Lavastro eyed the boy, not bothering to disguise her thoughts. Knowing that, with all magnification magic disabled, the crowd would find them hidden by distance regardless of her own subtlety.

“Idiot boy.” She hissed, feeling another rush of anger as she saw confusion sprout on his face. Distant lights flickered to tell her of the magic’s reengagement, and Lavastro wore her practiced smile just in time to meet the restored vision.

Their noises were like a hammer, running through her as the magic responsible for muting them dialled down from its blackout levels. She bit back her annoyance at the bone-rattling noise.

Waiting seconds makes you try to bring the stadium down. And you call my people animals.

“Thank you for your patience.” She called out, sending a mental cue to the waiting mystics that her words be elevated to a greater volume than usual. They cut over the rabble, if barely.

“It seems there were some technical difficulties.” She continued. Words like piss on a bonfire, seeming to do little but irk the crowds ever more.

Very well then. It seems the children need something to distract them from their little tantrum.

“Well, I hope you all found those interviews, however short, as interesting as I did. Now, however, it’s time to move on to more serious business.”

That, at last, served to quiet the crowd. If only slightly. Dying protests and stifled cries gave Lavastro room to steady her breath before continuing.

“The third stage’s rules are quite different from those of the previous sections, as I’m sure all of you will have already guessed. And they are as follows.”

She hurried to maintain their tenuous attention as she spoke, delivering information as quickly as her tongue could manage.

Team matches, held one at a time in randomised surroundings with randomised rules. Each task would be fought once, then repeated by whichever pair of the four teams left were yet to test themselves on it.

Secondary and tertiary objectives would provide a source of credits, even if one failed to win a task, and access to the reliquary in-between events would provide a place to make use of them. Finally Lavastro spoke of the number of tasks within the third stage, five, and that each would take place on different days. That only a certain number of members from each team could compete in the same task at once, depending on the task in question.

The crowd’s howls picked up almost the moment she finished speaking, competing with the wind for space.

She allowed herself a relieved sigh to have finished, if at nothing else. Then rounded on the idiot beside her.

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Crow gasped at Alabaster’s grip, feeling her fingers dig into his arm like an eagle’s talons, oxen strength driving him to stumble after her. He struggled instinctively, unable to even shift the woman as she continued forcing him on.

It was only when they’d left the crowd’s sight that she released him, sending him stumbling ahead and dropping to his knees.

“What in the world were you thinking back there, idiot child?”

He stared up at her, met the woman’s eyes as they burned hotter than ever before. Found his tongue leaden, wounded shoulder alight with pain even after being released. No words escaped him.

“Well?” Alabaster demanded, taking a step forwards. The motion gave movement to his mouth.

“What do you mean?” Crow asked, stalling.

“What in the fucking world possessed you to threaten the life of an Immortal before a crowd of thousands?” Alabaster pressed, fury leaving her voice thin and edged. Like a dagger against his throat.

Crow thought carefully before answering, but no boon of thought struck him.

Karma Alabaster seemed to have transformed before him. Looming as she always did, yet no longer with the benevolence of a guardian. Her sweetness had turned sour, kindness cruel, softness hard. She looked every bit the warrior Taik he’d heard tell of in fairytales.

It was a beautiful and terrible sight at once. Crow was answering the question it punctuated before he realised.

“Because it’s the truth.” He said. “There is an Immortal I’m going to kill. And I want to make sure he knows I’m coming for him.”

“And how, pray tell, do you expect to do that?” The woman snarled, a frighteningly sudden ferocity to her.

“With the Eclipse’s Nectar.” Crow answered, forcing himself to meet her eyes.

Alabaster said nothing; face falling, shoulders easing, eyes narrowing. She stared, every moment of contact making him feel her gaze might burn him with its intensity. Then a voice rang out behind her, snapping them both to look upon its source.

“You’re after the Eclipse’s Nectar?” Crow felt a dreadful recognition fill him. Astra stormed around the Princess, face like thunder as she neared. “Is that what you’ve been biting your tongue about?”

He found himself stupefied, eyes flicking from his sister to the Taik only for Alabaster to turn and take a wordless leave. Unity, the Gemini and Deka Xenus crossed her path as they emerged from ahead, then Crow’s face was drawn back to his sister by another wrathful cry.

“Don’t ignore me, you bastard.”

Crow struggled to meet Astra’s gaze as he answered.

“I don’t want to discuss this.” He said, hearing the hollowness in his own voice clearly.

“That’s unfortunate.” Astra snapped. “Because I very much fucking do. Why are you after the Eclipse’s Nectar.”

Crow didn’t answer, merely stood.

“Are you actually planning on killing an Immortal?” Astra continued, awe and disbelief bleeding into her question. “I thought you’d finally realised that-”

“I’m not going to discuss this here.” He snapped, shooting a glance at the remainder of their team. They’d all stopped walking, simply standing and waiting a dozen feet from Astra’s back. Silent. Watching.

“Oh, please do go on.” Unity cut in with a grin. “This is the most interesting thing either of you have done.”

Astra’s jaw tightened silently. With only a single glance back to Crow, she tore away from the group and took off down along the corridor.