Yassen [https://shadowsprey.com/wp-content/uploads/story-images/01_33_Yassen-S3.png]

Yassen’s knuckles were white, his nails carving half moons into his palms as he watched the challengers fall before Kanna’s flashing blades. The day grew longer and the seats grew hotter, setting tempers in the crowd on edge.

Even the Governor's special guests had begun to argue. He couldn’t make out what was being said, but by the tone they didn’t seem pleased with the way the day’s events were unfolding.

Astar sensed his gaze and met his eyes. She acknowledged him with a quick glance and a slight nod before turning away.

Yassen was still pondering what that look might mean when things on the sands took a turn. Isco was tossed out on one end, looking all the world like a student that took a wrong turn into a bad neighborhood. At the same time, three new fighters emerged.

Kanna went on a vicious offense, taking out the three quicker than she had previous opponents. When she was done, a chime rang out.

Yassen looked up to the Pulvinus, following the sound.

In the private box above, Hautman crossed his arms at his chest and leaned back. Even he couldn’t hide the flare of anger in his eyes when Kanna felled every opponent that he set on her. His smile had changed from the crowd-pleasing grin to something more sinister.

As the grates opened, the crowd around Yassen gasped before falling into a hush.

“Wait, is that Galman?” asked the man next to Yassen.

“Shit, that’s Adalbar and Roka, too,” his companion said. She hid her mouth behind her hand and leaned into the man.

Yassen turned to the couple. “What’s the big deal about them?”

The man shot a puzzled look at Yassen, blinking slow and long, before looking back to the stage.

Kanna’s shoulders heaved with forced breath but she pulled them back, half-heartedly shoving errant locks of hair away from her eyes.

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There were two men and one woman, but besides the fact that the fighters that entered were Gegenii, Yassen saw nothing about the trio that made them more intimidating than any of Kanna’s previous opponents. They did not carry themselves any differently than the fighters she had already laid to rest.

Kanna tilted her head to the side, considering the three before her. She spun her knives into a back grip, the metal gleaming between the drying blood that clung to the blades.

The first, Galman, clenched his fist in the air and pulled.

The ground erupted.

Kanna dodged at the last moment, her movements sluggish, as the sands next to her rose in a wave.

Yassen realized then why the audience waited in suspended silence. These were earth loas.

And Kanna was exhausted.

Kanna leapt into the air, running along the wave of earth until it bottomed out, sending her careening through the air. She hit the ground, stumbling.

The loas ignored Isco, focusing on the bigger threat. Adalbar joined. A rough pillar rose under Kanna’s foot, tipping her balance. A wall rose at Kanna’s side, slamming into her. The impact loosed the knives from her grip and sent her body skidding over the sand.

Kanna was still. The earth loas’ attacks paused as they enjoyed the satisfaction of having knocked down the most vicious thing that had ever haunted the sands.

The earth loas below turned their focus to Isco, the ground around him cracking apart. He wheeled backwards, flailing his arms he tried to outrun the forming cracks.

Yassen gripped the rail tighter and leaned over, hoping he could figure out a way down. It was hard to see, and he had to squint in the dying light.

He froze. He turned his gaze skyward, shielding his eyes against the sun.

The day had been unrelenting, the sun pulsing a white heat. There were no clouds that day, and the sky remained clear. There was nothing to block the sun, yet the world was cast in a darkening gloom.

Yassen wasn’t alone in his confusion. The rest of the crowd had also turned skyward to try and discover what was causing the sudden shade to appear.

Kanna shifted in the sand. Her body rose, unfurling and jerking up like a marionette pulled by strings. She moved, or must have, because she was beside Isco before Yassen could blink, shoving him out of the way before he toppled into the hungry earth.

Kanna stood above the fracture in the ground, hovering over nothing.

Yasen’s breath caught. Kanna’s eyes were supposed to be grey. They were supposed to look like old dishwater or a runoff pond at a mine. They were solid, soulless black.

Kanna advanced on the loas, slow and unhurried.

The shadows below her feet moved with her.