The rest of the meal passed without incident. There were still a few hours before they had to get back to the arena by the time the food was done. They all stood and left, Viv leading them back through the tight alley and out into the main street.

“We can part ways here,” Viv said. “My team needs to discuss some strategies and I’m afraid the two of you would be the target of some of them.”

“That’s understandable,” Damien said. “Thanks for showing us the restaurant. It was fun. We’ll see you in a few hours.”

Viv nodded farewell and headed off with Eve at her side. Damien spotted a bench down a less busy road and wandered over to it.

“What do you think of the opponents so far?” Damien asked, sitting down.

“The majority of the weak ones have already been eliminated,” Sylph said. “There are three students that still seem like they could pose a threat. Bartholomew, Drew, and a girl from Greenvalley.”

“Did you notice anything special about Drew?” Damien asked. “I can’t even remember his fights or anything about him.”

“No. The only reason I mentioned him was Viv. It’s the same here – I don’t recall his appearance. Speaking of the Goldsilk students, the only reason I didn’t list them is because we know them. They’ve all gotten through the initial rounds of the tournament, and that last member of theirs is a mystery.”

“Maybe they’re some kind of substitute?” Damien guessed. “I don’t know what the rules say about those, but I’m sure they’ve got something hidden. Bartholomew certainly seems like he could be a problem. Do you have any way to fight against him? He’s using Time magic.”

“It depends on how strong his magic is,” Sylph said, crossing her arms. “I’m at a serious disadvantage against him with that hammer. I’ve got a few tricks I can use, but I would never want to fight him on the battlefield. An assassination would be much more effective.”

Damien chuckled, but stopped when he realized she was serious. “Sometimes I really wonder about exactly what you were doing before you came to Blackmist.”

“Win the tournament,” Sylph said with a wry smile. “Maybe I’ll tell you as a reward.”

“Deal,” Damien said. “Do you think you can handle the Greenvalley girl if you get her instead?”

“She’s using mental energy. Her opponents all lost before she cast any spells. I don’t think she’ll be particularly effective against either of us.”

Damien started to nod, but the back of his neck prickled. Henry gave him a mental warning at the same time. He glanced over his shoulder to see a sandy haired boy ambling towards their bench.

He raised a hand in greeting when he realized that Damien had spotted him. “Cheers, folks. You had some fun fights.”

“Thanks,” Damien said, frowning. The boy wore plain clothes and carried nothing other than a small dagger at his side. “Are you in the tournament?”

“Yup,” he replied. “I hope I’m not barging in. I just wanted to drop by since I recognized you.”

“You’re fine,” Sylph said. “Did you want anything in particular?”

“Just to chat,” he said with an easygoing grin. “You mind if I sit?”

“Help yourself,” Damien said, despite the tiny seed of unease in his chest. Something about the boy unnerved him. “I’m Damien.”

“Pleasure, Damien,” the boy said, tipping an imaginary hat and taking a seat. “Name’s Drew.”

Of course it is.

“You’re still in the winner’s bracket, right?” Damien asked.

“Sure am,” Drew said. “I’m fairly certain that one of you will be the other finalist, so I’m quite looking forward to fighting you.”

“You’re Mountain Hall, aren’t you? Don’t you think Bartholomew will win as well?” Sylph asked. “He’s got some strong magic.”

“Nah.” Drew shrugged. “He’s okay, I guess. Bit of a meat head, but we can’t all be perfect. There are two people in the tournament that will probably win against him right now.”

“Those being?” Sylph asked.

“Damien over here is one,” Drew said, tapping his chin. “Viv is the other. You seem to have a good shot as well, but I can’t get a good read on your abilities yet.”

“Do you have history with her?” Damien asked, watching Drew’s face carefully. So far, the boy felt more like a friendly farmhand than the monster that Viv had described.

“Old stuff,” Drew said laughing. “She doesn’t like me much. It hurts my feelings a bit, if I’m being honest. I take my fights real serious, but she doesn’t.”

He stretched his arms, then smacked his lips and stood. “It was nice talking to you two. I just really wanted to meet before we came across each other in the arena. It’s going to be so much fun!”

Drew strolled back to the main street and faded into the crowd.

“That was barely a talk,” Damien grumbled. “We said like three sentences.”

“He puts me on edge,” Sylph said, narrowing her eyes. “I think I’m inclined to believe Viv about this one.”

“Agreed,” Damien said. “But I’ve got no clue what about him is actually so unsettling. He came across as nice enough.”

“We’ll find out soon enough. Did you notice he didn’t include Mark as one of the people who could beat Bartholomew?”

“That is weird,” Damien muttered. “I wonder why? Mark is pretty strong.”

“Another thing to find out,” Sylph said.

They fell silent. It was oddly comforting to sit and watch the crowd ebb and flow like the ocean tides. The two remained there for a few hours before heading back to the arena. Everyone else had already returned to their viewing box.

Kingsfront had gone all out with the arena’s change this time. A rocky river rushed through the center of the platform, frothing with white waves and splitting it in two. Each side had a small forest and some rocky hills to hide behind.

It looked like they’d taken several biomes and smushed them together. The arena had also grown larger by about fifty percent. The crowd trickled back into the stands above them as well, raising the ambient noise levels until the silencing enchantment activated to keep them down.

About an hour later, the announcer cleared his throat. “Thank you for your patience, everyone! It’s about time for us to get the next fight going, so go buy your snacks from the vendors and settle down!”

The enchantment dropped just long enough for them to cheer before springing back up.

“Let’s get to it,” the announcer said. “Here’s an exciting round. The last remaining student from Windseek college in the winner’s bracket, Priscilla! She’s their rank one, and doesn’t plan to go down silently! On the other side, hailing from the still undefeated Blackmist college, Nolan! Let’s see what you two can do!”

“This is the girl that uses mental energy,” Sylph said, leaning forward. “Good luck, Nolan.”

“Damn. It was just one round until quarterfinals.” Nolan let out a heavy sigh and hopped over the railing.

Gold light brought him to one end of the stage. A girl with long, brilliant red hair touched down on the other side. Damien couldn’t hear what she said to Nolan, but she winked and blew him a kiss.

“Alright contestants! You may begin channeling your Ether! The fight begins in three… two… one… go!”

Nolan took a step forward, then froze. His hands twitched at his sides. Priscilla laughed and strode towards him. Wind currents formed over the river, keeping the water from touching her.

Priscilla reached Nolan and ran a finger down the side of his face. He didn’t budge as she leaned forward and whispered something in his ear.

“I surrender,” Nolan called.

The arena burst into confused muttering.

“What was that?” Damien asked. “Mind control? Is that a thing?”

“She hasn’t won her other fights that way,” Sylph said with a frown. “She just froze people in place and then put a dagger to their neck. She’s making a point, I suppose.”

Nolan returned to their box, downcast. Priscilla waved at him as he left, but he didn’t return it. “That was pathetic. I thought I’d at least be able to hold her off for a few seconds.”

“What happened?” Damien asked. The announcer called out the next combatants in the background.

“Her mental energy is incredible. She crushed my defenses,” Nolan said bitterly. “I couldn’t control myself at all. If she’d told me to jump off the arena, I would have. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so violated. I’m pretty sure she dug around in my head.”

“Are you okay?” Mark asked in uncharacteristic sympathy.

“No,” Nolan said, sitting down and clenching his hands. “I don’t have a word for what she just did, but I hate her. She –”

His voice broke. The other Blackmist students exchanged a glance.

“No mercy if we get her?” Mark asked.

“None at all,” Damien said, his eyes narrow. “I’d like to see her try to get into my head.”

“Oooh,” Henry said with an evil cackle. “That would be fun.”

The current fight finished, and Damien looked down in time to see Yui ascending back to her box. Cheers rose from the crowd for what had apparently been an interesting fight.

On their dashboard, Elania’s crystal lit. Everyone but Nolan wished her luck as she went to the arena.

“This next match is between Elania of Goldsilk college and Bartholomew of Mountain Hall!” the announcer boomed.

Viv’s hands tightened over her the armrests of her chair and Eve’s features scrunched in fear.

“She needs to surrender,” Viv muttered. “Bartholomew is too strong.”

“She won’t,” Mark said. “She’s not a coward. She’ll face him like a real mage.”

“Was that a compliment?” Viv asked, glancing in his direction.

Mark grunted. “She’s going to lose, but give her the respect of watching the fight.”

Bartholomew raised his hammer in greeting as he landed. Elania clenched her hands, her face turning red with fury. The announcer started the countdown and glowing yellow light enveloped her hands.

“Go!”

Bartholomew brought his hammer down on the ground with a roar. A shockwave ripped out from where it struck, blasting Elania from her feet even as a bolt of light leapt from her fingers. It flew wide, missing the boy by a wide margin.

With a gleeful laugh, Bartholomew leapt over the river. Elania thrust a hand towards him. A large gold sword formed and thrust towards him. He flicked his hammer, striking the spell and shattering it effortlessly.

Elania scrambled backwards, but Bartholomew’s pace was relentless. He knocked aside every spell she threw until he was standing before her.

“You don’t belong here,” Bartholomew said, raising his hammer. “You’re weak, Elania. Goldsilk would be better off without you holding them back. I don’t know how you weaseled your way into a spot or got this far in the tournament, but it ends here.”

A shield of light formed between them. Bartholomew broke it with the butt of his hammer and brought the weapon down on her leg. She screamed in pain.

“Surrender,” Bartholomew said. A golden spike shot from the ground behind Bartholomew, aiming for his heart.

He crushed caught the spell without even turning back, green magic sparkling around his hand. Bartholomew shook his head like a disappointed father and brought the hammer down on Elania’s other leg.

“Surrender,” he said again. “This is pathetic. You’re shaming your school.”

Golden energy wrapped around Elania’s body, encasing her in heavy armor. She let out a defiant scream and thrust her hands at his chest. A beam of burning white light lit up the arena, driving into Bartholomew’s chest and sending him skidding back through the dirt.

She let it fall after several seconds, revealing Bartholomew to be completely unharmed. A green rune circle floated before him, motes of Elania’s magic curling up off it.

“As I said,” Bartholomew growled. “Pathetic.”

He blurred forward and grabbed Elania’s neck. Her armor shattered beneath his hands and he raised her into the air. He threw her down so she landed on her broken legs. She bared her teeth at him, refusing to scream again.

Bartholomew smirked and grabbed her arm, jerking it sharply. Damien winced as a sharp crack echoed through the arena.

Viv bit her lip so hard that blood started to trickle down her chin.

“Don’t do it,” Mark warned as Viv started to stand. “If you yell at her to surrender, she’ll be humiliated.”

“What do you call this?” Viv snarled.

“There’s a difference between this and your friends losing their faith in you,” Mark snapped. “Sit down and shut up.”

“Do you really think she’s going to even have the slightest chance of winning?” Viv demanded. “This is torture!”

“She’ll be healed in a few minutes,” Mark replied coldly. “You open your mouth, she’ll never recover. Elania’s fighting her own battle, and it isn’t with fists or magic. It’s with will.”

Bartholomew had Elania the air again. “Surrender, damn you! Your mouth works fine!”

She spat in his eye. Bartholomew took a step forward and, with a roar of fury, launched her over the edge of the arena. At the same time, a tiny spike of light floated out of her finger. It blurred forward, catching Bartholomew by surprise and carving a thick line across his face.

Four healers appeared, grabbing Elania and enveloping her with healing light before she could even fall below the edge of the arena. Bartholomew raised a hand to his cheek, where blood had started to trickle down his face.

He snarled, grabbing his hammer and stomping away. The crowd didn’t cheer when the announcer called out his victory. There was only silence. Elania’s wounds were extensive, but with four healers working on her, they were fixed in a few minutes.

Gold light took her back to the box, where she slumped into a chair. “I’m sorry, Viv. I lost.”

“You did your best,” the taller girl replied, her words catching in her throat.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Mark said. “He was stronger than you. There was no way to win that fight. Frankly, you shouldn’t have even landed a blow on him. Bartholomew will never live that down.”

“Is that supposed to be comforting?” Elania asked.

“Take it how you want,” Mark said. “I don’t care. Just train harder. It would be fun to fight against you some day.”

Damien was still searching for something comforting to say when another crystal on their dashboard blinked on.

“Again?” Viv asked. “Who is it this time?”

“Me,” Damien said, peering at it. “It’s too bad Bartholomew just went. I’ve got some words for him. I’m going to have to make this fast so we can get to the next stage.”