people surged around him. His team kept them from getting close.

I may have paid a lot for this moment, but it was one that I'd remember. The split second of action on his part had changed the tide. Who knew that all that he needed was one shot? A single second could change everything. I watched it repeat over and over until they began to show information about the next two fighters who would be in an adjacent ring. It was time for me to go.

The hallway and staircase were quiet as I made my way back down. It was clear that Xuan's fight was over. I'd slip quietly out of here and maybe find myself in his antique shop later this week. I didn't want to appear like a moonstruck calf, but I just couldn't deny the hold he had on me.

I was almost to the door where the supercilious ticket vendor was when I felt a hand on my arm. I jumped about a foot in the air before turning to see who had dared to touch me.