The crowd roared as I stepped onto the battlefield for the second round of the tournament. I lifted my axe into the air, and the massive crowd in the arena roared louder, chanting my name.

I glanced up at the prima cavea, and met Lea’s eyes, just as I had before our last battle. She nodded to me, but even though she sat up straight and looked calm on the outside, I knew her well enough to see the signs of worry in her eyes.

She looked scared, and I wondered if something new had happened since we last spoke. Had she discovered anything new about her father?

I was dying to talk to her again, but I knew our time would come. I simply had to focus on winning this second round. After that, only one final round would stand between me and freedom.

Our opponents followed us onto the battlefield, and the crowd in the arena booed as Yuron raised a giant sword into the air. I had heard talk in the cells after the first round about Yuron and his team. They played dirty.

But the beast was going down today, if I had anything to do with it.

I glanced back at him and smiled as he sneered at me.

“You ready to meet your ancestors?” he shouted over the noise in the arena.

“No, but I’m sure yours will be disappointed to have to see your ugly face again,” I shouted back.

“That’s enough,” Ezrah said, holding his hands up. “You’ll get your opportunity to fight in a minute, but for now, show respect for your king. Kneel.”

Trention and I bent one knee to the ground and lowered our heads toward the king. Yuron and his partner, Sylar, followed suit soon after.

“My king, I present to you today’s challengers,” Ezrah said, magic amplifying his voice so that he could be heard over the shouts of the spectators. “They fight today in your honor.”

Ezrah bowed his head as the king stood, his scepter raised into the air above his head.

“May your weapons be swift and your magic powerful,” the king said.

I waited, muscles tense as I reached for my magic. I had somehow managed to cast during the first battle, and even though it was only a portion of my old power, it had been there for me when I’d needed it.

I prayed for it to reappear today. Yuron was one of the strongest competitors, and I couldn’t help but feel it was no accident that we had been pitted against each other today. I had assumed he would be there to face me in the finale, but now I wondered if someone close to the king wanted me to fall today.

My eyes fell on the face of the demon they called Kael, and my hatred for him intensified as he grinned.

I couldn’t wait to wipe that smile off his pretty face.

At my side, Trention trembled. I reached a hand out to steady him.

“Faith, my friend,” I said. “This day will be ours. I will not let you fall. Just stick to the plan. Let me do the rest.”

“I trust you,” he said, but his voice betrayed his fear.

I prayed for strength and gripped my axe tighter in my hand, my eyes glued to the king’s upraised scepter.

“May you fight with honor,” he said, and with one swift motion, he lowered the scepter.

Trention and I both shifted at the same time, dodging Yuron’s first spell. True to our plan, Trention stayed in demon form, racing around the oval battlefield, moving as fast as his power would carry him. As long as he stayed in motion while I brought Yuron’s partner down, he would be safe. Then, together, we would bring Yuron down to end the battle.

I focused on Sylar, watching as he turned in circles, trying to get a good reading on Trention’s location. It wouldn’t take him long to sync up with Trention’s pace and fire a deadly spell toward my friend, so I had to hit him hard and fast before he got the chance to cast.

Unfortunately, Yuron stood at his partner’s back, not giving me any room to hit Sylar from the back. I would have to face him head-on.

I waited until the demon seemed to get a lock on Trention’s location. He gathered his power into his hands, forming a large boulder out of thin air. He raised his hand to throw it toward Trention’s smoky form, and I rushed forward, blocking the boulder with a magical shield and lifting my axe into the air.

I brought the heavy axe down, but Sylar shifted just before the blade reached his head. Yuron spun around, and with a motion too fast for my eyes to see, he grabbed my axe just beneath the powerful double-edged blade and ripped it from my hand. He threw it to the side and thrust his sword forward, barely missing me as I shifted and flew to recover my axe.

I reached for my weapon, but a powerful wind blew it just out of my reach, and when I searched for the source of the wind, Sylar smiled from across the arena.

I searched for Yuron, and my heart tightened as I saw him shift and fly after Trention.

I had to get to him before he reached my friend. I conjured a wide shield to guard me from the wind roaring across the battlefield. I couldn’t shift and hold the shield at the same time, so I held the magic in front of me with one hand as I turned and raced toward my axe, finally gripping it in my palm.

As soon as I had a hold on it, I shifted and chased after Yuron, but I’d let my shield drop too soon.

A boulder the size of a truck slammed into me, forcing me back into my human form. My body screamed out in pain, but I pushed it way down. I could hurt later. For now, I needed to save my friend.

I picked up the large boulder with my free hand and tossed it back toward Sylar. Wide-eyed, he tried to shift, but the boulder landed on top of him, crushing him beneath its weight.

I knew it wouldn’t take him long to work free, but all I needed was a few seconds.

I was too far away from Yuron to take him out with my axe from here, so I took a deep breath and summoned my power. To my surprise, flames formed along my arms. I watched the two demons flying around the arena, and focused in on Yuron’s form.

I counted to sync up with his pace, and when I was sure I had it right, I sent a ripple of flames across the arena floor. As Yuron passed over the small flames, I raised my hand, commanding the fire to rise.

Yuron dropped to the arena floor, but the flames didn’t stop him. He stood and sucked in a deep breath. When he exhaled, the fire around him went out like the light of a birthday candle at a child’s party.

Trention reformed at my side.

“They’re much stronger than I expected,” he said. “I’m not sure the original plan is going to work.”

“Fly in a more erratic pattern,” I said. “Don’t let them pace you.”

“I can fight them at your side,” Trention said.

“No,” I shouted. “I can do this. Just go.”

Trention shifted again just as Yuron sent a ripple of earth toward us that opened the ground like a chasm straight down the center of the arena floor.

I shifted and moved out of the way just as the earth split around me.

Yuron set his sights on Trention as his partner finally freed himself from the heavy boulder and flew toward me.

I hoped Trention could hold Yuron off for at least a few minutes while I dealt with Sylar once and for all.

Sylar reformed just out of my reach, and I lifted my axe into the air. I intended to shift and come up behind him before he had a chance to react, but Sylar opened his palm and threw something on the ground at my feet.

Glass broke and before I could shift, a cloud of black smoke surrounded me, paralyzing me.

I struggled against it, realizing too late what had happened. Sylar had brought that vial into the arena with him. He was cheating, but no one moved to stop the fight.

Slowly, Sylar turned toward Trention with a smile on his face.

“He’s all yours, Yuron,” Sylar shouted. “End him.”

No.

I struggled to shout the words, but I had no control over my voice. I was as frozen and helpless as I had been for all those years while the witches of Peachville searched for their missing Prima.

I begged for justice. For help from the gods. Anything.

But no help came.

I watched in horror as the two demons converged on my friend, an ancient demon who had no place in these games. He belonged in the castle’s library, surrounded by books for the rest of his days.

When they had Trention cornered, Yuron reached into his pocket and took out a second vial.

Please. This can’t be happening. Trention, get out of there.

But it was too late.

The vial cracked open beneath Trention’s shadow form, and he fell to the ground, forced into solid form. Paralyzed, he stared upward toward the sky as Yuron plunged his sword into Trention’s chest.

Something inside me broke open, and a fiery rage flowed through me.

The potion that held me captive seemed to melt away, and a black liquid slid down my skin.

Yuron raised his sword again as his partner laughed and cheered, but I raised my axe and shifted, flying through the arena faster than I’d ever flown before.

With a single, mighty swing, I sliced the heads off both demons standing over my friend.

The crowd roared, but I fell to my knees and gathered Trention in my arms.

“Hold strong, my friend,” I whispered as I cradled his bloody body against my own. “The shamans will come. Hold on.”

The magic holding Trention prisoner melted from his skin, and he drew a deep breath and clutched my arm.

He looked into my eyes, a tear rolling down his face and falling into the dirt beneath us.

“I will not give my life to a king who is not worthy,” he said. “But I will gladly give what’s left of my power to a great warrior.”

“No,” I shouted, rocking him back and forth. I pressed my hand against his wound, willing my healing powers to come. I didn’t have nearly the talent my brother had, but I did have some. I could still save him. “I won’t let you die, Trention.”

“I died the minute they locked me away in those dungeons,” he said. “My greatest fear was spending the last moments of my life feeling nothing but weakness and regret. Because of you, my friend, I can die with honor. With purpose.”

My heart broke as I recognized the resolve in the old demon’s eyes.

“I can’t lose you, too,” I said. I focused all my power toward healing him, but even as I felt the magic begin to flow from my hands, I knew it wouldn’t be enough to save him. “You have to hold on.”

Trention shuddered and closed his eyes against the pain that rocked his fragile form.

He put his hand on mine and pushed it away, breaking the healing magic that was keeping him alive.

“Promise me something,” he said. He opened his eyes again and stared up at me, determination in his gaze.

“Anything, I swear it,” I said.

“Promise me that when you win this tournament, you will tell the princess how you truly feel,” he said. “Promise me that together, you’ll put an end to the Order of Shadows and restore this kingdom to its former glory. Free our people, and then claim the happiness you deserve. You’ve earned it, Aerden.”

“How did you know?” I asked. I had never told him of my love for Lea.

But he simply smiled at me. “Your love for her shines brighter than any I’ve ever known,” he said. “It’s time she learned the truth.”

“I will tell her, I promise.”

Trention’s body shook with another tremor of pain, and he groaned.

Guards and shamans rushed toward us, but I lifted my hand, warning them to keep their distance. I had no true power to command them, but they obeyed me, standing several feet away.

“Follow your heart,” he said, lifting a hand to my chest. “It knows the way.”

“Trention—”

“I am honored to give my life to further yours,” he said. He took a deep breath, even though it pained him. When he spoke again, his voice was strong and clear. “I choose this moment with pride, knowing your life is a worthy one.”

I held him tighter as he spoke the words of a demon preparing to pass into the Afterworld. I wanted to tell him not to do this. That I wasn’t worthy of such a sacrifice. But I would not take this moment from him. He had lived a long and worthy life, and he had the right to choose his own death.

I would not take that away only to see him forced to give his life to a king who had abandoned him.

“You honor me,” I said, holding my head high, though my heart was breaking. “With what’s left of my life, I promise to honor this gift and these promises I have made. I will miss you, my friend.”

Trention’s eyes closed as his energy left his body and flowed into mine.

“You will make a great king someday,” he whispered.

As the last breath crossed his lips, a dark mist lifted from him and hovered in the air above his form. It shimmered with a great light and then disappeared as Trention’s spirit passed from this world to the next.