Next round?
“The winners of the next three matches will also move on to the next round. You two, you’re up,” he said, pointing at Isaac and Skylar.
Isabella and I found a place against the wall to sit and watch the match.
“I didn’t realize this was a tournament,” I muttered.
“Me either,” Isabella said. “I wouldn’t have let you get off that easy.”
I glared at her. “You’re better than I thought you’d be.”
She scoffed. “Give me a few months. I’m rusty.”
I laughed.
“Seriously, though,” she said. “Who trained you?”
“He was a friend of my mom’s,” I said.
Isabella harrumphed and leaned her head against the wall.
I wanted to watch the match, but my head was still spinning from the adrenaline rush.
“Isaac will move on to the next round,” Caelan called.
“Poor Skylar,” Isabella muttered.
I glanced at Skylar. She didn’t seem bothered at all to have lost. I had a feeling she threw the match on purpose. She was more of an intellectual.
Reece and Eli had a quick match. Reece clearly was not interested in Raicanya, and Eli complained loudly about wanting a real opponent.
“You will get your turn in the next round,” Caelan said. “Riya, Ji-Han.”
Riya and Ji-Han’s match was intense. Both were skilled and had some scary moves. If I hadn’t seen the moves beforehand, they might have gotten me. In the end, Riya yielded. Ji-Han was fast, probably faster than me.
My match with Isaac was up next. While talented with a sword, he lacked real sparring experience that incorporated grappling. Anytime I got near him, he had no idea what to do. I feigned a forward thrust, falling to my knees and sliding beneath him, and swept his feet out from under him with my legs. I pinned him to the ground, hands behind his back, disarming him in the process.
Isabella was shaking her head as I returned to our spot on the floor behind the pillars.
“What was that?” she said. “I get a blade to the throat, and he gets tripped?”
I gave her a wry glance. “Jealous?”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she mused.
I shrugged. “Kind of. It’s the only thing here that I’m bound to be any good at.”
“Psh,” Isabella said. “I think you’re going to kill it here.”
“What makes you say that?”
She pursed her lips and looked up thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I have a feeling.”
“Nicely done, Ji-Han,” Caelan said.
I glanced at Eli, who was slowly getting up from the mat. He caught my eye and gave me a wink. That guy. I gave him a smirk and shook my head. I mouthed, “You’re still Captain America to me.”
A grin spread across his face as he made it to the other side of the room, slid into a seated position, and closed his eyes.
