And most importantly,Logan’s voice echoes in my mind,don’t overthink.
Asking me not to overthink is like asking me not to breathe, but I try anyway, focusing on the mental image of my electricity contained inside the glass sphere.
Vera holds her curved dagger at the ready, the thing looking a thousand times deadlier than my simple blade.
“Begin,” Kieran announces, and Vera comes at me in a blink, her blade catching my arm.
The sting of it makes everything suddenly sharp and clear.
“There we go,” she says, already moving for another strike. “Now you’re paying attention.”
I manage to get my dagger up this time, but the force of her attack sends me stumbling.
Her blade kisses my ribs next in a burning line of pain that makes me gasp, and when I try to counter, she flows around my clumsy attempt like water.
“This is what training looks like when your parents care enough to prepare you for the real world instead of just throwing money at your problems,” she says, pressing forward.
Anger flares hot in my chest, and I lunge at her, but she makes me pay for it with a cut across my thigh.
Then she goes for an elaborate spinning attack that’s all show, and suddenly, something clicks. All those years of reading tennis serves, of knowing where the ball will be instead of where it is, suddenly make sense in a completely different context as my body moves on pure instinct, pivoting hard on my back foot.
Vera’s blade whistles through empty air.
Mine finds her ribs, parting fabric and skin in one clean line.
“You little bitch,” she snarls, and then she crashes into me, driving us both to the ground. The impact knocks the air from my lungs, and then her hand is around my throat, squeezing hard. “Lucky shot,” she sneers, leaning her weight into it. “Let’s see how lucky you are when you can’t breathe.”
Black spots dance at the edges of my vision. I can’t breathe, can’t think, and something electric surges through my veins. Power that wants to save me, to arc from my fingers into her face. It would be so easy. Just let it go. Show her whatrealpower looks like. Power strong enough to push past the Void Pit’s magical defenses.
Power that should terrify everyone in this entire damn school.
Thunder rumbles overhead, but instead of releasing my magic, I picture Logan’s glass sphere, perfect and unbreakable. The silver electricity rages against it, screaming for freedom, but I hold the image firm, even as my lungs plead for air.
Then I let my body go limp, hoping to surprise Vera by playing dead.
“Seriously?” Her grip loosens slightly. “That’s all you’ve got?”
Refusing to give up, I explode upward, driving my knee into her stomach. The sound she makes—something between a grunt and a squeak—is deeply satisfying.
She rolls sideways, clutching her middle, and I scramble away, dizzy but moving. The taste of copper fills my mouth—I must have bitten my tongue—but at least I’m on my feet.
Not for long. Vera recovers faster than I can blink, her boot catching my ribs and sending me sprawling. The world goes white for a second, and when it comes back, there’s cold steel pressed against my throat.
“Nice try.” She’s breathing hard, but at least there’s blood on her shirt where I cut her. “But this is over.”
She counts slowly as I make futile attempts to free myself, savoring each number. “One. Two. Three. Four. Five.”
“Winner: Vera Jackson,” Kieran announces.
Her blade disappears from my throat. “Thanks for the workout, Princess,” she says, standing up and brushing dust off her clothes. “Maybe next time you’ll last a whole minute.”
I stay down for a moment longer, partly because everything hurts, and partly because I need to check that the electricity is still contained behind its glass walls.
It is.
Thank every god that Logan’s training worked. And sure, I lost, but I also landed a hit on Vera Jackson. That’s like... aquarter victory? A moral victory? I’ll take whatever fraction I can get.
I climb out of the pit slowly, and before I make it to the healer, familiar faces surround me.
