little peek to see whether she could trust them or not. They hadn’t reacted to the color of her wings at all.
Gunther belted out a laugh. “True enough. Yet it still begs the question: Why do you need trainers at all? You’ve blown through all our tests today like they were nothing. You could’ve won a championship already, as skilled as you are.”
“She still hasn’t been matched with a real opponent in a fight with actual stakes,” Jacob said. “And there’s no sense going easy. Midnight Star still trains for eight hours a day, which she knows you have to do to stay on top.”
Ksenia’s ears perked up. “Do you know Midnight Star? She’s amazing!”
“She learned from the best. Literally,” Jacob said. “With an older brother like the Ebon Claw, it’s no surprise she still works her ass off to follow in his footsteps.”
Ksenia nodded, even though she still felt at a supreme disadvantage during any discussion about past champions. She had no frame of reference for the history of the sport, nor any idea how to gather more information without seeming grossly unprepared.
Her neck prickled and she turned to see Gunther giving her a piercing look tinged with suspicion. After a second of staring, he just nodded and said, “We can pull up old videos of the Ebon Claw’s matches, and his sister’s too so you can study them later. In fact, the League network has an entire database of all the past fights so you can pick whichever ones you want to watch.”
“That would be so helpful,” she said, relieved to have the out despite not knowing whether it was intentional.
“Meanwhile, let’s get you set up with some casual duds,” Teague said. “While you were blowing all our expectations, I made a call to a stylist a lot of the female champions like to use. You’re going to be a fucking star, I know it, so you want to look the part. Also, we need to come up with your arena name so we can complete the final step and get you on the roster.”
“Will that help me find a partner? I’d like to be part of a duo. Someone like Midnight Star would be perfect. Hell, Midnight Star herself is the ideal.”
“Sounds like a bit of hero worship going on here,” Teague said. “Astra Garrick is pretty kickass.”
Jacob hummed and shook his head. “As far as I know, she’s dead set on remaining a solo act. She’s at the top of the heap in that class, after all. But there’s no rule against champions competing in multiple classes. We’ll register you as a solo to start with so you can get a few fights under your belt, then put out some feelers for possible partners. How does that sound?”
“I guess I’ve got to start somewhere,” she said.
Teague took her hand and tugged her down the sand a little ways, walking backward while he faced her. “So before we choose your name, I’d like to get a good look at your dragon in all her glory. So far all I’ve had the pleasure of seeing were your wings, which were gorgeous.”
He stopped several feet from the water’s edge and lifted a hand, tugging gently at the pull to the zipper at the front of her armor. The tiny teeth separated slowly and the stretchy fabric parted, revealing her bare skin beneath.
She lifted one eyebrow at him. “Are you sure you weren’t just looking for an excuse to see me naked again? You did say the suit was made of some poly-something that could channel all my abilities like a second skin.”
He shrugged. “Bio-synthetic polymer. It is capable of shifting with you, and of transmitting any other skin-altering abilities, if you had them, but it doesn’t disappear when you shift, so it would alter your color. Your name is going to be tied to your animal in some fashion, so it’s best to know what we’re working with. Midnight Star is a black dragon, as was the Ebon Claw before her. Hot Wings are red and gold. Judging by your wings, I’d say you have a unique color, but it’s hard to say without seeing your scales.”
Her nipples pricked as the front of her snug armor parted, now that the mesh had lost some of its support with the zipper going down. She gave a husky laugh and grabbed Teague’s hand just as it reached her navel, leaning in and brushing her lips along the side of his face.
“You