Camilla watched Tanaka brace himself down on the arena floor. Across from him, the 32nd seed, a boy named Rory Gillis crouched at the ready.

"Start!" The announcer roared.

Rory bulleted forward with augmented speed. Across the arena, Tanaka crouched and placed his hand on the ground in one swift motion. Decomp exploded out of the transfer student. The clay rippled out from him in a tidal wave. By the time the wave reached the approaching Rory it was was fifteen feet high. Rory leapt high into the air, higher than any Olympic high jumper, but the wave hit him square in the chest and sent him tumbling back. Rory scrambled to get his footing, but the wave rolled on, pushing him with it, across the arena and out of bounds.

"Gillis is out of bounds! Tanaka wins!"

The audience roared.

Camilla sat back in her chair, arms folded. Through all her hate of Tanaka even she had to admit it was an impressive showing. He also hadn't shown anything he hadn't done before. Fairly low level Decomp control. The only thing different this time was the power behind the spell. But that was nothing new. Everyone in the arena knew how strong Tanaka was.

She watched the transfer student slump out of the arena, head down. She had no choice but to admit that Necromancy the week before had been impressive. Where had he learned something like that? She could do that Decomp wave he'd just done, but she had to admit to herself that she wouldn't have been able to do that Necromancy.

She glared over at Jacob, who was sitting on the other side of the rest of the gang, but he didn't notice her. She still wasn't really sure if she was happy with him or not, dragging her into that mess.

Her phone buzzed. That was probably Paige. Camilla had been texting back and forth with her over the past two days. She checked the message:

I knowwww. Olivia is head over heels for Michael. I don't know why she thinks we can't tell.

Camilla grinned and typed back:

Rt! Once I'm back we'll confront the little harlot

She sent it. The three little dots that indicated Paige was typing popped up.

"Ms D'Angelo?" The tournament aide's voice cut through the hubbub that followed Tanaka's win.

Camilla looked over, eyes wide. The aide stood at the end of the row, a smiling, grandmotherly woman with her curly grey hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Yes," Camilla squeaked.

"Your Prep Room is ready. Follow me."

Camilla let out a deep, shuddering breath. She glanced at her phone, then put it away.

"Cya in a bit," She said to Grace.

Grace smiled back at her.

"Good luck!" The trio of boys chimed in.

"Thanks," She said.

She got up and followed the tournament aide down into the undercroft. Paige's text lingered in her mind as she entered the dimly lit concrete corridors.

No more distractions.

It had been good to catch up with Paige. Hearing about the mystery boys checking her out at the beach and the frequent trips to the mall out of nothing more than summer boredom was a breath of fresh air from the stifling world of Tisdale.

Yet she knew herself well enough to realize she'd been doing it as a distraction from this match. Slipping into her high school persona like donning a comfy tracksuit had reminded her why she went to so much effort during the school years to keep it up, even though in the back of her mind she knew once high school ended that was over forever.

Focus.

The lingering smile from thanking the boys for wishing her good luck fell off her face.

Tanaka's match had been impressive, but she had a similarly impressive gameplan that would give nothing of her abilities or arsenal away. If it didn't work she had a backup plan, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

She knew she had the casting down pat, but she still couldn't help but worry about those missed hours during the Necromancy fiasco with Jacob and being so furious afterwards that she had just stormed around her dorm, telling Grace how much of a moron Jacob Caibo was.

Ugh, Grace! She was a terrible training partner. Hardly ever wanted to do anything. It wasn't just about this match, it was all the rest. Every hour she missed this week would stack up down the road.

She had to control her anger, use it. Another of her father's lessons, shortly after that first gala. Suppress your emotions, whatever they may be, weakness, anger, sadness, but keep them there below the surface, festering, boiling. Fuel.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The tournament aide opened the door to her Prep Room.

Camilla strode into the sparsely furnished dungeon and sat quickly down on one of the benches.

"You have fifteen minutes. Then I will knock and call you up for your match." The tournament aide said. "Would you like to request a Pre-Match Advisor?"

Camilla hesitated, then nodded. "Grace Lin, please."

"Okay," the tournament aide closed the door.

Camilla sat in silence, meditating and clearing her mind of all the clutter. A few minutes later Grace opened the door, smiling at Camilla as she entered.

"Hi!" Grace said. "How are you feeling?"

"Ready," Camilla said. "Thank you for coming."

Grace waved her off and rolled her eyes. "Are you still angry with Jacob?"

"Kinda."

"Idiot."

Camilla nodded in agreement.

"You still won't tell me your gameplan?"

"You'll see it," Camilla smiled.

She might have been a poor training partner, but Camilla liked having Grace in here before the matches. Just seeing how carefree Grace was, seeing how little she cared about the tournament, brought her back down to earth, even if it was unfathomable to not care about it.

"Okay, and afterwards we will get coffee and plan something out for Mr Caibo."

Well, maybe a little too carefree. Camilla didn't exactly want to talk about Jacob right now.

A knock came at the door.

"Ms D'Angelo. It's time."

Camilla got up and gave Grace a hug. Grace squeezed her back.

"You'll do great. I know you will. Everyone knows you will!" Grace said.

That did make Camilla smile. "Thanks, Grace."

Grace dipped her head, her long hair falling across her face. She brushed it back behind her ear and smiled. "I'll see you out there."

The tournament aide opened the door. Grace flitted out.

Camilla nodded to the aide and followed her up to the arena. A great thumping echoed throughout the undercroft, getting louder as they drew nearer the arena, like the pounding of thousands of feet on stands.

But it was just her heartbeat, high up in her throat, drowning out her thought.

The entrance to the arena yawned open in front of them, a portal of white light. She could hear them out there now, feel their presences. Everyone in the academy. Everyone watching. Everyone in the magical world. They all knew her name.

He wouldn't be watching today because he was on assignment. She wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse.

"From Vancouver, Canada it's Camilla D'Angelo."

Camilla took a deep breath and started up the tunnel.

I am Camilla D'Angelo. I am Camilla D'Angelo.

----------------------------------------

"From Vancouver, Canada it's Camilla D'Angelo."

Jacob unconsciously leaned forward in his seat. It wasn't even his fight and he was nervous.

Camilla strode out onto the arena floor. She hadn't talked to him much that week. It wasn't like she was actively avoiding him, no, it was more subtle, such that he hadn't noticed it until two days ago. The only thing he could think of was that she was still pissed about the incident with Father Emil, even thought he'd apologized.

He had to admit, thinking back on it, it had been a pretty paltry apology. But what was he supposed to say? Everything sounded like an excuse or whining! He'd wanted to talk to her about it, but hadn't wanted to distract her from her match. That was the right thing to do, right?

He'd mustered up the courage to ask Blake, who was quickly becoming his oracle when it came to these kinds of things. His suggestion had been frustratingly simple: Apologize again. Better this time.

"And her opponent, at the 31st seed, from Austin, Texas it's Mercy McDaniels!"

Mercy was a short, bronze-skinned girl with her hair buzzed short. Her eyes were wide and wild as if she'd been electrocuted. She constantly asked questions and engaged Professor Muesli in Intro to Magical History.

"C'mon, Camilla," Jacob muttered. Tanaka had absolutely demolished his opponent, so Camilla should be fine. Right?

"Contestants get ready!"

"Start!"

Both mages cast Consumption at the same time. Strength from Mercy, and strength and perception from Camilla. Mercy shot forward in a surprisingly Olympic looking sprint and threw her hand out. A forceward lanced at Camilla.

Camilla had moved to the side at the start and brought both hands close to her body as if she were holding a football. Production flared out from her, a familiar spell. She dodged to the side and Mercy's force ward whistled by her.

In the stands, Jacob and Archie lurched forward at the same time.

"What on Earth is she doing?" Archie hissed.

"Is that..." Jacob frowned, eyes glossing over as he focused entirely on sensing Camilla's spell. "Is that the light spell from class?"

Mercy closed the distance on Camilla, lancing another force ward at her. Camilla whipped back in a limbo, dodging it. Her spell continued to build. Mercy was close now, the next ward would be hard to dodge.

Archie blinked. "My word! You're right. It's-"

Camilla opened her hands.

Everything went white. Jacob jerked back in his chair as if he'd been shot. He clamped his eyes shut, retinas burning. Gasps and cries filled the stadium. To his right someone yelped, followed by a series of thuds. He could only see white, everywhere, shining, filling his vision.

Jacob blinked several times. His vision returned, blurry, then sharpening, muted by ghostly afterimages. A student had fallen down the stairs in the aisle, spilling her popcorn all over the stairs and the students a few rows ahead. She was groaning and holding her head. Everyone else was blinking and wiping their eyes, rubbing their temples.

Down in the arena, Mercy McDaniels was on the ground, out of bounds. Camilla stood near her, feet well within the white boundary.

"McDaniels is out of bounds! D'Angelo wins!"

The crowd roared.

"God!" Archie said. "Genius!"

"I never would have thought of that," Jacob said.

"No one did, apparently," Archie said. "And she hardly gave anything away. Everyone can cast that spell, and we all know she's strong."

Jacob watched as Camilla waltzed out of the arena. Such a fluid gameplan, too. Blind your opponent, then take advantage of them. You only needed a moment to hurl them out of bounds. Christ, she was so strong, and so skilled. Mercy had been no slouch, but Camilla hadn't even broken a sweat.

The good news was that Mercy, despite being a decent seed, hadn't cast perception with her strength. That made Jacob feel a little better about his own limited arsenal. He'd made the right choice in doubling down on the Consumption.

But, man... He wished he'd trained with Camilla this week instead of chickening out because of the incident with the priest. He should have just asked her. But maybe that was selfish. She was so far above him she clearly wouldn't get much out of training with him, even though she'd probably feel obligated to help him.

"Archibald Vanderbilt?" A tournament aide appeared at the end of their aisle.

"Yes," Archie rose in one fluid motion. He gripped Jacob's arm. "Tell her I say congratulations." Then he was striding down the aisle towards the aide.

"Will do," Jacob said. "Good luck."

Archie threw his hand up in acknowledgement but didn't say anything.

Jacob watched him go, rubbing his arm absently. The boy's grip had been like a vise. Was he nervous? Jacob didn't think he'd ever seen Archie nervous. He hadn't been sure the boy could be nervous.