Gregory entered the waiting area, thinking over his fight.
“Well done, Magi,” Egil said. “You may go to the stands or watch from here.”
“I’ll stay with my wives, sir.”
“Very well. The rules still apply.”
“You got lucky, Pettit,” Parks sneered. “If he’d been even halfway competent with his weapon, he’d have smashed you.”
“We’ll see how competent he is when he faces the others,” Gregory said.
“Good fight, even if some people are too blinded by hatred to see it for what it was. You were always shifting to avoid his attacks. Though you are lucky he wasn’t reinforcing his skin,” Kang said.
“I only did what I did because he stopped doing so,” Gregory replied. “I took the first avenue to victory. I’m glad the arena heals people, or that would’ve been terrible for him.”
“It would have,” Yukiko agreed, “but we have confirmation that there is healing.”
“He’s up,” Jenn said. “They’re using the referee to help him back to their waiting area.”
“He’s past apprentice tier,” Gregory said loudly enough that everyone in the room could hear him. “I’d say late initiate or thereabouts, which means the others might be, too.”
“Of course, they wouldn’t make things fair. They’d lose even quicker,” Nick scoffed.
Hayworth’s lips pursed as he thought about how that would tip things in Buldoun’s favor for every round.
“They don’t use the same method to track strength that we do,” Jenn said. “Maybe he’s just their strongest?”
“I hope so,” Hayworth said slowly. “He was radiating that much aether, Pettit?”
“Not trying to hide his aether at all,” Gregory shrugged. “He even pushed some out. I’m assuming he was trying to intimidate me.”
“As if a fringer would know what real power is,” Nick snorted.
“Now that the arena is cleared, ladies and gentlemen, we can ask the next set of contestants out,” the announcer said. “We’ve all heard of the Eternal Flame clan. Today, there is a bloodline member of their founding family here: Nicklaus Shun. His opponent is Claudia Firetongue, part of Eagle House and another user of fire magic. Come out now, fighters.”
Nick stiffened at the use of his birth name. His mother had come from Buldoun and had convinced his father to give him that name. He’d shortened it and insisted on that version since he was a child. What was worse was who he was being pitted against— a cousin from his mother’s family.
“Nicklaus, is it?” Hayworth chuckled.
“I’d keep your mouth shut, Hayworth!” Nick snarled. “Unless you want a reminder of what happens to those who upset me.”
“Fair point,” Hayworth said civilly, then turned to Gregory. “What happens? I mean, you’ve upset him far worse than anyone else, and I haven’t seen it bother you.”
“Shun, the arena,” Egil said sharply. “If you don’t go, they will call you forfeit.”
Nick spun, stalking to the weapons rack to snatch a katana before nearly shoving past Egil. Nick didn’t acknowledge the crowd— he was seething at Hayworth and just waiting to let out his anger on who he faced.
Claudia was already waiting for Nick. She waved to the crowd with a bright smile. Her blonde hair and dark blue eyes gave her a friendly look when combined with her expression. She looked like she was used to being lauded and fawned over. Her eyes locked on Nick when he finally came out onto the arena floor, and her lips twisted into a disgusted expression.
“Must be some history there…” Jenn murmured.
“Agreed,” Yukiko nodded.
“Both fire magi,” Binder said. “Who has more aether to burn?”
“Nick will win,” Jason said firmly.
The crowd was loud enough that they couldn’t hear the words Nick and Claudia exchanged. They could see Claudia’s face, though, and she was clearly upset. From the way Nick was standing, it was obvious that he was angry, too.
The announcer called them to bow, and both did only the minimum required, causing a stir in the crowd. Both referees and the announcer backed well up, expecting fire. When the announcer called for them to fight, neither used their magic.
Nick rushed forward, but Claudia backpedaled, her weapon becoming obvious when she extended it and started to spin. The first crack of the whip was not where she wanted it, and Nick was able to dodge to the side.
A wall of flame went out from Nick as he continued to rush Claudia. It wasn’t for her, as that was pointless— he wanted to burn the whip into nothing. Claudia had to extend her magic more than normal to stop the flames from robbing her of her weapon.
“Are there nubs on the whip?” Binder asked.
“Her weapon would be the spiked whip. It’s rare, and rarely used,” Egil said, watching the fight. “The spikes on the normal weapon are razor-sharp metal. Exposed flesh and soft armor don’t do well against it. If she used a thin metal version of it, she might even be able to coat it with her flames. I have a couple of scars from that style of weapon.”
Nick managed to get inside the range of her whip, but Claudia didn’t panic. As he went to strike, she put a blossom of flame directly in his face. The fire wouldn’t hurt him, but that second of blindness cost him. Claudia went low, sweeping his legs as his attack went over her head.
She didn’t follow up, as Nick went into a roll away from her. Instead, she took off running the other way, gaining distance. She spun around just as Nick got back to his feet. The crowd was enjoying the fight— they were loud enough to mute what the two fire users said to each other, but it was clear that the animosity was climbing. Claudia cracked her whip, then beckoned Nick with a sneer.
“She’s feisty,” Jenn chuckled. “Must be the fire in her blood.”
“She hates Nick, which makes me intrigued,” Hayworth said. “I noticed strong cheeks and a sharp nose… that might indicate she comes from a noble lineage.”
“Oh, you’re right,” Yukiko said. “Yes, she might be. The name was tickling the back of my mind before. I think I’ve heard of them before, but I still can’t place where or when.”
“From your former betrothed?” Gregory asked.
“That sounds right,” Yukiko nodded, “but I still can’t place it.”
Nick shouted as he rushed back at her. Claudia swished her whip as she let him close the distance. The moment he was in range, she lashed out. The very tip of the whip caught Nick’s cheek, cutting into his skin enough to make him bleed. Nick stumbled, but kept moving forward as Claudia backed off more.
Claudia’s next attack ended up with her whip wrapping around Nick’s sword, which he’d used to block. Nick yanked hard, and Claudia stumbled forward. Eyes gleaming, Nick raised his sword, as there was enough slack for him to try using it. Claudia let go of the whip and attacked Nick’s arm with her bare hands as he struck.
Nick grimaced when his katana fell from his hand. Claudia had managed to hit just the right spot to make his nerves deaden for a moment, but she’d taken a glancing blow down her arm in return. Neither referee stopped the fight, concluding that a real sword would’ve made her bleed, but not hurt enough to stop her from using her arm.
Nick visibly protested as the two of them ended up in hand-to-hand combat. It was clear that he was not happy, and Claudia was angry. The fight devolved into a physical battering. In the end, Nick won, but he was sporting a bloody nose and lips, along with swelling eyes. Claudia lay on the ground, knocked out, and looked at least as injured as Nick.
The two referees moved in, checking both combatants. Nick shook Willof off and headed directly for the waiting area. Willof called after him, making Nick stop. Gregory could see the hatred in Nick’s eyes before he turned back around, standing there.
“Why did he stop?” Parks asked.
“The healing only works in the arena itself,” Egil said.
“So the person Gregory fought wasn’t fully healed?” Jason asked.
“He wasn’t when he left the arena, but he was likely seen to.”
The announcer came back out, declaring Nick the winner. He spoke for a few minutes about how rare it was to see two fire users fight, explaining why the pair had devolved into combat without magic. He was still talking when Nick stalked back to the waiting area. His face was healed, but blood still marred his skin and clothing.
Egil glanced at Nick, then walked up to the top of the stairs and called out to Willof, motioning to the wooden katana on the arena floor. Willof nodded before going to retrieve the weapon.
“Break them!” Nick snapped at Parks and Jason as he left the waiting area.
Jason watched him go, then exhaled. “We’ll need to,” he told Parks. “Don’t kill them, but we need decisive wins.”
Parks nodded. “I can manage it.”
“Hmm… I wonder if they’ll continue to cycle through the clans and houses, as their school calls them?” Hayworth asked, looking back toward the arena where Claudia was waking up.
“I think they might for today, at least,” Yukiko said. “It would give each of them a chance to show their skills before they move on to the rest. Hmm… maybe they’re putting out their leaders, too?”
Hayworth nodded slowly. “They did take Gregory and Nick first. If I am called next, I would say you are probably correct… but how did they know to take him from your clan?”
“Maybe they asked before arranging the fights?” Gregory suggested.
“Possible. Build the excitement by pitting the strongest against each other first.”
“Yes, and they will rotate those three for the first three days,” Yukiko nodded. “It would boost the start of the event before we get to the clan fights.”
“It’s a shame you joined your clan and not ours,” Hayworth sighed.
“It’s a shame you don’t believe in Aether returning,” Gregory said. “You could’ve joined ours, instead.”
Hayworth chuckled. “I couldn’t, even if I did. My family is one of the founders of Swift Wind.”
“That makes sense.”
“Now that the arena is clear again, we can move onto our third fight,” the announcer said. “Let’s welcome our next set of fighters. Wallace Hayworth of the Swift Wind clan, a scion of their founding family and user of spatial magic, your opponent is Jessica Hofen, part of Wolf House and user of shadow magic. Fighters, come forth.”
“It seems you are correct, Yukiko,” Hayworth chuckled. “Shadow will be a problem for me, but maybe she hasn’t faced spatial magic before.”
“Go lose like you should,” Jason said snidely.
“All I have to do is win and not get beaten black and blue to show which clan is better,” Hayworth laughed as he walked past Parks and Jason. Picking up a shield and wooden rapier, Hayworth smiled. “And, with my preferred weapon, I have a good chance at that.”
Gregory looked out across the sands to where Hayworth’s opponent was already striding toward the middle. She had black hair and furred ears atop her head, along with a lashing black-furred tail. Her bright yellow eyes added to the image, and she spun two daggers in her hands as she walked forward.
“Strong blood in her,” Jenn murmured. “She looks confident.”
“She does,” Yukiko said. “I wonder if she’ll show me something new?”
Gregory leaned his mouth next to her ear to whisper, “I’ll use my sight to see if I can catch anything.”
“Thank you, dear one,” Yukiko murmured.
