The ground trembled beneath my feet as Conrad Thornton approached. Sand and dust swirled around us, kicked up by the sheer pressure of his Grandmaster aura. The crowd stepped back instinctively, faces turned away from the miniature sandstorm his presence had created. I held my ground, refusing to show any hint of intimidation despite the suffocating weight of power bearing down on me.
Conrad stood before me, his eyes burning with undisguised hatred. He was taller than I'd expected, broad-shouldered and imposing in his midnight-blue robes that rippled despite the lack of wind. The lines on his face deepened as he stared at me.
"Liam Knight," he spat, his voice carrying across the cemetery. "You dare cripple my brother and humiliate my son? The Thornton family has stood strong for five generations. We've crushed men far greater than you under our heels."
