For a long second, the only thing Olive could do was stare. Her brain wasn’t processing the information her eyes were feeding it. She couldn’t even tell what to think. Dozens of different thoughts and emotions had entered a full scale war within her head. Surprise. Disbelief. Relief. Olive barely had an instant to process one before the next one rose up in its place, shoving the first out of the way only to be knocked from its throne moments later. Her heart pounded in her chest. Why are they here? Part of me thought they’d died. I didn’t hear anything from them after I lost my arm. They didn’t even try to contact me? I guess they had no reason to. But… here? Now, of all times? Elias’ hand slammed down on her shoulder. Olive stiffened, jerked from her thoughts, and spun to him. “What’s wrong?” Elias demanded. “You’re staring into space. Snap out of it. We’re in the middle of a damn battlefield.” “I — sorry.” Olive swallowed and shook her head, but that did nothing to clear it. Her thoughts were a complete mess. “There’s someone. People. That team.” “What?” Elias’ eyes narrowed. “Focus. Speak clearly. The other teams are too scared of us to approach right now, but that isn’t going to last if you look like a beached fish.” Olive bit the inside of her cheek. The taste of iron washed across her tongue and she clenched her hands into fists. “You cocky bitch,” Damien snarled. He released the string of his bow and the nocked arrow leapt forth, streaking straight for Olive’s neck. Olive’s sword flashed. A clang echoed through the air as it spun away from her harmlessly. That was a kill shot, not to mention Damien coats his arrows in poison. I highly doubt he’s changed that for the tournament. Are they actively trying to kill me? “Look at that,” Olive said, lowering into a fighting stance. “You’re still too slow.” Jason charged with a roar. Olive knew he would. That had always been their strategy. He kept the attention while she and Damien picked their opponents apart. She supposed that they’d probably changed a few things up after abandoning her in the dungeon, but it seemed the spirit of their style had remained the same. Jason’s shield shimmered with energy as he lifted it in preparation to catch her blow. The weapon was magical. Elias had been right about someone funding them — they’d never been anywhere near successful enough to afford magical gear. I could cut right through that with my [Hundredfold Blade], but that might be exactly what he’s hoping for. Jason was never an idiot. He knew what I was capable of. Even if he thinks I’m weakened because of my replacement limb, he wouldn’t risk tanking an attack like that for no reason. Of course, the Olive that Jason had known would have gone ahead with the strike anyway. The only thing that had mattered to her was sword work. If there was something before her that challenged her ability to cut it, then she would rise to meet that challenge. But that was no longer the Olive that stood before him. She flowed to meet his charge — but she made no move to swing her sword. Instead, she darted forward and knocked Jason’s sword to the side with one hand, slipping inside his guard. Her leg shot up. Jason’s eyes only had an instant to widen in surprise before her knee slammed into his chin. Jason’s teeth cracked together and he staggered backward, dazed. A howl split through the air as Damien sent another arrow streaking through the air toward Olive. She ducked out of the way, but the movement wasted just enough of her time for Bea to send a wave of healing energy washing over Jason. He shook himself off and bared his teeth at her. “Neat trick,” he said, spitting blood onto the ground. “But I have a team. Something you never did.” I can’t waste energy fighting him. Bea will just keep patching Jason up. I have to take her out first, but that means getting past both Jason and Damien — all without revealing the full extent of my abilities. If I do, then I’m severely worsening Elias and Maeve’s chance of winning in later rounds. My personal problems will not be the reason we lose. Olive let herself relax. Her stance shifted once more. The warrior was wide open — she could see several different angles that she could have chosen to attack from. She took none of them. Bea would just heal Jason and make her efforts worthless, and Damien would use that opportunity to try and get another shot at her. It was the same strategy that they always used. They haven’t changed at all, have they? Jason brought his sword down for Olive’s neck with a roar. Olive ducked past the blade, using a move that Reya had pulled on her a dozen times during their spars. She slipped right by Jason like a passing thief brushing against their target. Then she exploded into motion, blurring across the ground and arriving before Bea. Her sword flashed down. Bea screamed in pain as Olive carved through her right arm, severing it at the shoulder. It fell to the ground along with her staff. Olive didn’t waste any words on her. She was already turning, her sword coming up to knock Damien’s arrow from the air. He let out a curse and hurriedly reached for another one while Jason raced toward Olive — but she didn’t give the warrior a chance to catch up. She charged Damien, closing the distance between them in moments, and slammed her sword straight into his chest, to the side of his heart. His eyes went wide as Olive planted her foot on his chest and kicked him back. He hit the ground with a pained grunt, the bow falling from his grip. Olive heard Jason charging before she even finished turning back to him. She slipped to the side. His sword howled through the air beside her. Olive returned the strike, driving her blade deep into the unarmored gap in Jason’s armpit. The warrior jerked, going as still as ice. Their gazes locked as Olive pulled her sword free of him and the warrior swayed in place. The shield slipped from his fingers, landing against the stone with a ringing clang. Then he fell back into the hands of a Secret Eye healer that arrived before he could hit the ground.