Gray wasn’t about to run away. He and Rynn had come to meditate, and that is exactly what they were going to do. They went to their normal spot underneath their favorite tree, with the smell of the river in the air.

  Mama Cinders was nowhere to be seen. But would the old dragon have done anything to protect them? First Field was a brutal place, and neither Cinders nor the Dame Blackpaw had done anything to keep the peace.

  Rynn sat. “This isn’t going to work. We should just pay them. It’s only six shekels, three each. I’m considering paying them in advance. Captain Sevanya should be coming back any time now. There’s only like seven weeks left until the Testing. But even if she’s late, at least we’ll be paid up.”

  “No,” Gray said. “We’ll mind our own business, and if they mess with us, we’ll fight them with everything we have.”

  Rynn sighed. “We need a healer. I don’t mind sparring, but those fae have murder in their eyes. I heard some of the staff in the canteen say that they think Pinch and her squad killed that poor guy Mrs. Blackpaw told us about. What’s to stop them from killing us?”

  Gray knew the answer. “Our own skill. We only have to beat them once.”

  Rynn nodded. “You’re right. If we could get them to vow not to bother us, they would have to keep that vow. You know how fae are.”

  “I don’t.” Gray was keeping his eyes on the squad of slender, dark-haired people. Everything about their features was pointed from their ears to their chins to the noses to the angles of their shoulder blades. The fae were shorter than your typical human but not by much.

  Pinch had a sharp nose, and yet, her chin was more rounded. She was wiping the blood off her face while talking with the rest of her squad. All of them were staring.

  Gray was curious about the fae, yes, but he also wanted to get on with their meditation and training. They only had an hour before lunch, which he wasn’t looking forward to. He’d skipped his morning muffin, and so, he’d have to double-up at lunchtime. That wasn’t going to be easy.

  “We’re not going to let them ruin our plans,” Gray said. “If one of us is mortally wounded, Mama Cinders can help. If not, I’m sure the Pit Market has a healer.”

  “It should,” Rynn agreed. “In a place like Pit City though, finding one we can trust might be difficult. I would imagine the Widow Stone might be able to help us. Really powerful enchanters can also heal.”

  “Then we’ll be fine,” Gray said. “Let’s get started.”

  They were sitting on the hard wood, legs crossed, hands on their knees, when the squad of fae approached them, walking silently.

  Pinch led the way, gripping a long bloodless blade right up to them, mana swirling around her. She was filling her core, but why? What was her resonance? It must be wrath. What else would she be feeling?

  Pinch drew close to Rynn. “If you see me, elf, you need to pay me. Now both you and your little friend will pay double. There are dangerous fucking people in First Field. You want…no, you need my protection whether you like it or not.”

  Was this pretty girl the same person he’d seen at Gorgonzola’s eating noodles and tomato gravy? She’d seen far happier and far less like an evil bitch. Then again, even demons probably enjoyed life more when they were eating noodles.

  Pinch went to smack Rynn with her bloodless blade, but the elf girl went from sitting to standing in an instance. She leapt back, her elven grace giving her the advantage.

  Gray, though, surprised himself by leaping to his feet and blocking the blow with his stick. He was even more surprised the stick didn’t break. Her blade sizzled, sparks spitting on them both.

  “We’re not paying,” he said firmly, “not unless you beat us in a fight. Two of you against two of us, in the sand pavilion. First touch.”

  Pinch snarled at him. “You’ll pay us now, right fucking now! Everyday. If you’re smart, you’ll pay at breakfast. If not, we’ll find you, and like today, you’ll give us double unless you have the good sense to come over and beg for more mercy.”

  None of her squad were snickering, or laughing. They only stared at Gray with empty eyes. These weren’t thieving bullies like Froggy and her squad, and this wasn’t the bullshit dominance games of Freek and his orcs. This was something completely different.

  Gray knew there was only thing Pinch would respect, and so, he went to break her face with his stick.

  She flew up into the air as four translucent wings appeared on her back, whirring in a blur. He managed to strike her foot before her squad came forward. It was satisfying to hear her hiss in pain.

  Gray swung his stick at another fae, some guy with a stupidly pointed chin, but he blocked it with a short bloodless blade. Gray stormed forward, plucked the sword out of the fae’s hand, and threw it back to a grim-faced Rynn, who caught it. She immediately charged it with mana. It might not remove a limb, but the way it was vibrating, he thought it might break bone.

  Gray was thrown to the ground, kicked, but he managed to swing his stick and hit someone’s head, but it wasn’t long before his weapon was pulled out of his grasp.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Then the beating really started.

  Gray knew what to do. He curled into a ball, waiting for the kicks to come. As the weakest of the arena slaves, he’d been kicked before. He just hoped they didn’t punish his kidneys too much.

  He was only kicked a few times before he heard Rynn scream, “No!”

  All the fae were flung off him as Rynn vented her core. Gray shot to his feet, and in a surprising turn of events, found himself with the opportunity to do some kicking. He slammed a foot into the kidneys of one fucker on the ground. Grabbing his stick, he struck another fae in the head. He brought his foot down on another fae’s arm, breaking the bone.

  Rynn was far too nice to hit the grounded fairies, but she stayed by him, sword ready. She was pale, and he knew she probably felt like dropping, but he could fix that. He had plenty of mana left, and he gave her some. Her face filled with color.

  The fae started getting up

  Gray knew they were hopelessly outnumbered, but he and Rynn could still cause some damage. He took a firm grip on his stick.

  Pinch floated above them, wings buzzing. Her entire squad took flight as well, mana gathering around their hands. A few channeled mana into their bloodless blades, and Gray watched as the blades grew sharper. These fae really weren’t like the other recruits.

  Pinch’s eyes held a kind of curiosity, but then it was replaced with something far colder.

  She cocked her arm back, as it to throwing something, when a gush of flames blew through the fairies, scattering them.

  Mana Cinders flew down, standing there, and not speaking for a moment.

  Pinch patted the shoulder of her black uniform, putting out flames. “What is the meaning of this?”

  Mama Cinders eyed the glowing sword in Rynn’s hands. “That is a lethal edge, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Pinch hissed.

  “If you kill anyone at First Field, it is a life for a life. All is the Testing, but murder is forbidden. We want the squads alive to get to the best so they can protect the rest. The Hellbinder is only the shield. The kill squads are the sword, but what good is a broken sword?”

  Gray spit some blood out of his mouth. Every muscle ached from the beating. “I agree. And everyone knows steel sharpens steel. I want to fight these fae, every day, every minute of every day, but I don’t want them stealing money from us in a protection racket. They should earn their money the old-fashioned way.”

  “What’s that?” the dragon asked. “Prostitution?”

  “No! Opening a bank and charging interest.”

  Pinch didn’t respond. She only stared at him, wings fluttering, her eyes like ice

  Gray smiled at her. “I liked you more when you weren’t trying to kill me. You are much nicer when you eat noodles.”

  Pinch didn’t respond. She landed. “What do you suggest, human?”

  “I suggest that we fight to first blood. If we win, you vow not to talk to us ever again. And if you win, you get your money and you protect us from the many terrible people here at First Field. We can fight every day until you grow tired of losing.”

  At the mere mention of “vow” Pinch grimaced and walked away from Cinders. A snap of her fingers brought her squad to the ground. They all walked away, not flying, which took a lot less mana. Gray could see that their cores were nearly drained.

  Pinch wasn’t collecting mana as she retreated. Whatever her resonance, it had nothing to do with walking away.

  “Do you agree to the terms of the fight?” Cinders called after them.

  Pinch turned and gave Gray a bored look. “Fine. Tomorrow morning we’ll fight to first blood. It won’t just be tomorrow morning. It will be every day until you grow tired of bleeding.”

  Gray lost his smile. “You don’t know me. You don’t know where I’ve come from. I grew up soaked in blood. Can you say the same?”

  Pinch searched his eyes for a moment, not saying a word. Others in her squad smirked but there was no laughter.

  They all then walked on.

  The dragon sighed. “I’m sorry. If I were you, I would pay them what they want since they outnumber you. That’s what most people are doing. If you were smart, you would band together with other squads and refuse to pay. Or wait until they kill someone. Losing one of their squad members to the ultimate First Field Sanction would teach them some humility.”

  “So a sanction is an execution?” Gray asked.

  “Yes. And the Dame Hekla is wanting one. Losing a student during the summer session has never happened in her reign. Most of the time, the fear of Sanction helps people behave. Pinch isn’t a person. She’s a fae, and a bad one at that.”

  “I saw her in the marketplace. She was staring at me, and I don’t know why.”

  “She’s from the Freckle Islands up north. You were smart to bring up the idea of vows with her. The fae live and die by their vows, which makes me wonder why a squad of island fae are here, during the summer program, not caring much at all about the few rules we have here.”

  “Like the protection racket,” Gray said. “I can’t believe the Magistrate wants their recruits extorting money from each other.”

  “All is the Testing,” Cinders said.

  “And all is the Test,” Rynn sighed. She’d been standing there, listening, with a troubled look on her face.

  Gray then had an idea. “We don’t have our full squad yet, but our sponsor should be back any day now. Until then, would you like to be a part of our squad, Mama Cinders?”

  The dragon looked shocked. “I can’t. It’s not done.”

  “All is the Testing.” Gray smiled. “I’ll ask the Dame Hekla as well. Hell, I’ll ask the Magistrate. We’ll have a squad of staff with us to make sure the fae fight fair. Sparring with them would be a true workout. Besides, knowing your enemy is half the battle.”

  Cinders looked at him for a long time.

  Gray nodded at her. “All is the Testing. The only one rule I can see at First Field is that murder is outlawed. But beatings, extortion, theft, cursing, bad hygiene, everything else is on the table. Could I bring in a dwarf woman I know to help us?”

  “Only recruits and staff are allowed into First Field. Me joining your squad is a remarkable idea. I doubt that Pinch would want to fight me, but perhaps, she would try. I haven’t been in a real fight in a long time, not since the last time I went into Old Town with my kill squad. It would be…” she paused for a long time… “invigorating. You are right. All is the Testing, and you seem to be testing me, Grayson Fade.”

  “What about living off campus?” Rynn asked suddenly.

  Cinders gave her a long look. “You’re not supposed to like the barracks, but dealing with the squalor is part of the Testing. If you lived off campus, you would be judged. Part of the Testing is grading you on your ability to deal with adversity. It would be a mark against you. However, it’s all about the performance in the Testing. If you pass the Tessing, what you do doesn’t matter.”

  “All of our sins are forgotten,” Gray said.

  “Something like that,” the dragon agreed. “I doubt that Pinch will risk fighting me. However, I will insist that while on my training fields, all sparring is done in a more civilized manner. If you can, trick her into a vow, because then you’d have power over her.”

  “Because vows are everything.” Gray nodded.

  He’d thought First Field was this new, strange place, but in the end, it was just like the arena he’d grown up in. It was the perfect place for self-mastery.

  Gray found himself grinning.

  On the way to lunch, Rynn asked him about it. “Why are you happy?”

  Gray shrugged. “I’ll tell you later.”