Without pause he was back at me, magic flying, swords ringing, hitting so hard once it reverberated up my arm with a zing.
Snow swirled around us as I pelted him with a blizzard. It didn’t faze him as much as I thought it would, so I switched to fire. His shield held up remarkably well as flames blazed around him.
Catching our breath, the two of us circled each other. What he didn’t know was that my magic wouldn’t run out like other magic-born, like he would.
“You’re powerful,” he said through heavy breaths. “Amazingly so.”
“You’re alright,” I teased.
I threw a magical rope; it wrapped around his legs and then I charged. Cling, clang, ping, clashing swords, the rope had barely slowed him down. One really hard whack sent my weapon flying. Taking advantage, he swung, I dodged but his blade sliced into my thigh.
I slammed my hand over the deep wound and blood flowed out between my fingers. Dragon’s fire that hurts.
Aramis’s eyes fell to the blood dripping onto the arena floor. Entranced for only a moment but it was long enough for me to make a move. I grabbed my dagger, with a magical assist I flipped over his head, and sliced, cutting into the outside of his wrist so he’d drop his sword.
With blood oozing down my leg, and over his hand, we watched for the other’s next move.
The crowd began to chant, “Princess! Princess! Princess!”
I had to win. I let my magic build, my skin warmed, lightning zipped from my hands. Massive blueish white bolts slammed into Aramis’s shield, pushing him back, until he hit the wall. I gritted my teeth as the magic grew to a level I almost couldn’t control. Hold, hold!
“I surrender!” Aramis shouted.
I clamped my hands, stopping the flow of magic and Aramis dropped to his knees. The crowd boomed and chanted, “Princess! Princess! Princess!”
Madison appeared next to me and raised my fist into the air.
As I limped out of the arena, I caught my parents waving at me from above. Victory!
Chapter 28
After taking a shot of healing potion that my Papa gave me the moment I exited the arena, Legacy, Taz, Zyacus, and Aric crashed into the room.
“That was amazing!” Legacy squealed.
“Wahoo!” Taz howled. Reaching me first, he squeezed my shoulders and shook me. “You’re Tournament Champion!”
“I am?” I blinked in confusion. “I thought I’d have to fight at least another round.”
“Aramis was the finalist and Madison waited to have you fight until the very end,” Zyacus said, hitting me on the back. “You weren’t even on the roster so it was a surprise for everyone. Well except us. The crowd loved it too.”
I frowned. “So he’d fought previously and I was fresh. That’s not entirely even.”
Aric stepped up. “His other match only lasted about five seconds. He wasn’t tired.”
Zyacus wrapped his arms around me, lifting off the ground in a crushing hug. “You’re wonderful.”
We waited in the contender’s room while most of the students cleared out of the arena. “We should go find Lora and Aramis.” I peeked out the door to see if it was clear. “I want to tell him he fought well.”
I didn’t have to look far; Aramis stood with Lora talking to my parents. I hurried into the hall, waving at them.
My father beamed. “Wow, great performance tonight, my dear. All our training paid off.”
Mother wrapped me in a hug and gave my arms a squeeze. “We’re so proud of you.”
“Thank you.” I grinned and held out my hand to Aramis. “Good job tonight.”
He gripped my forearm. “Same to you.”
My friends joined and we chatted for a while the whole time my mind drifted. Tonight was the night I had to make a decision. Helios would be here to make a bargain, if he weren’t already.
I felt guilty for not telling my parents what was going on but I was scared they’d try to take my mother. She was incredibly gifted and beautiful, even if she were already married, I didn’t see that mattering to them. It was all about power. And even if that didn’t occur, they’d never allow me to make a deal to save our people, not at the cost of my freedom.
“We need to get going but we’re so glad we could be here,” Father said and hugged me tightly. “I love you. Keep up the great work.”
My mother pulled me in her arms one more time. “Yesterday, your Papa told me about the fight you had with the Wargon Trolls on day one. I wasn’t happy about it. I didn’t approve that,” she said and pulled back to look me in the eyes. “But I am glad you did well. I’ll be having a discussion with the Headmaster.”
“Although we fared well, and the challenge was actually great, I thought it was odd that you’d approve of that since we’re not seventh years. The professors acted like you knew.”
She shook her head. “I guess it doesn’t matter at this point, but I will make sure that nothing like that happens again. I love you so much. It would kill me to lose you.”
Guilt hit me like a punch. I knew it would hurt them for me to go. When I waved goodbye to them, my throat tightened. I miss them. I missed the days of my parents being able to solve everything, when my problems were much smaller.
“I’m going to see some friends. See you all later,” Aramis said and headed off.
“We should go see if they’re here,” Zyacus whispered in my ear. I nodded and our group walked the halls toward the outside.
I caught sight of the Hazelvale brothers outside a window, standing on the patio with a third light-haired male next to them.
Sweat beading on my back, I turned to my friends. It was time. “I need
