Marcus inclined his head slightly at the crowd, and all around her, the Competitors rose, almost as one, clapping resoundingly. Allyra couldn’t work out whether they were clapping for Marcus’s less than inspirational speech or their own achievements.
Marcus swept out of the room with three of the other four Council members trailing silently behind him, leaving only High Master Zhuang behind. He motioned for them all to retake their seats.
He stood silently and waited for the over-enthusiastic applause to fade and die down to a complete silence before he spoke.
“Yes, yes—I can see you’re all ready to leap before you look,” he said quietly, with just the slightest hint of sarcasm coloring his words. “Trust me, you’re going to rethink your enthusiasm once this gets started. So, let’s get down to brass tacks. There are no rules when you’re in The Finals. There’ll be no one watching, no one judging. Cheat, trick, steal, do whatever you need to do to survive and complete the Final in the fastest time possible. You can even kill a fellow Competitor and suffer no consequences.”
High Master Zhuang paused, staring them down with fierce intensity, seemingly disgusted by his own words. Allyra felt an arrow quick shard of ice shoot down her spine. She glanced around her and knew that the same thought would be passing through every Competitor’s mind.
Forty-nine other people here, and forty-eight of them wouldn’t think twice before killing her on their way to winning The Five Finals.
Her eyes found Jason’s in the crowd. In theory, he was the one person she could trust. The person she could depend on to survive.
In practice, he was probably just as likely, if not more so, to kill her.
As if he could read her mind, a slow, predatory smile worked its way across Jason’s face, arrogance written into every inch of his handsome features.
Allyra made a mental note never to turn her back on him.
She turned her attention back to High Master Zhuang. “There are no rules in The Finals, but in the time between them, there are a few nonnegotiable ones. First, absolutely no fighting between pairs will be tolerated. If you so much as injure one hair on another pair’s head, you and your partner will be immediately eliminated.”
From somewhere in the crowd, an acerbic voice rang out. “You said fighting between pairs—does that mean injuring a partner will be tolerated?”
High Master Zhuang smiled. “Mr. Lee, I see that the years have done nothing to dull your quick wit. To answer your question—yes, injuring your partner is acceptable. After all, you will be training and sparring each other, so some injury is bound to happen. However, allow me to give you a small piece of advice: don’t. I would advise most strongly against it. Your partner is your lifeline, someone who will hold your life in his or her hands. The Five Finals crowns a pair of winners, not an individual winner. Don’t be stupid. Don’t hurt the one person that might save your life when it really counts.”
Again, the sarcastic voice rang out from the crowd. “But what if your partner is a complete idiot and you’ve been waiting years for the perfect opportunity to stick a sword through him?”
A murmur of nervous laughter traveled through the crowd, and Allyra strained unsuccessfully to see who the voice belonged to.
High Master Zhuang raised his eyes upward. “Mr. Lee, do whatever you want. I wouldn’t presume to try and stop you from doing something stupid.
“Now, let’s get back to the rules. Despite Mr. Lee’s interjection, do try to avoid hurting anyone during the time between Finals. However, there are opportunities to hurt each other if you really want it. In the time between Finals, each pair is allowed an opportunity to challenge another pair. You only have one opportunity before each Final, so theoretically, if a pair made it all the way to the Fifth Final, they would’ve had five opportunities to issue a challenge during the course of The Five Finals.
“Of course—I say theoretically because tradition dictates that no challenge is issued before the Fourth Final as only two pairs would remain at that point and we prefer to see the competition happen in the Final itself. Similarly, no challenge can be issued before the Fifth Final because only one pair will remain at that point.
“A challenge, once issued, cannot be refused or reversed, so think carefully before you decide to challenge another pair.”
A girl sitting a few seats down from Allyra raised her hand.
“Yes, Miss Tremaine?”
“Can you give us a bit more detail about what a challenge entails?”
High Master Zhuang nodded. “A challenge takes place in a place that you are all familiar with—the Tunnels of the Second Trial.”
“So, we won’t remember?” Miss Tremaine asked.
“No,” High Master Zhuang replied drily. “Aren’t you lucky—another opportunity for you all to feed your bloodlust with zero oversight.”
Another question shot out from the crowd. “But why would we risk challenging anyone?”
“Any winning pair from a challenge will be given an advantage in the next Final. You won’t know what form that advantage will take. It might be negligible, or it might just give you the edge to win. It is up to you to decide whether it’s worth the risk. And believe me, there is risk. The losing team is instantly eliminated, and every challenge must be completed within a set time. If no pair emerges from the Tunnels within the given time frame, then both teams will be eliminated. And the challenge is only deemed to be completed when both members of the pair emerge.
“Allow me warn you—this is not something to take lightly. Because no one remembers what took place in the Second Trial, no one knows how the Tunnels might test you. Think carefully before you decide to
