Chapter 39

“Today’s matches have been carefully designed. Each pair has been equally matched, and they will fight until one is unable to continue or yields. The brackets can be seen above.” He pointed to the fiery, floating list. “Good luck, everyone!”

Primordium’s first match of the day was George Redding against a burly lad from House Invocation. Alastair went to join him on the dueling floor. Eloise gave her own duelist advice in the waiting area.

“Okay, I’ve seen this kid work. He’s rubbish at Elemental Magic—I know I shouldn’t say that as headmaster, but it’s just true. Try to hit him with Elemental spells, anything you can attack with, and don’t let him Summon anything. If he can get a spirit into the mix, it’ll make your life a whole lot harder.”

George swallowed hard, looking nervous. “Alright.”

“Now, go get him.” He gave George a reassuring pat on the back, and the two boys faced off against each other. The countdown began, and—

Chad Werner, the Invocation student, went for the Summon almost immediately. George shot a jet of fire at his arm—trying to stop the casting—and missed. An air spirit, ethereal and shimmering with otherworldly light, materialized alongside Chad. With a gesture, it lunged forward, claws extended like shards of moonlight.

George froze as the spirit flew toward him.

“Go!” Alastair shouted. “Attack! Try Earth!”

The boy launched a volley of razor-sharp shards of stone. They hurtled through the air, but the spirit weaved through the projectiles with grace, unbothered. George’s eyes narrowed as he focused on his opponent. He unleashed a torrent of roaring flames that threatened to engulf everything in its path, and it slammed against the Warding charm designed to keep the spell within the bounds of the dueling ground. The inferno surged toward Chad and his spirit—who was not to be outdone. The spirit wove a protective barrier of shimmering energy that deflected the swirling flames. The air glistened with heat, yet George’s spell was fading.

Gritting his teeth, George pushed harder. His face turned red as he called on the earth beneath his feet. The floor of the hall cracked open, sending out jagged tendrils of rock, trying to ensnare Chad’s spirit in their stony grasp. The spirit once again zigzagged through the gaps and countered with a deluge of Air and Water Magic, conjuring up a torrential rainstorm.

This is wild.

Alastair was almost about to call a pause when Chad Werner directed his spirit to strike. The spectral creature rushed forward, claws extended. George tried to conjure a barrier of earth to shield himself, but it was too late. The spirit passed through his defenses and knocked him to the ground.

In a moment, his Elemental spells evaporated.

“Do you yield?” Chad asked with arrogance in his voice. The spirit sat on George’s chest, snarling in his face.

“I yield,” George choked out. “You win.”

The spirit returned to the other side of the dueling ground with a flicker of light and vanished. Chad Werner strutted over and extended a hand to George, who took it and slowly got to his feet.

“Chad,” the boy introduced himself with a grin. “Nice fight.”

“George. Next time.”

“Next time.” Chad clapped George on the shoulder to encourage him.

And the duel was over. Invocation 1, Primordium 0.

“You did well,” Alastair said when George returned to their benches. “That spirit was a nasty piece of work all round.”

The boy looked disappointed but nodded, and together they got ready for Daphne’s match. She was up against Elara Huggins, a girl from House Daydream. Both Houses had turned out to watch, and the air crackled with anticipation as the countdown began. Daphne’s right hand—which bore a spiked glove—was raised, and a swirl of wind was already gathering around her wand, held tightly between metal fingertips. Meanwhile, Elara was rehearsing Illusion spells, weaving unseen patterns in the air on the other side of the dueling ground.

Sebastian waved his wand and the dueling platform repaired itself, returning to the condition it had been in before George and Chad battled.

Once they got the go-ahead, Daphne struck. She sent a rush of fire roaring toward her opponent. Alastair could feel the heat from where he stood. Elara’s eyes were wide with panic as she stuttered out a spell—and the flames scintillated, dissipating harmlessly into green smoke.

Nice work.

She’d converted a real attack into an illusive one. That wasn’t an easy task.

Undeterred, Daphne switched tactics. She sent roots snaking out of the stone floor toward Elara—similar to George’s Elemental spell—trying to bind her into place. But Elara’s Illusions danced around her, creating false versions of herself that made it hard for Daphne to concentrate. Then Elara cast again, creating mirages of roots that confused Daphne’s senses. For every root Daphne severed, three more appeared in its place, and the dueling ground was soon a tangle of roots, real and false.

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The duel raged on. Daphne summoned lightning that streaked across the ceiling of the Main Hall, only for Elara to swirl veils of mist that dispersed the bolts harmlessly into the air. Elara, in turn, conjured up phantoms and gyrating Illusions that made it almost impossible for Daphne to know where to strike.

As the battle waged, Daphne began to turn things around. She called forth a tidal wave of water that surged toward Elara with incredible force. The Illusionist’s defenses faltered and her apparitions washed away before the wall of water like fragile sandcastles in a storm.

With Elara forced on the defensive, Daphne seized her opportunity. She conjured a searing beam of sunlight, harnessing the full power of the elements in a blinding display of raw magic. The beam pierced through Elara’s shield, overwhelming her with its intensity. Gasping for breath, she stumbled backward, her defenses shattered by the sheer strength of Daphne’s casting.

“Calling it,” Sebastian said as Elara sank to one knee. “That’s a win for House Primordium. Well done, Meade. She’s bloody terrifying.”

Alastair smiled. “I had no idea.”

He liked Daphne, but he’d never thought of her as a heavy hitter on the dueling grounds. She hadn’t seemed to have the killer instinct. Clearly, he’d been wrong.

“Well done,” he said as the rest of House Primordium rushed over to congratulate her. “That was a great match.”

Alastair watched George carefully, in case the boy showed any signs of sour grapes. To his relief, George displayed good spirits as they took their place to watch Lavinia’s match—and the final one of Primordium’s day. She was up against Selena, a scrawny Shapeshifter with freckles and long red braids. The air burned with latent magic as the two girls stepped onto the polished dueling platform.

As soon as the countdown was over, Selena made her move. With a flick of her wand, she transformed into a sleek panther, muscles rippling under a flash of fur. She prowled around the platform, eyes keenly observing Lavinia’s every move—Lavinia stayed calm.