shot Teague a glare. “Not today we shouldn’t.”
Teague held up his hands. “Fine, not today. Re-seeding is an option if she loses a second elimination match, is all I’m saying. We could make a case that she’s new and the pairing was imbalanced . . .”
“We’re doing nothing until the match is over, so no point discussing it now,” Gunther said.
“Just can it for now, Teague,” Jake offered, shooting a cautious look at Gunther. “We need to put everything into cheering her on for the next hour until the fight is over.”
“I’m just fucking anxious. I can’t help it. Astra’s a machine.”
“Ksenia’s a devil in her own right,” Jake said. “I have complete faith in her abilities. But yeah, I get it.” He clapped Teague on the shoulder as they took their seats, and they didn’t say another word.
Only a moment later, the music signaling the start of the match rose up around the arena and Gunther’s pulse spiked with it. The announcer’s voice rang clear across the expanse, introducing the newest member to the League’s ranks, Desert Flame, who would be going head to head with the reigning solo champion, Midnight Star.
Cheers rose at the name of the solo favorite and spotlights crossed, swinging to aim at the dark doorways at opposite ends of the sandy arena. The space was devoid of obstructions for the start of the fight, so everyone could easily see the pair of champions as they entered the arena. All the obstacles and structures would emerge out of the floor before the match started.
The two female champions stepped into the spotlights at the same time and the crowd rose to their feet, stomping and howling in excitement. This was the first competitive match of the entire season, and the exhibition matches had done the job of getting everyone’s blood pumping for the main event.
Midnight Star was in her trademark glittery black armor, her black wings outstretched as much to signify her dragon nature as anything, not that anyone needed reminding. Ksenia followed suit a second later, letting her glorious shimmering wings emerge as well. She was a head taller than Astra, and her wingspan a few feet wider, so she made quite the impression. The crowd hushed in surprise.
“That’s our girl,” Jake murmured, and Gunther spared a glance to see his partner grinning like an idiot.
The two women approached each other across the sand, until their spotlights merged when they stopped to face one another. They exchanged a few words, and whatever Ksenia said made Astra Garrick throw her head back and laugh, but a moment later both their stances changed and they took several steps back, drawing in their wings and crouching as they prepared for the starting bell.
In the seconds between, the ground rumbled and the sand shifted as the architectural obstacles rose around them from beneath. The arrangement of pillars and ruined buildings was always different, adding to the challenge since the champions couldn’t replicate it during practice.
Today’s fight would be particularly interesting. Since both champions were dragons, the usual restriction on flight was lifted. They were allowed to use their full arsenals of abilities, and could even fight fully shifted if they chose.
Then the reverberating clang of the bell sounded and both women launched at each other with piercing battle cries. Gunther involuntarily shot to his feet and went to the rail, his partners at his side. The women grappled, rolling across the sand, light and dark flashing in the lights that had brightened to display most of the arena, though there were areas left in shadows. Some of the more die-hard fans of the sport invested in infra-red scopes to better see the progress of the fight when it shifted into the obscured areas.
Ksenia had the upper hand. She was bigger, and evidently stronger, and had Midnight Star pinned, but still struggled to reach the marker on her opponent’s suit that would award her the first point.
Each champion’s suit was outfitted with a matrix that the League’s technicians would send a random signal to. The section of the player’s body that would award the point would light up periodically until the opponent tagged that spot. Once the point was awarded, the next point marker would be randomly chosen on both champion’s suits.
Astra’s was on her low back, so naturally she was guarding it. Ksenia’s was in the same location.
With a twist of her torso and a leg around Ksenia’s thigh, Astra managed to turn the tables, sending Ksenia to the