The Volkov guard went on the attack, raising his sword high, charging at Deah, and trying to overpower her with his opening blow. She gave him a cool look, then spun out of the way. The guard stumbled past her, but she was already whipping around and going on the offensive.
I’d never seen Deah fight before, but I could see why she was the tournament champion. She was quick and decisive, with no wasted movement or effort. The Volkov guard had a strength Talent, and she knew better than to engage him head on. Instead, she kept moving around him, always making him skirt the rock formations or hop over them to come after her, then sliding away. A minute into the fight, and the guard was already sweating and sucking wind, while Deah looked as calm and composed as ever.
“She’s good,” I said. “Much better than I’d thought she would be.”
“Why do you say it like that?” Poppy asked. “Did you think she won by cheating or something?”
I shrugged. “She’s a Draconi. The thought had occurred to me.”
Devon shook his head. “There’s no way for anyone to cheat. Not in the individual matches. The officials make sure of it. We can use our magic and weapons, but they make sure that’s all we’re using.”
Just like he said, the five officials were stationed around the ring, watching the competitors’ every move.
Deah hopped up onto a long, jagged, three-foot-high rock. The Volkov guard slammed his sword down onto the rock, hard enough to make chips fly out of it, but Deah had already skipped out of the way and jumped off the other end. I couldn’t help but be impressed. With moves like that, she would make a good thief.
The guard let out a loud, frustrated bellow, knowing that she was just toying with him. So he screamed, raised his sword overhead, and charged at her, which was exactly what she wanted.
At the last second, Deah slid to the left and sliced her sword across his bare upper arm, opening up a long cut. The guard yelped, knowing he’d lost. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, he hadn’t realized that Deah had positioned herself directly in front of the spring, and he stumbled past her and plunged headfirst into the cold water. He came up sputtering.
“First blood!” an official called out, stepping into the stone ring and raising Deah’s sword hand, declaring her the winner.
Deah grinned, and cheers rang out. Up in the Draconi box, Victor clapped politely, but Seleste surged to her feet, put her fingers to her lips, and let out a loud, ear-splitting whistle that sounded through the whole stadium. Victor frowned as though displeased by his wife’s antics, but Deah waved at her mom, happy at the show of affection.
My heart squeezed with jealousy. It was just like something my mom would have done, if she’d still been alive.
Poppy, Devon, and I were standing by the fence gate, and Deah had to walk past us to get out of the stadium.
“Nice fight,” I said.
Poppy and Devon called out their congratulations as well.
“Thanks.” Deah gave me a guarded look, nodded at Poppy and Devon, and then headed for the Draconi tent.
Poppy, Devon, and I hung out and watched the other matches, cheering for the Sinclairs and Itos and clapping for everyone who won, even the Draconis.
About halfway through the first round, it was Devon’s turn to fight, and he strode out to the center of the ring to some of the loudest cheers of the entire day. Everyone knew, liked, and respected Devon, and I even spotted some of the Draconis cheering for him. Not Blake, of course, who openly jeered and boo-boo-booed like the jackass he was, but Deah politely clapped the way she had for all the competitors.
Devon was facing a woman from the Ito Family who was armed with two short swords. Devon loosened up his shoulders, then raised his own sword and faced her. The official stepped out of the way, and the fight was on.
The woman had a speed Talent, and she came at Devon almost too fast to follow, swinging her swords every which way. But he recognized the pattern and defended against it. Back and forth they fought, with the Ito guard moving faster and faster, trying to rattle Devon, but he kept his cool and matched her move for move. Not only that, but he started pushing the fight toward the left side of the ring where some of the smaller rock formations were.
Finally, when she was going as fast as possible, Devon kicked a baseball-size stone at her. The Ito guard lurched out of the way, but the unexpected motion threw her off balance long enough for Devon to step up, slice his sword across her arm, and win the match.
Poppy clapped, but I hooted and hollered, along with the rest of the Sinclairs and a good portion of the crowd. Poppy went over to speak to the Ito guard, while Devon jogged back over to me.
“You did great!” I said.
Devon grinned, his eyes bright and happy. He rushed forward, picked me up, and swung me around before setting me back down. Our gazes locked, and a hot spark sizzled in my chest, followed by a happy, dizzying rush of feeling that made my toes curl inside my boots. I suddenly felt too warm, and it wasn’t from the sun blazing down overhead.
I cleared my throat, stepped out of his arms, and clapped Devon on the shoulder. “Good match.”