Lenny walked out onto the sand to the cheers of his friends. His ape beat its fists against its breastplate, sending a heavy wave through the arena.
"Surrender now," Lenny said. "I promised Leon I wouldn't kill you."
He was not lying. Leon wanted to see Styx's abilities, and for that I had to survive at least a few attacks.
The judge raised his hand.
I looked at Lily. She stood beside the lower rows with her light spirit and could reveal with one word how many soldiers were hidden in the forest. Lily said nothing.
The judge's hand fell.
The ape leapt. The sand burst beneath its feet, and a heavy fist drove towards my chest.
Styx vanished.
For the spectators, the fight ended in that same instant: the ape froze halfway through its strike and collapsed to its knees. A red speck lingered beside its ear.
Styx emerged behind the base of its skull.
She had passed through the ear canal and injected venom into the area that controlled movement. The beast was alive, but it could not raise its arms.
Lenny felt the paralysis through the bond. His face changed. Brutus had felt the same thing in the dead end an instant before he died.
I raised my palm.
Styx stopped.
"I surrender," Lenny breathed.
The judge declared my victory, but the stands remained silent for several seconds. Everyone was waiting for a second attack, a flash or some hidden weapon. They struggled to accept that a creature of the lowest species had ended the fight before a brute-force beast could land a blow.
Lenny knelt beside the ape. He did not look at me. He tried to make the beast's fingers move, and for the first time a command brought no response.
I stepped closer. Lenny shielded the ape with his body, as though he expected Styx to return.
"I surrendered."
"I heard you."
"Then call her off."
Styx was already sitting on my shoulder, but Lenny had not noticed. His gaze kept searching for the mosquito near the beast's head.
I could have walked past. Instead, I told him where the stinger had entered and how long the paralysis would last. Lenny did not thank me. He checked the ape's breathing and only then looked up.
One fight had not wiped the contempt from his face. Now there was a question beside it: why had I stopped when I could have done to him what I had done to Brutus?
Styx returned to my shoulder.
Leon descended to the edge of the arena. Up close, he looked younger and far calmer than his lackeys.
"An interesting ability," he said. "But it only works if she reaches the body."
The Void Dragon opened its eyes. The air around Styx darkened, and for a second our bond went numb.
She pressed herself against my neck.
Leon noticed.
"Speed alone won't be enough in the Wildlands."
He left without waiting for an answer. Lenny remained on the sand.
The victory changed the way people looked at me, but not my position at the academy. Three days remained until the end of the trial, and beyond the city walls lay lands where the teachers would not reach a fight in time to stop it.
Lily caught up with me before the exit.
"I promised to keep quiet," she said. "But if the swarm breaks loose, I'll get the others out."
"Is that a threat?"
"A condition."
Being rescued had not made her forget her fear or turned her into my ally. That was why I believed her condition.
Sergeant Cole was checking the teams at the control post. His gaze lingered on my empty pack, then on Styx.
Cole asked, "Supplies?"
I answered, "Styx will find her own."
Cole looked towards the forest beyond the gates.
"Then make sure what she finds isn't human."
I remembered Brutus's withered hand on the debt ledger.
The gates opened.
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