The other groups were almost in place. A hush was falling over the crowd as anticipation stole words. Her teammates touched their fingers to the post as well.
“Everyone ready?” Cullen asked.
“As much as I’ll ever be.” Alyss sounded a mix of excited and nervous.
“You’re going after Meru?” Noelle asked Eira.
Eira nodded. “The elfin are mine.”
“Sounds good, I’ll take on the morphi.” Her confidence reminded Eira that she had been spending a decent amount of time with the morphi in the final weeks leading up to the tournament’s start. She’d even mentioned getting informationfrom Ducot. Eira looked over to the delegation from the Twilight Kingdom.
Ducot was among them. Eira hadn’t had a chance to speak with him since the events of the ball. Though he hadn’t made an effort either. But there hadn’t been a lot of time between last night, this morning, and now.
It had seemed like they were on good footing before that fateful night. But where did they stand now? Did it matter? A frown tugged on her lips. She liked Ducot and they had been through a lot. It seemed a waste to throw that relationship away.
She’d find him tonight when there was time, Eira resolved.
“The game will begin on the bell,” King Tortium announced. Everyone had fallen silent. There were hundreds—no, thousands—of spectators and no one seemed to breathe. “Remember, leaving the arena will result in your immediate disqualification. Do not engage in any magics that could put our spectators at risk. Regarding physical contact…” A grin slithered across the king’s mouth. He sounded almost eager. “As Lumeria said, these games might be bloody. Compete with good spirits but compete to win. If at any point it becomes too intense for you to handle, you may remove your pennon and you will be immediately disqualified. We will step in to stop any extreme brutality. But otherwise, we expect a good fight.”
Eira sank slightly into her stance. Her palms grew slick with sweat as she assessed the four elfin that would be her marks. There was a simple solution to disarming them—freeze them completely. But would it be too brutal? She bit the insides of her cheeks and looked up to the spectators. So many of them already hated her and there were more people from Meru than any other nation as the host of the games. Did she give them more of a reason to see her as their enemy? Or did she fight to combat that perception by making herself seem weaker than she was? Though, she had made her powers clear enough last night…
Her internal debate was interrupted by a sharp chime.
Everyone launched into motion.
Alyss jumped away from the post and landed in a crouch. The earth fractured, spider-webbing out from under her. The jagged rocks jutted upward, arcing around and encasing her. In a second, the seams of the rocks had fused together, becoming a solid boulder.
At the same time, Cullen leaped upward. A roar of air swept up the dust of the arena floor into a twister underneath his feet. It propelled him to the top of the post behind them.
Eira and Noelle lunged forward in opposite directions. Noelle swept an arm across her chest, sending an arc of flame flying, momentarily pinning in the morphi. The blast of heat from the flames hit Eira almost to the point of sending her staggering even as she was heading in the opposite direction; she was certain that the morphi competitors were instantly drenched in sweat. She left Noelle to her marks, focusing on the elfin in front of her.
Magic swirled in the air around Eira, pushing against her own. The elfin were mid-words. Two had lifted their hands, shining glyphs blocking the attacks of two draconi. The other two had gone off to engage with the Republic of Qwint. None of them were paying attention to her and by the time they felt the whisper of her chill along their jaws, it was too late.
With one hand she covered her pennon, a breastplate of ice spreading over her chest. Then Eira stretched both forward, pointing. Focusing. Her magic wrapped tightly around their necks, reaching up.
She didn’t want to freeze them entirely. That was too risky both for their safety and for the perception of the spectators in the stands around them. Eira had decided she’d given the people of Meru enough of a reason to hate her; she wouldn’t turn their competitors into frozen, living dolls and give them even moreammunition against her. Stopping them from using their magic would be enough.
Olivin turned, his eyes scanning the field. They locked with hers, widening slightly. He went to open his mouth.
Eira balled her hands into fists.
Frost covered the jaws of Meru’s competitors. It was a thin layer on the surface of the skin, but it betrayed what was happening underneath. Their joint was locked. Mouths frozen shut. It was a variation on what she had used against Ferro but with far more skill and finesse. Eira had been studying from Adela’s notebooks for months now. Pirate Queen’s daughter or not, she was truly taking a shining to the magics outlined within.
Muffled and writhing, the elfin clawed at their faces, distracted. The draconi were on them within a second, ripping two of their pennons from their breasts and taking some clothes—and what looked like skin—with them. Olivin, even though he lacked magic, dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a burst of flame shot from one of the Qwint competitors. Instead of going after the Qwint champion attacking him and the draconi shifting their sights to him and the other remaining Meru champions, he barreled headfirst for Eira. He’d been paying attention last night; he knew her magic.
From the corner of her eye she could see the other draconi moving on her as well. They were as blisteringly fast as their flames were hot. Eira couldn’t keep holding her magic on Olivin and his female companion without opening herself up for attack, not when it required as much finesse as it did to maintain.
Olivin jumped. The draconi lunged. She released her magic to counter their flames and at the same time—
“Mysst soto larrk!” Olivin shouted the second he had use of his mouth, as though he’d known she would have to release her hold on him.
Sword!Eira thought, her memorization of Lightspinning coming in handy. She knew what was coming before it materialized in Olivin’s hand. Light spun together, condensing and solidifying into a wickedly curved weapon.
Knowing what was to come gave Eira a chance to send a wall of ice pushing toward the draconi. They barreled right through it, heads down, skin not even bruised. What in the Mother’s name were their tightly packed scales made of?
No time to think about that now.
Eira lifted her other hand, summoning a shield of ice to block Olivin’s sword. The weapon stuck. Momentum carried him into her personal space. They were nose to nose.
