“I’m counting on it.” Titus hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “And so are they.”
“Sign us up too,” Kaiden said, stepping up beside Titus.
The more of us compete, the better a chance we have of winning and getting a shot at speaking with PlayaSlaya. Might as well stack the odds as much in our favor as possible.
“Yeah, uh, no can do.” Halicar said with a hint of smugness to his tone.
“Come again?” Kaiden frowned. “The tournament’s still two hours away. You just said sign-ups were open.”
“Sign-ups were open, bro.” Halicar was full-on smiling now. “But big shot here took the last spot. Tournament’s all full.” He looked up, feigning earnestness. “But if you’d like, I’d be happy to sign you up for next week’s tournament.”
Next week? We don’t have time for that!
“Next week’s too long to wait. We don’t have that kind of time,” Zelda said from back where she was standing beside Thorne.
“Sorry, hun.” Halicar shrugged. “Tournament’s full. Nothing I can do about that. Although…”
Kaiden looked back from Zelda as Halicar trailed off. Although what?
“Ah, yes. There is one spot left!” Halicar smiled again, and Kaiden had the distinct impression that wasn’t a good thing. “Though I can’t give it to you.”
“What? Why not?” Thorne stormed forward. “Do your damn job and sign us up. Me, specifically.” She switched over to private comms. “No offense, guys. But I’m level fifty-one. Gives me the best chance of winning this thing.”
Kaiden wanted to grumble at that, but he knew she was right.
“Fair enough,” he said.
“So sorry, but I don’t think I can give out this spot,” Halicar said, thoroughly enjoying his power trip. “But I’ll tell you what. Let me check with my manager.” He made a dramatic show of turning in his seat, then looked up to Nassus standing beside him.
“Hey, manager. You know that spot that was reserved? Any chance I could give it up so one of these fools can embarrass themselves for our amusement?”
Nassus grinned.
“Well, that does sound tempting. I’d love to watch these overconfident noobs learn what real PVP is about.” She acted like she was considering it, but Kaiden was sure her mind had already been made up. This was just some game they were playing.
“I’m afraid, though, that the spot in question has been reserved. And by a VIP, no less. I can’t overrule that.” She shrugged. “As much as I’d like to help you all, there’s really nothing I can do.”
Halicar looked back to them.
“Guess big shot’s going to be on his own, then. That’s fine. I’ll settle for watching him get humiliated.”
“This is crap,” Zelda said through private comms. “We were supposed to have four shots at winning the tournament, not one.”
“It’s fine,” Titus said.
“No, it’s really not. This is statistically even worse than before.”
There was no denying that. Though previously the worst-case scenario had involved all of them losing, which would have locked them out of game for a week straight. At least now only Titus would be locked out. But still, they’d be no closer to getting PlayaSlaya’s attention.
“Well, I suppose if one of you really wanted to compete, the big man could give up his spot,” Halicar said, staring dead at Titus. “If he’d be so generous, that is.”
“I’m the highest level here,” Thorne said through private comms. “And I have the most fighting experience in-game. It should be me.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you,” Titus said. “But I’m gonna ask you to trust me on this one.” Titus looked at each of them in turn and Kaiden met his eyes when they got to him. The big man didn’t look the same as he always had. No, he’d changed. Kaiden recognized the look he was seeing now. He’d seen it before, when Titus had pitched the plan to grind high enough to enter the tournament. Then again when they were in the grinder. It was a look that met fear and doubt and impossibility head-on and laughed in their faces. It wasn’t overconfidence. It wasn’t foolishness. It was the product of sheer determination. Of earned confidence matched with the real-world experience of getting the job done. In that moment, Titus was so focused it was almost frightening.
Is this how he used to look before stepping into the boxing ring?
“If you want me to give the spot to Thorne, I’ll understand. Going off of levels, she makes the most sense. I can’t deny that. But this is a one-on-one tournament. It’s basically digital boxing. I don’t like to get into it, but this used to be my thing. And I was good at it.” He shook out his shoulders and rolled his neck. “I haven’t forgotten as much of it as I make it seem, either.”
Thorne grumbled an unintelligible reply, then shook her head.
“You’ve got the grit for it, I’ll give you that. At the core of any good PVP player there’s always grit.”
“I need to do this,” Titus said. “Not because Nassus embarrassed me in a duel. It was stupid of me to even accept that. I let my emotions get the better of me and I paid the price for it. But this isn’t about that. This is about proving something to myself. About proving I deserve to be on this team.” He looked around at them once more, one at a time. “Each of you has picked this team up and put it on your back at some point. Proven your worth.”
“You don’t need to prove anything to us,” Kaiden said.
“No. I need to prove it to myself.” Titus sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “I’m focused. I’m ready. I got this,” he said. “Trust me?”
“You got this, big guy,” Kaiden said. Zelda nodded in agreement.
“Kick some ass,” she said, a smile pulling at her lips.
“Thorne?” Titus asked last. “You’re okay with this?”
She chewed her lip for a moment.
“Honestly? I think I’d do better in there. But that’s the lone
