Heat washed over the arena as Alexis burst into flames. There was tension in the air as the audience stared at him, their eyes attracted to his display of power. The faculty weaved cooling spells into the air, blue mana flowing around me.

His eyes turned crimson, and his hair blazed, growing across his waist and surrounding him in a swirling ring of flames.

By his side his two bows charged with magic, glowing arrows forming from mana. The weapons fired at Amanda, sand erupting where their magic arrows landed.

My vision was blinded by a burst of light as Alexis’ attacks hit, but a trail of golden fire led my eyes towards the sky.

Amanda had flown above the crowd and was staring down at her brother, indifference in her eyes. She pointed at him, and the air warped around her, six claws forming out of golden flames. With a click of her fingers they flew towards Alexis, each one grabbing at his body

Alexis’ waved his hands and his torso erupted in flames before the claws landed, and I caught a glimpse of several beads of fire on his body.

The flames rose up to meet the claws, and they clashed against each other. His bows were stationary, charging their next attacks.

Amanda clenched her fist and I saw her flick something towards her brother.

It was a red bead.

The object fell over the wall of flames Alexis had conjured, hidden by the clash of their attacks. It sailed across the air and fell at his feet.

It exploded.

Sand splattered against my cheeks and the shockwave scattered flames across my hair. The symbols of the arena rendered them harmless to me.

Alexis wasn’t so lucky.

His body was awash with fire, a whirlpool of flames appearing around him and clinging to his skin and clothes.

But the mark signalling the end of the duel didn’t appear.

I narrowed my eyes as I gazed into the cyclone of fire forming around Alexis. From within I could see a pair of glowing eyes, and the glint of a golden flame.

I sucked in a deep breath as the flames transformed around him, bending to his will. Bit by bit they transformed into a golden shimmer and rippled over the arena.

Amanda stopped, stunned. Her claws had disappeared, and Alexis had lost control of his wall of flames, the attack dissipating harmlessly.

She threw four more beads towards her brother, each one exploding the moment they touched the ground.

None of them hit.

A trail of gold flames mirrored her own as Alexis flew into the air, golden wings sprouting from his back.

His two bows followed him, and he grinned as they turned towards his sister and fired. Two glowing arrows flew through the air towards her.

I caught a glimpse of her expression. I saw the confusion in her eyes, and a hint of fear.

With a flap of her wings, she moved out of the way of the projectiles, and retaliated by clapping her hands, a cyclone of fire growing out of her fingers and blocking Alexis’ vision of her.

Her brother didn’t care. He flew with confidence towards the wall of flames.

His hand reached out towards Amanda’s spell, and five fingers of fire mirrored his own, grabbing towards him. Amanda had summoned her claws to attack her brother from within the cyclone.

Alexis turned sharply in mid-air, dodging the claw as it scythed through the air where he had been only a second before.

Then he smiled.

His fingers curled and flames gathered at the tips of his nails and shone brightly. He scratched at the wall and the flames dissolved as he touched them. The mana flowed into his body and his wings grew larger.

Two eyes greeted him as the curtain of flames was brought down. Amanda was in front of her brother, waiting to spring on him the moment he brought down her defences.

She raised a glowing finger towards his head. It was the attack that had carved through my stone wall like butter.

Amanda smiled lightly as her attack drew closer towards her brother, only inches away from his forehead.

Then there was a bright flash of light as his bows fired at her from beside him.

The first arrow clashed against her hand, blowing it out of the way. Before she could react, his other arrow smashed into her chest, and Alexis himself raised his flaming hand and dug it into her chest.

The arena lit up with light as the mark of defeat appeared in the air above Amanda.

Alexis had won.

Amanda froze, and I saw her eyes were clouded, and her wings were flapping erratically. I recognised that look.

She and Agni were losing control of her body.

Amanda began to fall, and I raised my hand to manipulate the sand in the arena to catch her. Then someone else caught her first.

It was Alexis.

He had a kind smile on his face, floating both of them onto the ground, and his golden wings wrapped around her as they landed.

Two sets of golden flames shrouded the arena as the siblings transformed back into their normal selves. Agni appeared in Amanda’s hands, chirping in surprise.

Alexis was alone. I stared at him, looking for any sign of a phoenix. There was none.

The two siblings stood staring at each other, tension forming in the arena as the spectators wondered how Amanda would react.

Then she let out a happy laugh and smiled.

“Good job.” She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and dragged him down to her eye line. “You’ve made your big sister proud.”

I saw Alexis raise his hand to protest, but then he lowered it and smiled instead.

“You put up one heck of a fight for someone that I thought couldn’t fly.”

He turned towards the audience and Amanda raised his hand into the air in celebration.

I saw his eyes scanning the seats and they stopped as they reached me. His mouth curved upwards, widening his smile, and he gave me a small nod.

The people around me began to clap, many of them looking at the two siblings with calculating eyes. A single talent was already a boon to a noble family, two talents was something to be celebrated, and turned into an opportunity.

“She was strong.” William nudged me in the side. “A lot stronger than I thought she would be. If one of those attacks hit a person, they’d be a goner.”

An image of a person being carved into by claws made of pure flames entered my mind and I shuddered.

A few of the people around me were nodding at William’s words.

“It’s a good thing she’s a nice person.” I looked at the siblings, both of them basking in the cheers of the audience. “Alexis too.”

“He could’ve kept the heat down a tiny bit.” William smoothed out his clothes. “If I wanted to sweat, I’d visit a sauna. Preferably in the emperor’s capital.”

I rolled my eyes as he played up his personality for the people listening in on our conversation.

“You’re the wise one, what do you think she did wrong?”

I turned to look at him. He was rubbing his chin in thought.

“Wisdom works best with my own decisions. However, I do not believe that Amanda could’ve won. Her brother had too many advantages over her.”

I nodded. His bows were strong, however, the turning point was his golden wing transformation. It had ruined all of Amanda’s strategies.

If Amanda had been allowed to continue the match from the air, she could have dodged his arrows and bombarded him with attacks. By joining in the aerial battle Alexis had evened the playing field, and his weapons had outgunned his sister’s.

A figure walked onto the battlefield, his shoes digging into the sand as he made his way towards the siblings.

Amanda’s father.

He wrapped both his children in a large hug and as a trio they walked off into the depths of the dome, towards the resting area.

To my surprise the audience seated around us didn’t move once the combatants were gone.

Instead, they started talking among themselves.

“How do you think your son would fare against mine?” I heard a voice float over my ears.

It was one of the nobles seated behind me.

“Water quenches fire no matter the skill.” Another voice replied.

“Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

“Only if you’re wagering your summer house.”

Similar conversations were happening all across the arena. Amanda’s father had gotten to show off his children, and now the parents were seeing the arena as an opportunity to show off their own children to the other nobles.

I spotted Roxxy and Cresp sitting beside their father as he smiled and looked at nearby challengers.

“Leave these people in a room long enough and it always turns into a pissing match.” William rolled his eyes. “I bet some poor sod is going to end up in that arena, but I’m not going to stick around.”

We both stood up and made our way out of the seating area. I bumped against chairs and stepped on robes, feeling guilty but with no other choice because the place was so packed.

The eyes of the people around us followed William hungrily. My friend was a prime target for challenges. If one of their children could beat him, their fame would instantly skyrocket.

“You said we’re going for ice cream after this, right?” William and I reached the front entrance of the dome.

“You bet.” I extended my hand to open the door to the outside, and then paused. “I should go get Amanda.”

“We’ll wait for you here.” William raised his arm and Gold flapped onto it. “I’ve been wanting to have a conversation with the most sophisticated of your duo for a while.”

Gold chirped in agreement, and I stuck my tongue out at them.

My chuckle followed me as I left them to their own devices, and I brushed past the people that were leaving. Most of them were students, and the adults had already organised more fights between their children, with two new people walking onto the arena.

The faculty didn’t stop them, and from the expression on some of the staff’s faces I had the feeling that this happened often when nobles gathered together.

The soles of my shoes pressed against a marble floor as I reached the inner dome corridors. Each footfall echoed around me; the emptiness of the area contrasted with the muted chatter I could hear from the main arena.

Through my mana sense I caught a wisp of fire mana floating lazily in the air, a small wave of heat that grazed against my cheek and dissipated against my skin.

My footsteps picked up, and a figure came into sight, strands of flaming hair fizzling in the air.

It was Alexis.

I could feel the mana waver as I drew nearer, and I frowned. Alexis’ eyes were unfocused, and he wobbled as he moved.

Then his knees buckled underneath him, and he fell forward. I slid forward and caught him before his head could hit the ground.

“Hey, Andross.” He smiled at me gratefully. “Good catch.”

“Are you okay?” I helped him up and I could feel his body trembling underneath his uniform.

“Yeah, fighting takes a lot out of me and mana burn is annoying when I don’t pack any of my mana rations.” He straightened his posture and I stepped back. “Not to mention flying. No wonder Amanda is terrified of it, I felt like I was going to spin out of control at any moment.”

I watched him cautiously, but his breathing stabilised, and his eyes were focused again. It was like his bout of weakness had never happened.

The flames around him dimmed down, and the fire mana that he was emitting motioned gratefully at me.

I nodded at them and gestured for them not to worry.

“You waved back.” He brushed his fingers through the mana around us. “I've wondered for a while now, can you see the fire-touched?”

I nodded. I was surprised he didn't know. Most of his family already did.

“That’s perfect.” His eyes gleamed. “How many elements can you se-”

“Andross!”

Amanda's voice interrupted Alexis’ question and I turned to see her and her father striding through the corridor towards us.

Amanda broke away from him and skipped lightly in front of me, her hair bobbing up and down as she smiled.

“I’m dying for some ice cream.”

“After all that heat? I’m buying one big enough for two.” I spoke.

“And I promise to steal some.” Amanda’s eyebrows rose cheekily, challenging me to complain.

I didn’t. Instead, I turned towards Alexis.

“I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

With a final goodbye to her father, Amanda and I made our way down the corridor towards the dome’s entrance.

“You know what I’m thinking?” She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “I could have beat him if I had more training.”

My lips curled into a smile.

“We have time to train.”

I gestured back towards Alexis with my thumb

“Let’s make sure you destroy him in the rematch.”