The rest of the steam vanished from the stage, revealing one of the twins standing a dozen paces away from Kien and the crumpled body of her sister. She held her daggers before her defensively, the cocky arrogance that had been present on her features no longer anywhere to be found. The only emotion that remained now was fear. Fire crackled across her knuckles, marking her as Ash. “How did you know where she was?” Ash demanded, taking a step back and swallowing heavily. “You shouldn’t have been able to see us!” “Why would I need to see you?” Kien tilted his head to the side. “Your magic is not very effective when your breathing is so loud that I can hear you two dozen feet away.” Healers rushed onto the stage, practically kidnapping Lilly from the ground at Kien’s feet before darting away. Ash’s eyes tracked them, but it was too late to do anything. Her sister was out of the fight. “That’s bullshit,” Ash snarled, her gaze snapping back to Kien. “There’s no way you heard us. We’re completely quiet. What kind of class do you have? How much did Thornhelm pay to get an expert like you?” “I don’t think it’s very customary to reveal your abilities during a fight,” Kien said. His face remained perfectly flat as he spun his broom around and lowered into a fighting stance. “I believe we were in the middle of something.” “Whatever they’re paying, we’ll double it if you stand aside,” Ursa called. “This is a fight between our guilds. There’s no reason for you to build bad blood between yourself and the Starforge Guild. Art brought outsiders into our fight.” Art’s lips thinned. He’d honestly been expecting Ursa to pull that card earlier. And, if Ash was completely honest with himself, that was exactly what he’d done. Kien was only half of the outside help he’d gotten. But part of knowing how to win was knowing when you were completely outmatched. He and Vix had no way to deal with Starforge themselves. And at the end of the day… Art didn’t give a shit about playing above the board. “Art,” Vix hissed. “Do something!” “I can’t counter him,” Art hissed back. “We need to bait the attack out. Just get ready to dodge!” “No,” Vix snapped. Her voice was as taut as a wire. “I know you’re all about informed action, but I’ve got the instincts you don’t, and I’m telling you we’re fucking dead if he attacks. Cash your cards. Now.” “Too late,” Ursa said, his lips pulling into a sneer. “Count yourself lucky that you get to see this. It’s a masterpiece of a weapon. I had no plans to use it on scum like you, but you’ve played far better than I expected. You’ll pay for that.” With a roar, Ursa raised his front foot and drove it back into the ground. He clapped his hands together with a resounding crack. The move was almost like something from a tribal dance. Art gritted his teeth. Playing his hand now was as good as throwing the fight. If he didn’t have a trump card, he didn’t have a strategy to defeat Ursa — but the stress in Vix’s voice ripped through his carefully laid plans like a knife through butter. He shouldn’t be able to kill me instantly. As long as I survive this attack, I win. Attacking now is objectively the wrong move. It was Vix’s instinct versus his logic. And when those two clashed, there was one that Art always trusted over the other. Ursa ripped his hands apart. Art snapped his fingers. The card on the ground behind him burst into flames, burning away in an instant. Magic ripped through the air of the arena. The swirling streak of blurred white armor fragments circling Ursa’s body exploded, sending razor-sharp debris screaming through the air toward Art and Vix. The attack was so fast that it would have been completely impossible to react to. Art’s eyes couldn’t even follow the magic… but he hadn’t waited to respond. Power slammed down on the arena as the gravity in the area surrounding Ursa magnified with a deep thrum. Stone cracked from the sheer force of the magic as a thousand tons of force slammed down in a circle around the man. Ursa slammed to his knees with a loud crack, his eyes going wide in disbelief. A dozen more loud cracks echoed through the air as his armor pieces, which had all been caught within the area of his own magic, were smashed into the stone floor of the arena along with him. Driving a fist into the ground, Ursa ground his teeth and forced his head up to lock eyes with Art. His entire body trembled with effort as he fought back against the immense gravitational pull trying to drag him to the ground. “You stole my ability,” Ursa growled. “What kind of magic is that? How can you just steal other people’s powers?” A droplet of cold sweat rolled down Art’s back. If that last attack had made it to him, it would have ripped his body to shreds in an instant. Even with Arwin’s armor, his head and neck were still exposed. He and Vix would have been dead or severely maimed — just like that. “Repurposed,” Art corrected. I didn’t steal his magic. I just borrowed it once, and now my card is spent. “Should I go for the kill?” Vix whispered. Now’s as good a chance as any. It’s not ideal, but —