The Crown Tournament [Chapters 28-30]

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More Crown Tournament!

Shami

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

My master punched the man in the throat long before my attacker could swing his own haymaker. The man staggered backward, half-gasping, unable to breathe. Master Elias was much thinner than the other man, and much older, but that didn’t seem to matter.

That man was strong, but to Elias, he was nothing.

The big man almost tripped over one of the bar’s stools before catching myself.

“Oh, wow,” Wren said. “You messed with the wrong guy!”

Elias ignored him.

Instead, my master slowly turned on his heel to face me. He didn’t look scared or worried. He was just irritated. I could already hear his tirade in my mind’s eye. Master Elias hated the fact I took off my headwrap. He wanted us to keep a low profile.

But then two other thuggish men, and one rough-looking woman, helped the big guy to his feet. Through a gasp and gulp, the larger man ground his teeth.

“You…” he managed to growl.

Elias returned his attention to him. “What do you want with my student?”

The four brawlers, all arcanists, stepped closer.

“I’m Alban ve Brater, the yeti arcanist.” The big man rubbed his sore throat and then forced a smile, his injury already healing thanks to his magic. “I’m here to win the Crown Tournament, and I’ve put together the toughest team around.”

He gestured to the three around him. They fanned out, circling us.

One of them was a burly man with a similar body type—big and a small head. His hair was brown instead of blond, but he otherwise looked almost identical to Alban. They might have been brothers or cousins.

To his left was a woman with tattoos and an eyepatch. She wore a long cloak that covered up everything but her face and arms.

The last man was a wiry brute who wore spectacles—which was a funny contrast. His tiny little glasses sat perched on his huge honker of a nose. He appeared older than Elias, and he peered at us with keen and calculating eyes.

“As it so happens, we’re looking for a fifth member,” Alban said. “And once I heard about a boy with two eldrin, I knew we had to have him.” Alban glared down at me. “But then you go and throw a punch upon first meeting? You have fire, boy. Fire. You’re definitely someone I can respect.”

“I…” After a short moment to think over the interaction, I realized I had been quite hasty. I didn’t need to punch the man like I had. “I’m sorry about that.”

Aldan glanced at Elias. “You have fire, too. But we only need five members.” Then he glanced back to me. “So, what do you say, kid? I read up about your team. A grifter crowarcanist? A tanuki girl? You’re filled up with losers. Dump that sad sack team and join up with some real winners.” His words were cocky and boastful, like he thought he was giving me the best deal ever.

I didn’t even know what to say to him. Elias was a real master arcanist—this was just some yeti arcanist who grabbed me at the tavern. And managed to get punched twice.

Finlay and Sage, who weren’t far from this whole encounter, sat at the bar, watching our every move. It irritated me that some random loser would insult them. They were my students now! I had to be Elias. I couldn’t let people say negative things about them—not unless they wanted my ire.

Elias laughed as he dismissively waved the man off. “Amir isn’t interested.”

“You don’t speak for him,” Alban said, slow and menacing. “Get lost. You think you’re stronger than me? Ha! You realize that was just a lucky strike, right?”

Without warning, Alban threw a punch. A treacherous strike, straight at Elias’s face.

But once again, Master Elias earned his title. He leaned away—only a slight amount, but enough to fully dodge—and then grabbed Aldan’s arm once it was fully extended.

My master’s fingers were made of iron. His fingers were tightly wrapped around the big man’s arm, which twitched and trembled. Alban looked a lot bigger than Elias, but it was painfully clear who was stronger.

The big man huffed and puffed, straining as hard as he could. A vein popped in his forehead as he tried pushing Elias aside. All the while, Elias was call and tranquil.

He wasn’t even trying.

Elias sighed. “Amir isn’t interested, or else he would’ve said something. Did your yeti’s hair get into your ears? Now leave us alone.” He shoved Alban away, in control of his strength.

Alban swore and swung his other fist, but that was all I saw. Everything else was a blur.

There was a loud smack as Elias blocked the big man’s attack, and then he’d flung him hard onto the floor. His head had hit the ground so hard that the inn’s wooden floor was cracked. Alban let out a long moan, then slumped over, unconscious.

The woman with the eyepatch waved her hand, and a river of water burst from her palms. It splashed into the inn with enough force to knock over chairs, disturb tables, and cause a few people to shout. Then the manipulated the water, and it began to frost over and freeze, almost within an instant.

Elis clicked his tongue in disgust. “An ahuizotl arcanist…”

I recognized Elias’s fighting style—the Ginza Aggression—as he leapt over the semi-freezing water and punched at the woman with a flurry of blows.

The difference between us was like night and day. Despite the woman’s water all around us, she fell unconscious after just a short exchange.

Someone shouted, “Get them!”

A glass came whizzing towards my head. I ducked to the side, and then it shattered behind me. The broken glass prickled the back of my neck—it wasn’t enough to hurt me, but it still stung.

The bartender shouted something and then I saw the bouncer’s moving in.

“There’s no need for that,” Elias muttered. He gestured, and then a torrent of wind exploded upward.

The other arcanists with Alban didn’t even have time to be surprised. One moment, they were standing there, gaping at Elias. Next, they’d hurtled headfirst into the ceiling. All three of them crashed to the ground, their heads slamming on the wood with a terrible crack.

None of them got up afterward. If they were lucky, they were just unconscious.

“Wait…what’s going on?” Alban groggily shifted on the floor.

Elias glanced down at him. It wasn’t even a glare—there was no anger there—it was just disdain.

I couldn’t believe this. Elias was so much stronger than I’d even realized…

Without another word, Alban slunk off, leaving his unconscious teammates behind in the bar. Everyone else at the inn glanced down at the water. It started to dry up within a few seconds. Arcanist evocation did that—it wasn’t permanent.

A shocked gasp came from across the room. A woman stood, her eyes wide. She pointed. “Those moves…those techniques. By the abyssal hells, is that the Red Wind?”

“Oh, I think you’re right,” said an older man near the corner. “I-It is!”

I blinked. The Red Wind? The famous arcanist people mentioned in Morumbi Town?

Chairs shifted, people shouted, and a few glasses shattered against the floor. Hushed whispers made their way through the inn.

“Did someone say the Red Wind?” another person asked.

“The legendary arcanist?”

“Isn’t he the master of the skies?”

Was Master Elias the Red Wind? Really?

“Listen up,” Master Elias shouted, his words echoing throughout the inn. “May that fight be a warning to everybody here. I’m fighting in the Crown Tournament, and I intend to win. Nobody in this room was even half my equal!”

Nobody even dared to respond. The entire bar fell into a hushed and respectful silence.

I couldn’t believe it. It was the most awesome thing I’d ever seen before.

Then things got even crazier.

“You’re really the Red Wind?” I asked.

Elias didn’t reply.

He didn’t need to. I thought back to the lessons of the Ginza Aggression Fighting Art. How the fists and blows were supposed to be swift and aggressive, like a razor wind. On top of that, there was the syrocko drake.

A red creature that used wind magic…

It was all adding up. How was I so blind? It was obvious! Obvious!

I knew Elias was absurdly strong, but I didn’t know how he was legendary strong. The first time I’d met him, he used a fake name, and now I knew why.

My master was famous!

“You have to tell me about your time as the Red Wind,” I said.

Elias shook his head. “No. There’s no time for that. And it doesn’t matter.”

I shot him a mischievous grin, then stood up on my stool.

The stool was a little rickety, since one of the legs was shorter than the others. Elias also tried yanking me back down, but I had no problem keeping my balance thanks to his training.

“Hey, can anyone tell me about the Red Wind?” I shouted.

A gentleman wearing a fine flowing green and gold tunic eagerly shouted out his story. “This happened in my home town… The Red Wind and his syrocko drake, Hyperion, defeated a dragon arcanist. A drake defeating a dragon, can you believe it? A terrible match up, but the Red Wind won.”

“See?” I shrugged at Elias. “Was that so hard?”

“The Red Wind has legendary aim with his bow,” a woman in the inn said. She had long hair all tied into a single braid. “He once singlehandedly saved an entire village from East-Sea Raiders. My sister was there… You saved her.” She gazed at Elias with admiring eyes.

“That’s great,” Elias curtly said. With a frown, he turned and headed for the stairs to the rooms. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

But the crowd grew bolder. A few people jumped from their seats, hoping to speak with him.

A portly woman wearing a bright pink dress hurried towards us, her short brown hair bouncing with every eager step. From the arcanist star on her forehead, I knew she was the proprietor of the inn—she was an imp arcanist.

Her imp flew down from the rafters and landed on her shoulder. It was no larger than a house cat, with bright red skin and black little bat wings. The tiny horns on its head were sharpened to a point, and its fangs reminded me of a vampire.

“Oh, Red Wind,” the woman said, breathless. “Thank you for dealing with those brutes. They were always here, causing trouble and threatening people. But there was nothing I could do. He had a yeti, you see. I couldn’t deal with him. I’m not a…” She eyed him up and down. “I’m not a big and strong drake arcanist… like you.”

Imp eyed Elias as well. “Kekeke,” it said with a snicker.

“Right,” Master Elias said, his tone so monotone, I knew he was hating every moment. He disliked talking to people, he hated crowds, and he definitely didn’t like it when people knew things about him,

This whole situation was a terrible combination of all of Elias’s nightmares.

Elias gestured awkwardly at the holes he’d made in the roof and floor. “Sorry about damaging the bar, by the way.”

The imp arcanist just waved it off. “Pish-posh. Think nothing of it.” Her eyes were wide as saucers, and she was staring at him like he was the greatest thing in the world. “But if you insist, I think I could find something you could do…”

“Yeah, you can’t run off,” the imp chimed in, flashing its vampire teeth. “We have so many questions. First one: pantaloons or boxers?”

I brought a hand to my face and laughed. It reminded me Dario and Yumi. Which reminded me of why I had been so upset when I entered the inn. But after watching Elias fight, the problems with Dario didn’t seem so major.

The problem was far from solved, though. I still needed to discuss this all with Master Elias.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

In the middle of the night, when I couldn’t sleep, I sat up on my bed. The moonlight shone in through the window, illuminating the corners. My bedsheets were so white, and so clean, they practically glittered.

Wren slept at my feet, but Roux was outside with Hyperion. Despite our distance, I could still speak to her telepathically. I closed my eyes and reached out to her with my mind.

“Roux?”

“Yes, partner?”

Her voice soothed me, like my medications in the morning and evening. With a smile, I continued to speak with her. “Did you know the Crown of Ascension had something special in it?”

“I know of the raw magic, yes.”

“But you didn’t tell me?” My smile faded and eyebrows knitted. Why wouldn’t she say anything? Why would they hide it?

“I’m sorry, Amir,” Roux said, gentle. “Master Elias thought it was better to not say anything. He feared you would… let it go to your head. That you would crave the crown for the wrong reasons.”

“Why?” I asked aloud.

Wren snorted and twitched his back leg. When he rolled onto his back, his black spines tore into the fabric of my blankets. Despite that, he didn’t wake.

“Why?” I asked again, this time with telepathy.

“There are old legends that say a kirin arcanist with the crown could be stronger than a god-creatures. That kind of power could corrupt someone—make them tyrannical. Master Elias hopes you’ll stay true to yourself, even if you win. He doesn’t want you to become someone who uses their power to conquer all.”

I ran a hand down my face, clearing away the sweat. “I met another kirin arcanist today. Dario Hon. He wants the crown to do just that—rule over everything.”

“Oh, no…”

I opened my eyes and stared at the blankets on my lap. “What’s wrong?”

“Master Elias specifically wanted you to enter this tournament so that…”

“So that what?”

I felt Roux’s hesitation in her telepathic communication. She didn’t want to tell me. Why keep all these secrets?

“You can’t let any other kirin arcanists get the crown, Amir,” she finally said.

“I don’t plan to lose,” I replied.

“As long as we are in agreement. You must win. We must get the Crown of Ascension. No matter what.”

I thought back to Dario and how he was obsessed with becoming powerful. Was Master Elias afraid I would be like him? I would never act that way. Dario was kooky. I almost felt bad for Yumi. She obviously liked him, but he was obviously touched in the head.

With half a smile, I leaned back on my bed. As long as I beat Dario in all our matches, it didn’t matter what he was planning. I would get the crown.

Content that I had solved this problem, I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep.

***

I let out a loud and painful yawn. My jaw felt like it was pulling my skull apart, and tears came to my eyes. I hadn’t slept well, and I was stiff. Thankfully, Roux was my trusty steed as we strode through town.

Wren was in my arms, Elias and Hyperion were in the lead, guiding us through the streets, and our other three teammates—Finlay, Sage, and Valdo—were trailing behind. It was early. Too early. And everyone was tired.

“Are you all right, Amir?” Sage asked as she hurried to Roux’s side. She held her tanuki in her arms like a small girl would hold a stuffed animal. Kenji remained asleep.

“I’m fine,” I muttered. “But I haven’t been this tired since I left the orphanage.”

I just couldn’t believe everything that’d happened last night.

First Dario… Then the attack at the bar. And then finding out Elias was the Red Wind!

As if Sage was having some of the same thoughts, she walked a little closer and whispered, “It’s so amazing that we have the Red Wind on our team.”

I nodded once. “Yeah. Master Elias is amazing.”

“He was so close to winning the last Crown Tournament. I think our odds of winning have actually jumped drastically upward!”

Finlay hurried to the other side of Roux, one hand in his pants pocket, his other arm holding his cocoon eldrin. “Hey,” he said in a hushed tone. “What’s all the whispering here? Huh? You have to keep your boy Finlay in the loop.”

I shook my head. “We’re not talking about anything important.”

“Well, just remember your promise to us—that we get the star shards once we win this tournament. You remember that, right? You’re not going back on your word?”

“Sure, you can have them,” I muttered.

The crown really was the most important prize.

Finlay rubbed his nose. Then he smiled. “Good. Just making sure.”

Wren wiggled in my arms, and his spine almost pricked me. I glanced down, and he smiled up at me. “Rub my belly.”

I did as he wanted, and he hissed in contentment. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he stared up at me. “You’re not scratching like you normally do.”

“That conversation with Dario was horrible,” I said, groaning.

Wren shot me a surprised look. “Hm? You’re still thinking about that? I thought that watching Elias fight would have been enough to make you happy again.”

I nodded. “It did. But we can’t let Dario win. We just can’t.”

Roux’s voice rang in my mind. “We won’t lose, Amir. I’m here with you.”

I patted the side of her neck. But then, when I glanced, I realized we had reached our destination. There were crowds of people in every direction. The streets were flooded with bodies. Mystical creatures, humans—everywhere I glanced, there was more and more to see.

Today’s stadium was far larger than the one back at Morumbi Town. Instead of a competition held in Brock’s backyard, the Santtia stadium was large and sprawling, with over a thousand people in attendance.

The stadium was built of the same smooth and shiny black stone that made up the roofs of the various building, and “SANTTIA STADIUM” was engraved in large gold letters in the center of the stage.

Most impressive of all, there were a series of four enormous mirrors placed around the stadium. According to Elias, the mirrors were artifacts enhanced by light magic from erlking arcanists. Since there were so many people in the stadium, they couldn’t all watch the battles at once—but the mirrors reflected parts of the arena, giving everyone a better view.

The crowds of people allowed us to pass until we were in the center of the stadium, right next to the platform arena. Once there, Roux stopped next to Elias.

Elias glanced over. “Still bothered about what happened last night?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“They were just thugs. Forget about them.”

“Not them,” I said as I stared out over the crowds. “I met a man named Dario last night. I thought he would be perfect for our team, but… That’s not the case.”

Master Elias slid off Hyperion’s back and hit the ground with an easy thud. Some people in the audience were chanting about the return of the Red Wind, and he grimaced any time someone shouted his moniker.

With a sigh, he glanced up at me on Roux’s back. “Who cares about this Dario guy?”

“He’s a kirin arcanist, like me.”

Master Elias locked up. He didn’t say anything else, but I could tell he was anxious. I knew him better than anyone.

“And he’s not the friendly type?” Elias asked, his words stilted.

I shook my head. “No.”

Sage and Finlay were great people, even though they were still learning to fight.

I wished everyone could be like them.

I started scanning the crowd of contestants, but I couldn’t find Dario. In fact, there were very few people lining up for the Santtia bout—way less people than in Morrumbi Town.

Sage clapped her hands together. “It looks like your threat worked, Red Wind. Nobody is here.”

Elias snorted. “Eh. Just you watch. We’re going to get the toughest people this city has to offer now.” Then Elias glanced over to me. “What’s this Dario fellow look like?”

“He’s my age,” I said. “He has long black hair. And he’s got a ton of scars. He wore a blue hairband yesterday that covered up his mark, just like I did.”

“I see,” Elias replied. Despite the danger, Elias didn’t seem particularly worried. He was still using his usual “mentor voice” like this was a lesson for me to learn.

“You don’t seem worried,” I noted.

Elias shrugged. “He’s a boy your age, right? Boys at that age have plenty of grandiose ideas. You might have heard about one who called himself the Red Wind…”

That got a smile out of me, and Elias put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“If it gets out of hand, I can step in and deal with him. Speaking of which, there he is. A boy your age with black hair, right?” Elias nudged me and pointed to the other side of the stadium.

Dario and Yumi were sitting in the front row, leaning against the banister. Dario still had on a blue hairband, covering up his mark. Just like yesterday, Yumi leaned heavily against him, her eyes on him, while his gaze were on the combatants.

Neither of them had their eldrin with them. I had been secretly hoping to see Dario’s kirin. What did it look like?

Then Dario spotted us. His eyes narrowed as he examined Elias.

“He’s probably here to watch you,” Elias muttered. “It’s a common tactic. There are a hundred qualifying events, and you only need to win three to make it. He might have one or two crown pieces already, and I suspect he’d prefer to watch a rival than do anything else. Like you, his goal isn’t just to win a few bouts—he wants to win the entire event.”

That made sense, but I didn’t like it at all.

Damn. This kind of out-of-competition strategy stuff was complicated! First, it was people sending people to beat us up out of the battle. Now it was Dario watching us instead of fighting.

What a sneaky trick…

Elias pointed at Yumi. “That girl. Did you meet her yesterday?”

I nodded. “Yes. That’s Yumi Feng.”

Elias raised an eyebrow. “So he has the heir to the Feng family on his side. That’s interesting. And irritating.”

“It’s weird,” I muttered. “She was… fawning all over him yesterday, but he kept ignoring her. Or maybe he was mad at her? I’m not very good at this—but it felt weird to me.”

Elias shrugged. “Perhaps she’s in love. Perhaps not. The Feng family is an important political player in this area, and powerful people always crowd around people with kirin. Queen Xiu is famous for it. She’s tried for years to bond with a kirin—she’s tried several times to buy some from our village.”

I whipped my attention over to Master Elias. “R-Really?”

He nodded once.

“Who is Queen Xiu?” I had so many questions I almost burst. Master Elias never talked about himself!

Elias waved his hand dismissively. “Some upjumped ruler who is far too full of herself. One of many such rulers. Don’t worry about her. As long as she doesn’t step into the arena, we’ll be fine.”

Dario continued staring at us, glaring with narrowed eyes. Even across the stadium, I saw that his eyes were smoldering with the same manic hatred and anger I’d seen last night at the restaurant.

Now that I’d had time to think about it, it made me sad.

The East-Sea Raiders had killed my family and ruined my life, but that experience didn’t make me hate everybody. Dario couldn’t make any friends. He couldn’t even see that Yumi was in love with him.

I turned back to Elias. “By the way, something strange happened when I met Dario. We bumped into each other, and I felt something strange. Roux said it was because Dario has a great destiny.”

Elias raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Of course. He’s a kirin arcanist. All kirin arcanists have a great destiny. That’s why one bonded with you. That’s why the queen desperately wants one—it’s a status symbol, as well as access to vast power.”

I nervously patted Roux. “Does that mean he’ll win?”

Master Elias shook his head. “No. It just means he’s someone we have to really pay attention to.”

“Right…” I suddenly felt excited. “Master, are you going to fight today?” Just the thought of seeing Elias in battle was getting me excited, especially after watching yesterday. “You could probably beat everybody alone! We could even put you and Valdo up!”

Elias shook his head. “Amir, you’re thinking of this the wrong way. You want to keep your capabilities hidden since your rival is watching, right?”

I nodded. “Yes. Dario came all the way here to scout me. So, if I don’t fight, it’s wasted, right?”

Elias grinned fiercely, and for a moment, he looked as savage as Hyperion. “No. If you fight in front of him, you can prove that he has no chance to win.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

The announcer, a buff woman with short brown hair, suddenly started calling out to us. “Attention! Wren’s Winning Team, please report to the center of the stage! Wren’s Winning Team, please report to the center of the stage!”

Wren swaggered ahead of us. “Hey, awesome! They are still using my team name!”

Sage and Finlay both rolled their eyes. Kenji leapt out of Sage’s arms and hit the ground with a little bounce. He was rather round for an eldrin.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to keep it for the whole tournament,” Kenji grumbled. The short tanuki waddled through the crowd, almost tripping half the guests in his way.

Finlay, Sage, and Valdo also made their way around the tournament platform. There was a set of stairs that led up onto the stone arena.

Finlay hugged Sinsidius, the fat black cocoon, tightly to his chest as he pushed his way through the crowd.

Peeter flew high above everybody else. For a while, he looked regal, but then a heavy gust sent him plummeting to the ground.

The crowd began laughing and jeering.

“Wow! Look at this team!”

“They have some weird cocoon and a grifter crow! What a bunch of losers!”

“I can’t believe a team has two tier one eldrin. That’s forty percent of their team! How did the Red Wind get stuck with those arcanists?”

It seemed like the only person who wasn’t laughing was Dario—even Yumi had her hand to her mouth, snickering. He just continued impassively staring at our team. Dario didn’t seemed to care about strong or weak eldrin—he was just upset about the arcanists. If anything, he would blame Finlay and Valdo for dragging their low-tier eldrin into the fight.

I glanced across the stage, and winced.

The team facing us had a scary demeanor.

All five of them were women. They looked rather similar to each other—all had the same long blonde hair and shimmering blue-green eyes. They might have been sisters. Had to be.

They wore heavy black cloaks, and they’d painted their lips and nails black. Each of them carried a full complement of weapons, but most of them were on the lighter side.

They had fencing sabers at their waists, and I saw knife handles poking out from the heels of their boots. Considering their billowing black cloaks, they probably had many other weapons at their disposal.

All of their arcanist stars were prominent, and they were all different. Their eldrin, ranging from an owl creature to a cute bunny, stayed by their feet.

“By the abyssal hells,” Sage whispered. “Those are the Nocte Sisters!”

“Who?” I asked.

Finlay frowned. “They look like a bunch of weird witch ladies.” He rolled his eyes. “They’ve been talking about how they’ll win the tournament for months.”

Sage rubbed her arms. “I’ve heard rumors they’ve been mastering the art of poisoning and paralysis. I think they’ve been practicing for this tournament for years.”

I scowled. They were famous arcanists?

The announcer walked to the center of the stage, smiling at us and the Nocte Sisters in turn. “Looks like we only have two competing teams today! On the left, we have Wren’s Winning Team, who won the qualifier in Morumbi Town! On the right are the Nocte Sisters, who have won qualifiers in Jacobo Village and Koike City! If the Nocte Sisters win today’s match, they will qualify for the prefecture bouts!”

The crowd applauded. The Nocte Sisters beamed and waved at their many fans.

“Let’s win, Roux,” I telepathically said, “We need to crush this team. We need to scare of Dario and Yumi, and show everyone that we’re absolutely going to win this whole tournament.”

“Of course,” she replied.

Sometimes, it felt like Roux was just going along with what I wanted because she was my eldrin. But today, she seemed pretty determined, too. I wondered what she thought about Dario? Did she also want to see another kirin?

“Today’s competition will be a two-on-two fight!” the announcer woman shouted. “If someone is knocked unconscious or pushed out of the ring, they are finished. Killing is not allowed! Now, both teams must select their representatives and send everybody else off the stage.”

The Nocte Sisters huddled together, whispering as they made their selections.

My group all glanced over at Master Elias. Even though Sage, Finlay, and Valdo had just met us, they knew who made the decisions.

“Mr. Wind,” Sage asked. “Are you going to fight alongside Amir in this bout?”

Elias frowned. “What did you just call me?”

“Mr. Wind,” Sage replied. “You know, because you’re the Red Wind.”

I stifled a laugh.

If Sage didn’t sound so innocent, I would have thought she was yanking Elias’s leg.

Elias shook his head. “No. I don’t need this win. If Amir really is training you, then one of you should go in with him. You all need experience. Real experience.” My master turned to me. “Amir. Pick one of them.”

I turned to Sage and Finlay. Valdo, who probably thought he was in the lineup, slowly inched out of my sight, making no noise whatsoever. That was fine. I would never pick him. I didn’t need a meat shield.

Of the other two, Finlay was more ready.

Sage was still afraid of combat, and I saw her freezing up for just a small moment before hitting even stationary objects. That fear would be even more overwhelming when up against someone hitting back.

However, Sinsidius was just a cocoon. As far as I could tell, he had no abilities in this stationary form. I glanced at the crowd and observed Dario again.

I thought about what he said last night—that eldrin just did whatever their arcanists commanded them to do. I disagreed with his conclusions, but I thought he had a point. I wasn’t sure what to do with this conclusion, though.

“Finlay, you come with me,” I said.

I noticed Sage’s shoulders sagging a little with relief, and I knew I had made the right choice. One day, she would become a great fighter. She had a super diligent attitude when training. But for now, she was still afraid.

The problem was, Finlay was starting to act afraid, too.

Much more afraid than I’d expected.

“Are you sure?” Finlay asked, kicking his feet in the sand. “Sinsidius is a cocoon. A cocoon. A wheel of cheese could beat him.” He lifted Sinsidius. “See? He’s super fat. He can’t even move. Plus, his magic isn’t very powerful yet.”

“That’s okay,” I replied. “You’ll just have to fight using ordinary martial arts, just like we were practicing the other day.”

I set my feet, then threw a quick pair of practice punches to remind him. “If you can do that, we’ll be fine. Just stick to the fundamentals and fight in a smart and careful way.”

Finlay took a deep breath. “I barely know the basics.”

“Are you saying you’d rather sit out?”

“I just… I don’t know. I don’t want to lose as quickly as before.” He leaned in close, his face slightly red. “It was embarrassing.”

“Don’t you want those star shards?” I whispered. “You want them for some reason, right? Some really important reason?”

Finlay met me gaze. “Yeah. I… I want the shards so I can take all the kids out of Rosewood Orphanage. I want to build them all houses. And… And I want us to be a family.”

His reasoning caught me by surprise. Even while the audience cheered, and the announcer hyped everything up, I almost didn’t hear any of that. I was too focused on Finlay.

He wanted to save all those kids?

“It takes a lot of coin,” Finlay muttered. “I figured, if I won this tournament, it would be enough. More than enough. But after seeing everyone fight, I’m starting to think I’m just stupid. I don’t even compare to anyone here.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder. Finlay tensed and met my gaze.

“Hey, don’t worry.” I genuinely smiled. “I’ve got your back. Think about the orphanage, but focus on your skill when you fight. Your determination to win will fuel your growth. And I’ll be here to make sure we make it through this.”

I just said whatever came to mind first. For some reason, it really resonated with Finlay. His lip quavered for a moment, and then confidently nodded.

“All right.” He grabbed my hand and smiled. “Let’s do this.”

“You can do it, my arcanist.” Sinsidius’s muffled voice sounded through the cocoon. “After joining this team, your focus has been much better than before. I believe in you.”

I…

I didn’t know the cocoon could speak. That was a first. Finlay gulped, then walked onto the stage with Sinsidius. Roux, Wren, and I stepped in beside them. As usual, I started on Roux’s back, with Wren running in beside us.

On the other side of the stage were two of the Nocte Sisters, along with their eldrin.

The two sisters looked so alike that I couldn’t tell them apart at first glance. Their only distinguishing traits were their weaponry. Both of them had added on a pair of additional items on top of their usual equipment.

The sister on the left carried a small sickle in one hand and spun a spiked chain in the other. Her eldrin was a squat owl-like bird with the sneering face of a woman—I hadn’t seen one in person before, but even I recognized it as a harpy.

The other sister carried a large mace in her right hand and a heavy kite shield in her left. From the looks of it, she would focus on heavy strikes while her sister used quick attacks.

Her eldrin was a strange cat with that I didn’t recognize. Instead of fur, it was covered with a strange smooth glowing material. The greenish-red glow reminded me of a firefly. Strangest of all, it had a circular mirror on its forehead.

“What is that?” I asked.

Sage, on the side of the combat platform, cringed. “That’s a carbuncle,” she shouted. “It’s a cat that lives inside mountains and creates gemstones. Be careful! It has lots of light powers. And it’s super hard! Like, tough.”

“Oh. Thanks.” I turned to her and nodded. Sage blushed and glanced away. Was she weird about all her knowledge? She seemed really useful.

The announcer woman walked to the center of the stone arena. She glanced at Finlay and me before turning to the two sisters. When we all nodded at her, she brought her hand up.

“Wren’s Winning Team has sent Amir, the boy with two eldrin! He’s here with his kirin, Roux, and his syrocko drake, Wren. Alongside Amir is Finlay and his grave moth, Sinsidius!”

The crowd clapped and cheered, some even stomped their feet. The whole area shuddered with physical excitement.

The announcer paused and frowned, scratching her chin. “Huh. It seems like Sinsidius is currently in cocoon form. That is most unusual. Finlay, do you intend to fight with your grave moth in such a weakened state?”

Finlay stammered a little.

I glanced at him, wondering if we’d have to sub in Sage at the last moment.

The announcer sounded kind and helpful. She wasn’t mocking Finlay, but that just made it even worse—she was telling him that he was making a mistake in a simple and common-sense style.

But then, Finlay steeled himself and nodded. “Yes. Sinsidius and I will win—cocoon form or not!”

The announcer nodded. “All right then! And on the other side, we have Allegra with her harpy, Maelstrom. And Solstice with her carbuncle, Nova!”

The two sisters glared at me, then tilted their heads to the sides. Their eyes narrowed, and they briefly whispered together.

I didn’t know exactly, but I caught a few snatches that made me even more angry.

“Go for the cocoon—his teammates don’t know what they are doing.”

“The kirin didn’t do much in their last fight. We don’t need to worry about it until the end.”

“Roux, it’s just like Elias said. After our win, the other teams know about us. First, it’s the guys at the bar trying to force us to join their team, then Dario is watching us. And now these people are coming in with a counter strategy!”

“Not a problem, partner. Just fight like you always do. If you’re good enough, you won’t need to worry about a counter strategy.”

The announcer brought her hand down.

“Fight!”

The Nocte Sisters and their eldrin sprang into action.

The carbuncle arcanist—Solstice—brought her mace high above her head and ran right at us. Her small cat eldrin sprinted off to the side, like it was going for a flank. Its hard feet click-clacked across the stone arena as it sprinted. Was the beast made of gemstone?

The harpy flew high into the air. It kept cleverly kept its back to the sun.

Finlay glanced up, but then shielded his eyes. “I can’t see it!”

A gust of wind shrieked towards us. The wind blew me off of Roux’s back.

I barely caught myself, digging my heels into the stone and setting up a good solid stance. It was just like Elias said—a martial artist’s stance was the most important thing. With my feet beneath me, not even the greatest wind could blow me over.

Beside me, Finlay hit the ground hard, letting out a cry of surprise as he dropped Sinsidius, who hit the arena with a loud thunk. Finlay scrambled, trying to get back to his feet, but then he fell again.

“Amir, what should I do?”

I turned towards him and cursed.

I had made a mistake in his training—without a good foundation and battle stance, Finlay’s punch was useless. I should have taught him this first—there was a reason why Elias had spent so long on my basics before moving into the Ginza Aggression Fighting Art.

But there was no time for that.

With the wind howling, our enemies bore mercilessly down on us.