by Megan Linski
“Okay.” She frowned, seemingly sad to see me go. I went to walk off, but before I could, she called out, “Liam?”
My heart throbbed. I turned back around. “Yes?”
She hesitated before she cautiously said, “I was thinking… about the Elemental Ball… would you like to go with me?”
My cold was temporarily forgotten. It felt like I was rushing through the ocean a million miles an hour. Sophia was asking me to the dance?
I knew what the rules were, that I should say no, but I wanted to say yes. Really badly. I opened my mouth, torn between the two answers, but the only stupid thing that came out was, “But… aren’t I supposed to ask you?”
She gaped at me for a moment, unsure of what to say before her face turned red. “How dare you!” She stomped forward, and Esis covered his eyes. “These… these aren’t the Dark Ages, you know! Independent, strong women can ask men out to dances whenever they like!”
“Um,” I started, having no idea what she was talking about.
Her expression changed. It went from really pissed to really, really depressed.
“Never mind,” Sophia said. “It was a stupid idea. I just thought—”
“No.” I caught her wrist as she turned away, and she looked back up at me. “No, Sophia, I— I would really like that. I’d love to go to the ball with you.”
Her eyes brightened. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” I let go of her wrist and nodded. “It’d be cool.”
It’d be cool. Really fucking smooth, Liam. I’m pretty sure at our feet, Esis did another facepalm.
“Oh.” It wasn’t the reaction she’d been looking for, but what did she expect? For me to grab her and sweep her off into the sunset? Did girls still want those types of things? Hell, I didn’t know.
“Is that okay?” I asked. By the ancestors, I was going to puke. She was going to take it back, because I couldn’t even say yes the right way.
“Of course.” She smiled. “I guess it’s a date.”
She slayed me. A fucking date. “Awesome.” I backed away. “I can’t wait to go to the ball with you.”
“Me either.” She held her breath. “That is, if we make it through the tournament.”
“We’ll make it,” I said instantly. “No problem.”
“Your attitude sure has changed.” She grinned.
“I want to go to that ball, and I want you there with me,” I said. “Trust me. We’ll be partying as full Elementai by the end of the tournament.”
Her expression brightened like the fire she cast. She waved goodbye, and Esis copied her movement. I raised a hand in farewell before I headed into the castle. I was practically skipping up the steps.
Shit, a dance. I needed a suit. And better shoes. I hated dances. What was wrong with me?
My mind whirled with questions of why Sophia would pick me to be her date for the ball. Maybe it was a way for Sophia to redo her prom and have a better one with me.
Me. She asked me. Who was acting like the girl now?
As I walked up the steps to the dorms, the cold came rampaging back, and I felt awful, but I hardly cared. I was going on an official date with Sophia Henley. To the Elemental Ball.
Things had changed now. I was determined to survive this fucking tournament, come hell or high water. All to put on a monkey suit and dance with the girl of my dreams.
Some women were just worth walking through firestorms for.
It was finally here. The day of the tournament.
And I was freaking. The eff. Out.
“We haven’t practiced enough. We should’ve trained longer. What are we going to do without Baine out there with us?” I paced back and forth in mine and Imogen’s changing room, my hands shaking. My Fire raged just on the surface, begging to escape. “Oh God, Imogen! What if someone gets hurt and Esis has to heal them? Liam will kill me when he finds out I never told him—”
Imogen’s palm cracked against the side of my face. “Pull yourself together, woman!”
I froze in place, completely shocked. Did Imogen just slap me? What the hell?
“Seriously, Sophia. You can’t go out there like this.” Imogen acted tough, but I could see the worry in her eyes. She crossed the room and sank into one of the chairs in front of the big mirrors lined with bright lights.
Our morning had started with a big celebratory breakfast for the contestants, followed by a speech from Head Dean Alric. It was supposed to prep us for the tournament and get us motivated, but afterward, I only felt more clueless and hopeless than ever.
After Alric’s big speech, our teams had been ushered into carriages pulled by unicorns and led away from the castle. Liam gave us a pep talk in the carriage, but it sounded forced and nervous, like he was only doing it because he was team Captain.
When the carriages stopped, we entered a huge stone building at least five stories tall. The arena. Through the trees, I couldn’t even see either end of it. The exterior looked a lot like a mini version of the castle, but the inside was more modern. We followed everyone else down a long hall with doors that had our names on them. The rooms were the size of my dorm, with two sets of uniforms hanging from the hooks on the wall to our right and loads of makeup sitting on the counter in front of the dressing mirrors on our left. There were chocolates set out for us, but I didn’t have the appetite to eat them. As soon as Imogen and I were safely inside our shared room, I promptly started to freak out.
“Let’s just take it one step at a time,” Imogen suggested, taking a deep breath.
“Okay,” I agreed, but I couldn’t keep the worry from my tone. “First step?”
“First step is to get dressed before our makeup artist arrives.”
“Makeup artist?” I asked, glancing to all the hair and makeup supplies in front of us. “Isn’t that kind of… pointless?”
“We have to look nice for the opening ceremony,” Imogen said, like it was obvious. She grabbed a blush brush and began tickling the end of Sassy’s nose with it. Esis jumped out of my arms and joined Sassy on the counter, waiting patiently for his makeover.
“Why does anyone care?” I asked. “Our makeup will be a mess after the first trial.”
Imogen shrugged. “I don’t know. They just want us to make a good impression. We want to look good on TV, and it’ll help us win bets.”
I gaped at her. “This thing is televised?!”
She nodded. “On our local station.”
“And no one bothered to tell me?” I started pacing again.
“I didn’t realize you didn’t know,” she said innocently.
“And what’s this about bets?” I demanded.
“Oh,” she said, like it was no big deal. “It’s mostly to raise money for the school, since they get a portion. But it gets everyone in Kinpago involved and excited.”
My eyes went wide. “They’re excited to watch their own children die?”
Imogen’s face fell, and she turned away from me. Shit. I’d gone a step too far. I really did need to pull myself together, or I was going to tear my team apart.
“I’m sorry, Imogen,” I said softly, taking a step toward her. “I didn’t mean—"
“No, you’re right,” she cut me off. “It’s sick. Really, it is. I never said I agreed with it. Let’s just get ready, okay?”
I nodded and turned to the uniform marked Sophia on the wall. The shirt was a form-fitting, sweat-wicking t-shirt. It was completely black, except for the white cap sleeves. On the back was a red emblem in the shape of a flame. I slipped off my lucky jeans and pulled the uniform pants on. They were made of a soft black fabric and hung loose and comfortable on my hips. They had tons of pockets on them. Finally, I put on a pair of high-top hiking boots, also black. Everything fit perfectly. Imogen’s uniform was the same as mine, except with a green leaf on her back for Nivita.
It wasn’t long before our makeup artist showed up with a tiny chameleon-like Familiar at her side. The woman’s name was Coco, a shortened version of
a Hawkei name I couldn’t pronounce. She was thin and tall, with legs that went on for miles and sleek black hair that fell to her waist. She had long eyelashes that were probably fake and perfectly manicured eyebrows. Her eyeliner was flawless.
“Hello, ladies,” Coco greeted with a smile. “Are you ready to get beautified?”
Coco was nice enough, but I got the sense that she didn’t like me and Imogen. At first, I declined makeup at all. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. But Imogen insisted I go with at least a subtle amount of makeup for the cameras.
“Okay, but I’m not coloring in my brows or using lipstick,” I compromised.
“Please,” Coco begged. “You’ll look beautiful. I promise.” Clearly she was hoping to showcase her best skills for us.
“I’d rather not,” I said, actually proud of myself for not caving in. “But I’ll let you curl my hair.”
Coco looked pleased with that, but frowned when I promptly pulled my fresh curls into a high ponytail. Imogen let her go all-out on the makeup, but when Coco insisted on taking the green bows out of her high pigtails, Imogen protested.
“Sorry, but no can do,” Imogen said. “The bows and the pigtails are here to stay.”
“If that’s what you want.” Coco tried to hide her disappointment, but I could hear it in her voice.
“Are you ready?” Imogen asked as soon as Coco left. She took a long, nervous breath.
“I guess so,” I answered, glancing at my bag in front of me on the counter. “I just wish I would’ve had a chance this morning to talk to Amelia.”
A knock came at the door, and someone stuck their head inside. “What about me?”
I leapt up from my chair and threw my arms around Amelia’s neck. “Am! I’m so glad you’re here.”
Amelia slipped inside the room, followed by Kiwi. “I had to sneak in, but it was worth it. I wanted to wish you good luck out there.”
“Thank you,” I said. “So… how bad is it? The tournament.”
Amelia frowned. “I’m not going to lie. It’s tough, but if you stick with your team and work together, there’s no reason you shouldn’t make it.”
I could think of about a thousand reasons.
“I placed a bet on you, so you better make it,” Amelia said with a laugh.
“I will,” I promised, even though I knew now wasn’t the time to be making promises I couldn’t keep. “We all will.”
I sniffled involuntarily and turned to my bag to pull out a small envelope.
“I wanted to give this to you, Am… to give to Mom and Dad.” I handed her the envelope and wiped my eyes. “It’s not much, just stupid stuff like how much I love them and that no matter what happened when I was a baby, I still love them and—"
Amelia’s body crashed into mine, halting my babbling in its tracks. She squeezed me tightly, which only made me more emotional. A tear slid down my cheek.
“It’ll be okay, Sophia,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Great,” Imogen said lightly. “Now I’m going to cry.”
I gestured to her, and she joined us in a group hug. Esis hopped off the counter and onto Imogen’s shoulder, wrapping his tiny arms around my neck. Sassy rubbed her fur against our ankles.
Amelia drew away when a whistle sounded from down the hall. “That’s your five-minute warning. I better leave before they line you up. I’ll be in the stands cheering you on, okay?”
I nodded.
“Here.” Imogen shoved a tissue in my face, and I gladly took it. I had already ruined my makeup. I knew it was stupid to put it on.
“Bye.” Amelia waved as she left the room. It felt like my insides were caving as I watched her go.
I cradled Esis in my arms, and we waved back. Before the door swung shut, Jonah stuck his head inside.
“You two beauty queens ready?” he asked. “It’s time to line up.”
Imogen scooped up Sassy, and we followed Jonah out into the hall. It was crowded with contestants, all wearing the same uniform except with different colored sleeves and symbols for their Houses. Jonah and Liam both had white sleeves to match mine and Imogen’s uniforms. Baine stood there with his hands crossed in front of him, looking proud. Squeaks followed beside them. I tried to catch Liam’s gaze, but he just stared ahead down the hall with a hard look on his face.
Hiding his emotions once again, I see.
A guy with a goatee who didn’t look much older than me held a clipboard in his hand and was directing everyone to where they needed to go. “This way and to the right,” he called. “Make way for Familiars. Line up in this order: white, purple, pink, blue, yellow…”
Nobody really paid attention beyond his first instructions. We all started down the hall and to the right.
“Of course we’re first,” Liam mumbled.
I glanced between Imogen and Jonah. “Is that a bad thing?”
I mean, I didn’t want to go first, but Liam made it sound like it had some sort of hidden meaning.
Imogen leaned over and whispered to me. “They save the best for last.”
“Oh,” I said flatly. Which meant everyone expected the least from us. We really were the reject team. “They must’ve placed us in the wrong spot.” I only said it to uplift my team, but I could see it on their faces that they all knew I was bluffing.
We entered a large corridor wider than the Koigni common room, with a high ceiling fit for a dragon to pass through. I wasn’t surprised when I saw a red dragon at the end of the hall. TVs lined the wall opposite us. They all played the same thing, but it was too loud in the corridor to hear what was happening on the TV.
“White Team, you’re first,,” the guy with the goatee repeated. It was difficult to hear him over all the chatter.
“Come on,” Jonah said glumly, gesturing to the front of the line. “Wouldn’t want someone taking our spot.”
“Don’t let this get you down,” Baine said. “You’re ready for this.”
“Losers!” a Koigni guy called as we passed him.
Liam whirled around, but Jonah caught him. “Save your energy for the course,” Jonah warned, pushing him along.
Reluctantly, Liam gave in. We stopped at the end of the hall beside a pair of huge doors that looked like they belonged in an aircraft hangar.
“Let’s come up with a motto,” Imogen suggested. “We’re seriously lacking some team spirit.”
“How about Let’s not fucking die?” Liam offered, crossing his arms.
I was preoccupied, my attention locked down the hall. I was trying to get a good look at which team they were saving for last. My eyes caught Haley’s at the back of the line. She smirked, sending my blood pressure skyrocketing. She stood next to Doya, but thank God Doya didn’t notice my eyes on them. Beside them was a Koigni guy with tree trunks for arms, who was petting the dragon I’d seen earlier. Haley and him weren’t on the same team, as evidenced by their mismatched sleeve colors— hers red and his metallic silver— but they were definitely both top picks.
I glanced around for other members of the Red Team. I spotted a huge Nivita guy who had to be half-giant. He stood beside a creature that looked like a lion carved from marble, though it moved with ease.
The Yapluma member of their team was a girl with short black hair spiked in the front. She had at least three piercings, two in her lip and one in her nose. Her eyes were ringed in thick black eyeliner. She looked like the kind of girl who thought she was a vampire and would suck your blood just to prove it. Beside her sat a huge black cat similar to a jaguar, but with leathery wings attached to its back and sharp teeth that curled over its lip as if in warning.
The Toaqua girl beside them didn’t have a Familiar, which I could only guess meant it was an insanely powerful sea creature like Thalassa.
I looked between Esis, Squeaks, and Sassy, then to Liam’s empty side. It was pretty clear why we were going first. And damn it, I didn’t want Liam to be right.
I guess we’re just going to have to prove everyone wrong.
Baine stood at the front of our group and adjusted his glasses. “You have nothing to fear. The contestant pool is small this year, so the other teams shouldn't get in your way. You’re prepared for whatever else you might find out there. Just trust each other, and I will see you soon.”
Liam rolled his eyes and muttered, “Great pep talk.”
Baine shot him a pointed expression. “Did I perhaps make a mistake in choosing the team Captain?”
Liam hesitated, then stood up straight. “No, sir.”
Baine nodded approvingly. “Good. I wish you all the best of luck.”
Goatee Guy rushed in front of us. “White Team, you’re up in less than thirty seconds.”
“Smile,” Baine encouraged. “You’re on TV.”
Esis slapped his cheeks three times and then grinned. Nerves knotted in my gut, but I forced a smile to my face as the massive doors slid open. The intense sound of thousands of hands clapping spilled into the wide corridor. Sunlight assaulted my eyes, and I had to cover them to see properly.
“First up, we have the White Team!” an announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers.
I blinked a few times before I could finally make out the scene beyond the doors. A huge stage spanned out in front of us, bigger than the concert stage at the huge music festival Amelia took me to when I was in high school. Rows upon rows of seating stretched far beyond the stage, rising high in the back of the stadium. There must’ve been at least ten thousand people here, if not more. It looked like most of Kinpago had come to celebrate the Elemental Cup. My heart pounded so hard that I didn’t hear what Goatee Guy said. I only saw him waving us forward.
Liam led us out onto the stage, where Alric stood in front of a microphone. We stepped out into pleasant air and clear skies. I assumed this was one of those times when Elementai were allowed to control the weather. The roar of applause quickly turned to sounds of criticism. People booed us and yelled obscenities at our team. I caught a guy in the front row yelling, “Get off the stage!”
“Well, folks,” the invisible announcer said with a light laugh. “It appears the White Team is not a fan favorite, though that’s not a shocker if you’ve been paying attention to the board.”