The gong sounds, and I glide into the pit. My heartbeat is so loud it echoes in my ears, drowning out the roar of the crowd. The shouts, chants, and screams melt into a thrumming bass line that buzzes through me, synchronizing with my pulse. This is the moment. My moment. Everyone is watching me. The Alchemists are counting on me.

I look across the arena to see who my opponent is. I probably should have listened to his herald.

Orange armor. A Bio. I don’t recognize the coat of arms on his shield, but even from beneath his helm, I recognize his sneer—Bram.

My own green shield––since I don’t have a coat of arms it just has the Alchemist emblem––is sturdy against my left pauldron (shoulder armor), my lance is heavy in the grip of my gauntlet (hand armor), and my knees bend slightly, shins pressing against my greaves (leg armor), which feel just like snowboarding boots, grounding me on my board.

I can handle Bram.

He’s known for having strong force behind his strikes, which he accomplishes at the expense of his balance. So, basically, he’s better than me, but even though my aim sucks, there’s a chance that at some point I can down him. And I’m fueled by spite. There’s no one else in this school I’d rather see choking on my dirt than Bram.

I just have to do my best to hit his shield and focus on staying on my board. The gong sounds, and we’re off and shooting toward each other. It all happens very fast. One moment we’re careening toward each other, and the next Bram’s lance is crashing, with precise aim, into my pauldron. He is strong. And it hurts. And my body really wants to topple off this board.

Everything that was going so fast suddenly seems to slow.

Stay. On. The. Board.

Oww. My shoulder is in serious pain. Like, something-might-be-fractured kind of pain. The armor usually protects from this kind of injury, but I was going really fast, and Bram hit me really hard.

I remember what Rafe just said about how Sires can heal themselves as they play. I can do that too, right? I pulse Ha’i toward the injury, and the throbbing immediately diminishes.

Keep moving forward. Get to the end of the pit.

I drop my lance to help my balance because I’m having a very hard time staying upright. But only moments later my team is crowding around me at the other end of the pit.

I made it, and I didn’t fall.

“How did you possibly stay on after a strike like that?” Sebastian asks with a look of pleasantly surprised bewilderment.

“That was quite a hit. Are you okay?” Miriam asks.