𝔖𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔚𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔯

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔖𝔦𝔵: 𝔈𝔫𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔢𝔰

I wake up the next day before Marcus does, and I get in a bit more reading before something unexpected happens.

There's a bell sound, and I sit upright, as fast as lightning. I hear the clatter of footsteps, and the door swings open, revealing a messy-haired Camille.

"They've got the battle list!" Camille practically yelled; startling Marcus awake. "What?" Marcus says sleepily, and Camille drags him out of bed. Marcus lands on the floor with a shout. "Ok, ok I'm up." Marcus says as he stands and walks after Camille, still in his sleepwear.

"Are you coming?" Marcus asks me, and I jump out of bed.

I didn't expect Marcus to start sprinting down the hall, his bare feet slapping against the cool stone floor. I run after him, struggling to keep a steady pace as we dash towards an unknown location.

As Marcus slows down, I see where we are headed.

The hall from yesterday is filled with desks, a chair on each side. On the opposite end of the room is a huge board, and I can see names listed, with lines drawn between them. Only the edges have names, but I can see the places get less and less the more we get closer to the centre, until there is only one place left.

"Sometimes you don't have to battle, but those who do have a death sentence. Only one can win." Marcus says stonily. I start scanning the edges, looking for my name.

"Oh no." I hear Marcus mutter, and I follow his gaze to see Vel against someone called Jeriko.

"There I am." Marcus points to where he is against someone called Ami. My stomach sinks as I remember the girl who read Cassius' trident engravings. Marcus would have to fight her.

I finally find my name, and I feel fear course though me. "Aitan?" I question the air. I didn't know who Aitan was. "Over there." Marcus points to a tall, muscular boy with sandy hair. He's standing with a bunch of the more popular champions, like Elodi and Amersea. I'm surprised that Archer isn't with them.

Upon seeing his name connected to mine, Aitan looks at me with an evil grin. He cracks his knuckles as I unconsciously shrink in my place. Aitan laughs maliciously.

"What's he the champion of?" I ask Marcus, who responds emotionlessly, "Gyros."

"Cyclones. Why did it have to be cyclones." I say nervously, but Marcus turns me around and looks me dead in the eyes. "Hey. You can do this. You can't die, remember?" I go quiet, and Marcus takes my response as a victory.

He leads me over to where Vel and Cam are scanning over the battle board. "Hey guys." He says as he arrives, and Cam takes one look at me before launching into a rant.

"We can train against each other to withstand the unique abilities of our opponents. I'm against the lightning champion, and we both have a disadvantage against the sky elements." I nod and manage a weak smile. "Thanks Cam."

"Who are you against Marcus?" Cam asks him, and Marcus' face falls. "Ami." Everyone goes silent. The young linguist had no chance against the Champion of Asha. And Marcus knew she would fail. He was giving her a death sentence.

"The battles start tomorrow. Felix and I have our battles then, Cam, you have yours the day after." Marcus states. I wonder if I can get in any practice before my battle. Marcus looks at me quizzically as I realise that I voiced my question out loud.

"I'll train with you." Marcus smiles. Cam nudges him. "Don't forget me." She says with a determined grin. "We need to practice your adaption to fighting against people's powers." Marcus says as he grabs my arm, pulling Cam and I out of the hall. "I haven't even eaten yet!" I whinge, and a voice comes out of nowhere, "I got you all something." I turn to see Vel's smiling face, in her hands is a pile of bread and fruit.