The king lowered his hand, signaling for the battle to begin.

The team facing us immediately began casting, throwing their best magic our way, but the five of us stood still, focused on defense. Flames, acid, and ice crashed against the invisible shields we had each conjured, and I glanced around to make sure that none of their magic had gotten through.

Confused, the opposing team gathered their magic again, this time sending several spells soaring toward us at once. Still, our shields held true, the magic slamming against the invisible barriers and dissipating in a burst of sparks.

The crowd around us roared to life, but I shut them out. Over my years as a slave to the Order, I had gotten very good at shutting out the voices of others. It was a necessity for my own sanity, and it served me well here.

“Stay focused,” I shouted to my teammates. “Draw them in.”

Several of the demons on the opposing team shifted to smoke and reappeared behind us, gathering new spells in their hands.

“Circle up,” I shouted.

My teammates slowly backed toward me and drew into a tight circle, our backs to each other so that our shields were covering every direction.

By the time the other team hurled their spells at us, we were ready. My heart pounded, and I was itching to attack, but we had to stick to the strategy. Wear the other team out as much as possible before we hit them with all we had. Focus on defense until we saw the chance to fight back with great power.

Beside me, Trention gripped his small dagger, his hands trembling. He had never been in a real fight before, and I could sense his fear. But I was here for him. I would not let him fall today.

“Hold strong,” I shouted to my team. “Wait for them to come closer. Don’t break formation.”

We held our circle of shields for several more attacks as the other team threw everything they had at us. But I had instructed my team well. I sent up a silent thank you to all those days in Peachville training at the high school with Zara, Harper, and the others. We’d practiced shielding until it was nauseating, but I had never been more grateful for those boring mornings of training.

I watched carefully as the opposing team crept closer, thinking that if they managed to break through our shields, they would have a chance.

They tried everything they could, giving away the best of their abilities. A couple of the demons on the other team were very talented in different forms of earth and fire magic, but so far, our shields were winning.

“Now?” Rushon shouted.

“Not yet,” I shouted back. “Hold.”

I lifted my axe, waiting for the perfect moment. The demon focusing on me stepped within my range of attack, and I knew the time had arrived. As much as I loved the safety of our shields, we were never going to win without taking them down.

“Ready?” I shouted, watching carefully for the moment when most of the demons coming for us had expended their most recent spells. When almost all five had gone off, I took a deep breath, drawing every ounce of power into myself. “Now.”

At my command, my team shifted into dark smoke and reformed behind each of our targets. Rather than expend our magic, we each attacked with our weapons. I landed a crushing blow to the back of my opponent, a demon I knew only as Asher. He fell to his knees for a moment before he shifted and came back to a standing position several feet away and prepared his next spell.

With my shield down, I was vulnerable. Rather than give him the opportunity to unleash that spell, I shifted quickly and attacked again. He wasn’t ready for me, which was exactly what I’d been hoping for.

Most demons were so used to fighting with their magic that they were unprepared for defense against physical weapons. I took him down with a second swift slice of my axe. When he didn’t move or make any effort to stand, I shifted and joined Trention, determined to protect him.

The demon fighting my friend had landed a lightning attack that had burned through Trention’s tunic and singed his side, but he was still standing.

“Shift and get out of range,” I said to him. “Go. Hit him with your boulder attack.”

Trention nodded and shifted, flying out of my field of vision as I lifted my axe against his attacker.

The demon had a similar idea, shifting to fly out of my range, but I wasn’t about to let him get away. I threw a glance at my fellow teammates, and when I was sure they were holding their own, I went after the demon who had run.

The demon brought down a lightning storm right there on the battlefield, trying to hit as many of us as he could with a comprehensive attack, but I easily dodged the lightning bolts as I flew toward him. He had already spent so much of his power in the early part of the battle that he couldn’t keep it up.

When he saw me take solid form right in front of him, he attempted to shift and run again, but Trention’s boulder attack rained large rocks down on all sides of the demon, holding him to his human form. I took advantage of the moment, slicing my axe-blade through the air and cutting off both his arms in a single motion.

He screamed and fell to his knees. I ignored the regret and guilt that threatened to overwhelm me in the moment. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but this was the place where I found myself. It was us or them, and I wasn’t planning to lose this battle.

“Aerden,” Perrick shouted, and when I turned to him, he was clutching his side. Dark blood spread across his tunic and down his side.

“Shift,” I shouted. “Get out of there.”

The demon who had attacked him sent a spear made of pure acid directly toward Perrick, but he managed to shift just before it hit. His sudden move threw the demon off his center, and I shifted quickly, reforming directly behind the demon and aiming straight for his knees.

The axe was heavy and extremely sharp. I had no doubt I could have taken off each of the demons’ heads with a single slice, but I wanted to at least give them a chance once the battle was over. I had no intention of killing anyone. I simply wanted to incapacitate them so that we would be declared the winning team.

Whatever happened to them after that was the king’s responsibility.

Behind me, the fourth demon attacked before I could move out of the way, and a searing pain stretched out across my back. I wasn’t sure exactly what he had hit me with, but it hurt like hell. I tried to shift, but the pain held me to my solid form. I turned on the demon and threw up a shield as fast as I could, deflecting his second attack.

“Trention,” I shouted. “Cage him.”

Trention nodded and began to cast. Before the demon could prepare a third spell, the ground surrounding him rumbled and a circular wall of solid earth rose from the ground, trapping him inside.

That would hold him for at least a minute or two as he tried to shift and find an open crack through which he could escape.

The five of us on my team all turned to the fifth member of the opposing team. He was fast, shifting before any of us could land a single spell or blow against him.

“Morway, this is your chance,” I said.

“He’s too fast,” Morway shouted. “I can’t do it.”

“You can,” I said. “Focus. Follow him with your eyes. You can do this.”

Morway shook his head, but I knew he could do it.

We all stood ready, watching as the demon flew around the battlefield in demon form. I held my axe at the ready, keeping one eye on the wall of earth still surrounding the other opponent.

“Now,” Perrick shouted.

Morway shifted, flying toward the demon and tackling him. The second Morway put hands on the demon, he turned to solid form, his body covered in a glowing blue light. Morway had a unique ability in that he could turn energy into a rope of pure light. While shifted, he had wrapped his light around the opposing demon.

Not knowing how long the rope of light would hold, Perrick and I both rushed toward the captured demon, our weapons raised. Within seconds, the demon was down.

I looked away from the blood that poured from our opponents, refusing to let the sight hold me back. We had a job to do out here. I had no choice.

But as I turned, the demon inside the earthen prison broke free and shifted. He soared right for Trention, but Trention was looking at me.

My eyes widened, and I shifted, pushing through the air as fast as I could. I reformed just as the other demon reached Trention. I pushed my friend out of the way and took the blow for myself, the demon’s lightning attack slicing through my side.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I focused all of my anger and fear on my axe and the weapon broke out in flames that roared several feet into the air.

I turned in a circle, throwing all of my weight into the action. The demon shifted, trying to get out of the way of my next blow, but I wasn’t aiming for him directly. I sunk the heavy blade of my axe into the earth, sending a straight line of giant flames forward toward the demon. The flames engulfed him, and he dropped his demon form, falling onto the dusty floor of the arena, every inch of his body still burning.

I turned, my chest rising and falling with each labored breath. I clutched my bleeding side and for the first time, heard the loud roars of the crowd all around us.

Had we really won?

I glanced around at my teammates as Ezrah raised the gate and stepped onto the battlefield. He nodded at me, and held back a smile.

“Victory for team six,” he said, and the crowd went crazy, standing and chanting.

“Aerden. Aerden. Aerden,” they shouted. “Victory for the one who returned.”

My team gathered around me, and I placed an arm over Trention’s shoulders, raising my axe into the air for the crowd.

But it was my princess that caught my gaze and held it. She rose to her feet, cheering. Her eyes met mine across the distance of the battlefield, and I nodded to her, even as the tears began to fall from my own eyes.

The first round of the King’s Games was over, and we had won.