Aurin stood by the edge of his arena, observing as Steambot and Breminia’s sprayed their continuous water jets, each of them trying to outlast the other. Aurin had his money on Steambot, but Breminia was holding her own against the heavy hitter.

  “Morning!” called a man in a red jacket and hat as he cautiously ascended the slippery hill. “Good Christmas, Aurin?”

  “Good morning!” replied Aurin, looking around to see the postman. The man’s van was no doubt parked near a proper path a little way through the trees. “A great one, thanks. I spent it with Luna’s family this year. Presents in the morning, church right after, and then the best Christmas lunch I’ve had in years. I could barely move for hour after dinner, Finn. Happy New Year, by the way.”

  “And to you, lad. And to you,” said Finn with a warm smile. “One letter for you today, and I was asked to hand it to you personally just in case there was any attempted sabotage.”

  “Sabotage?” asked Aurin, hopping from his arena and making his way over the postman. “Why would there be sabotage?”

  “No idea,” said Finn, pulling a silky tan envelope from his pocket. It bore a wax seal with a large letter K.

  “Lord Kensington,” said Aurin with a chuckle. “What’s he up to this time?”

  “Again, I’ve got no idea,” said the postman, passing it over. “I’ve delivered a few of these today, but I was told to take extra care with your one. Anyway, have a good day.”

  “Likewise,” said Aurin, inspecting the letter closely.

  The last time he’d received one of these, it was because Lord Kensington had invited him to the Palace Royale tournament in the grounds of his manor house. Aurin had emerged victorious, winning the exceptionally rare Roche Berry as a prize. It was that same berry that let him put an end to the Zeera Crisis and turn the escaped tower guardian into an egg, which he subsequently hatched into his own Zeera.

  Aurin slid his finger under the seal and it popped off without breaking. He withdrew the letter, unfolded it and read it silently.

  Greetings Esteemed Tamer,

  You have hereby been invited to attend a special event at an undisclosed location. Please dress in appropriate clothing for spending several days in the wilderness in early spring. Do not concern yourself with food and drink as all will be provided free of charge. It is also requested that you bring a minimum of nine summoning stones, attuned to whichever Minakai you choose. You are to meet at the Hazelton Docks at six o’clock in the morning on the 6th of March, upon which you will be brought to the destination via boat.

  Please be aware that no Minakai are to be brought onto the boat or summoned at any point without permission.

  Sincerely,

  Lord Theodore Kensington

  Aurin recalled the last time he had spoken to Lord Kensington. It was during Tamer Day and he had said that he wasn’t hosting a tournament during the autumn because he had something bigger and better planned for the following year. Apparently, that meant spring instead of autumn, but Aurin was excited at the prospect nonetheless. In fact, it was the perfect way to test his progress ahead of the next Hazelton Tournament.

  “Skrow!” he called, distracting Breminia, who took a faceful of water from Steambot.

  The black bird soared over towards Aurin and the tamer reached into the air. He grabbed his monster by the legs and was carried into the sky. Without Aurin even giving him a command, Skrow knew where to go. He headed straight for Kyle’s ranch and arrived within two minutes, being dropped neatly beside the front porch.

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  “Stick around for a while,” Aurin said to Skrow, who flapped his wings once more and perched himself on the roof.

  Aurin wandered around, trying to find the rancher, who was busy throwing fish guts into the river as hungry aquatic Minakai stuck their mouths out in the hopes of scooping some up before the other ravenous beasts tried to take it all.

  “Calm down, you scaly vultures,” barked Kyle. “There’s plenty for all of you.”

  “Did you get a letter?” Aurin asked.

  “I’m a little tied up with feeding the monsters, Aurin,” replied Kyle without looking back. “Checking the post is low down on the priority list.”

  “Lord Kensington is sending invites again!” Aurin blurted out.

  Kyle stopped mid-toss and half the guts landed with a plop against the ground. Several of the fish Minakai bounced out of the water and began eating immediately, while others tried to pull their co-habitants back into the river.

  “Feeding can wait,” said Kyle, dumping the rest of the bucket, dusting off his hands, and marching towards the tap at the back of his house. He threw off his gloves and reached into his letterbox, pulling out an envelope identical to the one Aurin had received. He tore it open and pulled out the letter.

  “Yes!” howled Aurin, pumping his fist. “It looks like it’ll be our usual crowd ready to take on this latest challenge.”

  “Shush, I’m trying to read,” said Kyle, scanning the invitation. He began nodding slowly as he finished. “A new tournament, definitely bigger than before if we’re bringing more Minakai and staying in the wilderness for several days. A boat? I wonder if we’ll be going to an island?”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” said Aurin with a grin. “We’ve had the Palace Royale, and now he wants to up his game. This must be the Wilderness Royale, or the Island Royale. I can’t wait!”

  “Last time he only gave us notice of a couple of days, but this time we’ve got about two months to wait. He must want us to use the time to prep so we can be in peak condition for the beginning of the tournament.”

  “Whatever tricks he’s got up his sleeve, we’ll confront them head on. Don’t you worry, my best rancher friend.”

  “Nice qualifier,” chuckled Kyle. “But I’m not worried about any tricks. I think it’s clear that there’s a plan for some sort of round system. There’s no way we can all wander round with nine Minakai following us.”

  “That’s true. And he also said to bring a minimum of nine. I wonder if there’s a way to swap them out?”

  Kyle shrugged. “Who knows? I’m not going to stress about it. I’m more concerned with getting coverage for the ranch while I’m away. The Frogre are much better suited to being guards than feeders and cleaners, but I suppose they’ll do.”

  “You usually make them do it when you’re away, right? You could always enlist someone else to help.”

  “Like who?”

  “Emily?”

  Kyle was about to retort, but he paused. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. The odds of her being enrolled in the tournament are zero. She’s got a single monster and has never competed professionally.”

  “And you know she can be trusted,” said Aurin. He whistled and beckoned Skrow over.

  “Where are you off to?” asked Kyle.

  “I’m going to see who else has an invitation. I need to scope out the competition good and early. I can’t afford to be blindsided like last time.”

  “Does the competition include your girlfriend?”

  “Too right, it does,” said Aurin, climbing onto Skrow’s back. “You’ve seen her when she battles hard. The girl’s a menace and I can’t lower my guard around her for a second.”

  *

  Aurin and Luna sat in her living room, reading the letter from Lord Kensington over and over again.

  “A new tournament,” said Luna, feeling anxious. “I hope he doesn’t broadcast this one. I think I performed well in the Palace Royale because the only cameras on me were the ones reserved solely for Lord Kensington and his staff.”

  “You remember how well you placed in the incredibly public National Championships, right?” asked Aurin, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel the pressure of the larger audience. It doesn’t make me into a wobbly bundle of nerves like it used to, but there’s a big difference between that and actively enjoying the attention.”

  “Fair,” shrugged Aurin.

  “Alright,” said Luna, holding out a fist. “We know for certain that you, me, and Kyle are competing.” She extended three fingers. “Gardner and Jimmy also made the cut.”

  “Rick, Holly, and Eclare too.”

  At the utterance of Eclare’s name, Luna made a face, but she extended all five fingers on one hand and three further fingers on the other. “That’s eight in total, but there’ll no doubt be others that we know who’ll be competing.”

  “That’s a certainty,” said Aurin. He thought for a moment about who had placed well in the Palace Royale and the National Championships. “If I were to guess, Hunter and Frederick will be invited. The trouble with Frederick is tracking him down these days. We haven’t seen him since the Castle Dojo, and nobody has mentioned him returning to Hazelton at all.”

  “Why would he return?” asked Luna. “Everyone here hates him. Ironically, despite once being your nemesis, you probably get along better with him than anyone else in town does.”

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t make us friends. In any case, I have no way of contacting him to ask about the tournament.”

  “We’ll put our feelers out around town and see who was invited and, of those, who wants to compete. We’ll meet everyone at the docks regardless.”

  “I need to step up my training of Ethruki,” said Aurin. “He’s still not even close to being tournament ready. I thought my next competition would be the Hazelton Tournament.”

  “Step up your training?” asked a baffled Luna. “You’ve been training non-stop!”

  “Yes, but I need to train non-stop even harder.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Tomorrow, I’m going to challenge the tamers of the Underground Dojo. Ethruki is going to run the gauntlet and I’ll see just how far he’s come since hatching.”

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: