I circled the thickly padded area and tried to sort through my options.

Celestina and Josh were obviously right, I needed to attack. But in facing the vampires below Rupert’s skill level, all I had needed was my shield to keep them back long enough that I could prepare an attack.

Rupert, however, was too fast, and commonly circled around me or went for one of my open sides.

So far I was only good at keeping a shield up directly in front of or behind me, and though I could make it bigger, I still couldn’t get it to encircle me.

And even if I did, all I’d be doing is sealing myself inside, leaving Rupert to hammer at the shield until fatigue got to me and I collapsed. I needed to be able to attack all around me…

I nibbled my lip as Rupert strode onto the mats, meeting me at the center.

“Listen, Wizard,” he snarled. “I don’t have the time to baby you like Ling and Julianne did. If you don’t try a new trick this time I’ll subdue you with enough force that you won’t be able to fight any more this week. Do something, or prepare to incur a lot of pain.”

I wasn’t exactly scared by his threat—he couldn’t hurt me too badly, or Celestina would make herself an instrument out of his ribcage for daring to harm Killian’s hobby that kept him occupied.

But I didn’t particularly like aching like an arthritic grandma, so I shook my arms out and eyed Rupert. “What’s got your fangs extra sharp today?”

“Your idiocy. All of this fuss for a smelly wizard, even—” He cut himself off and shook his head. “Prepare yourself, Wizard.”

“Awww, the way you keep spitting my title it’s going to make me think you don’t like me,” I said.

“I don’t like you!”

I grinned cheekily, but I didn’t get a chance to tweak him farther.

“Hazel, stop baiting and get ready,” Celestina ordered.

“It is a skill worth honing at another time,” Josh added. “A frustrated enemy is easier to entrap. You are almost there with Rupert already.”

Rupert scowled, but didn’t dare glance at the Second Knight, who had pulled a dagger seemingly from thin air to sharpen since he had finished his sword.

I squared my shoulders and opened myself to magic, blinking when my wizard mark scrawled a hot path up and down my face.

“Begin!” Josh declared.

Instead of following my usual tactics against Rupert and creating a shield—or even adopting my usual method of lunging forward with my sword—I funneled magic through my blood and pushed out an arcing wave of blue fire that covered both my sides and curved out in front of me.

I gritted my teeth with effort and pushed, making the wave expand and roll across the mats like a crest, driving Rupert around the side.

“Yes, yes!” Celestina shouted. “Now follow it up with another attack, and don’t let him get close!”

Her warning was too late. Rupert became a blur as he evaded the fire, leaving a breeze in his wake.

But it did give me an idea.

I let the blue fire collapse in on itself and built a circle of dagger-sharp ice shards about waist high—on me, anyway—in a circle around me.

Rupert skidded to a stop just shy of the wall and looked from it to me. “Seriously?” He fluffed his bright orange hair. “I tell you to try something new, so you build a snow fort?”

I didn’t mind his snark. It told me I was on the right path since he bothered to stop and say something instead of beat me senseless. (He’d have to break through my blue ice to get to me; I had made my barrier over two feet thick so he couldn’t grab me over the top and yank me free.)

I flexed my fingers as I considered my ice wall.

While it was impossible to keep my shield stable and circle it around me, maybe a magic attack would be different.

The Paragon’s book had pictures that showed wizards standing at the center of circles of fire and electricity. Wouldn’t an attack be easier to push out than my shield—which I had to maintain even when Rupert rammed into it?

I flooded my blood with magic and stabbed my katana at Rupert above the ice wall, making him take a step back.

Using a fraction of the magic hoarded in my blood, I melted my magic ice, turning it to water, then transformed it into sparking, hissing electricity.

Rupert tried to circle behind me, but the electricity was still there. When he paused, I let the surplus of magic floating in my blood free, funneling it into the electricity.

The blue sparks blew up into thick bolts that leaped high above my head, tripled the area my attack covered, and were so bright I couldn’t see past them.

I did hear, however, three bolts strike Rupert—who was stuck in the expanded area covered by my attack—in quick succession and shake the gym with the accompanying peals of thunder as Rupert shouted.

I cut off my magic—killing the lightning—and had to rapidly blink a few times before I could actually view my results.

Rupert was flat on the ground, his clothes smoldering as his muscles and limbs twitched.

“Excellent!” Celestina clapped loudly, her smile almost as dazzling as my lightning had been. “That’s exactly what I meant! Well done. When you throw an avalanche of magic like that around, a vampire at Rupert’s level won’t be left standing.”

“I might have gone a bit overboard.” I teetered on my feet for a moment—the rush that magic always left behind was almost enough to make me silly.

Josh slightly bowed his head, as though finishing a deep meditation. “One must grow used to handling greater power so that they may face greater opponents in the never-ending fight that will eventually consume our world.” He blinked as he studied me. “That is to say, you can blow Rupert up, he is expendable. But you must learn the flow of your magic so you don’t injure yourself in the process.”

Celestina nodded in agreement as she approached the mats. “Josh is right! It’s all about learning your limits.” She stopped just short of Rupert and peered down at him.

“Is he going to be okay?” I asked.

Celestina laughed. “He’ll be fine. I think he’s just shocked a wizard knocked him down.”

Rupert growled at her feet, but he seemed incapable of proper speech—or even more than pained wheezes.

Josh appeared at my shoulder and joined Celestina in gawking at the red-haired vampire. “It seems congratulations are in order. With this win you have surpassed Rupert. Well done.” He nodded approvingly at me.

“You won? Way to go, Miss Hazel!” Julianne cheered from where she was practicing with throwing knives.

“We knew you could do it,” Gavino chimed in.

“But does this really count?” I asked. “He’s beaten me a bunch of times. Winning once hardly feels like I’m really at his level.”

“You may fry him with a few more oversized bolts of lightning if that would convince you,” Josh said.

Rupert made a strangled noise.

“I’m sure Rupert would say you have surpassed him,” Celestina added.

I waited for more growling noises, but it seemed Rupert was too occupied trying to get his legs to stop jumping.

“I don’t know about that,” I slowly said.

“I’ll have to get my checkboard to see who you face next, but first I think you ought to practice that neat trick you used on Rupert,” Celestina said.

“You mean making the area attack with lightning?” I asked.

“Yes.” Celestina slung her braid over her shoulder as she furrowed her eyebrows in thought. “I wonder if you could make your magic spiral out, or more thinly cover a larger area. The three lightning bolts would have killed a vampire less powerful than Rupert, so depending on your foe you may need a bigger area to attack rather than a higher potency of lightning.”

Before she could pursue this thought, the gym doors swung open.

Killian strolled in, once again missing his perfectly pressed suitcoat and tie, and instead wearing a smug smirk.

“Your Eminence!” Celestina, Josh, and all the vampires in the gym bowed to Killian—except Rupert. He struggled to stand, but could only get onto his knees.

“What’s up…” I paused, trying to think of a nickname that wouldn’t end up with me getting maimed. “…Sunshine?” I suggested.

Killian stared at me.

“Well, you get to call me ‘Wizard’ all the time,” I grumbled.

“What brings you here, Your Eminence? Do you wish to observe Hazel’s training?” Celestina asked.

“No. Rather, I’m here to give future orders.”

“And that would be?” Josh asked.

“The annual Summer’s End Ball is in one week,” Killian said. “We’re going.”

The ball was a big deal for the Midwest’s supernatural community. It gave everyone a chance to mingle, network, and make observations about the community as a whole. New alliances were usually started at the ball, and attendance was somewhat choosy—invitations were usually only extended to leaders of Houses, Packs, etc. The higher ups like Killian would be allowed to bring a guard with them, but when my parents attended they were the only ones from House Medeis allowed to go.

Based on Celestina’s and Josh’s expressions, I didn’t think that was unexpected, until Killian swiveled in my direction.

“And this year I’ll bring Hazel as my plus one,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “You’re just going to take me so you can use me to bait the Night Court, aren’t you?”

“In a way,” he acknowledged.

“Look.” I ambled across the mats and snatched up my scabbard so I should sheath my chisa katana. “Just because you have a twisted sense of humor…”

I trailed off when I noticed Julianne was staring at Killian with huge, moon-like eyes.

I twisted around, my worry building when I saw open shock on Celestina’s and even Josh’s face.

“You’ve never taken a date to the ball before, Your Eminence,” Celestina said, her perfect composure shaken. “Ever.”