Elara wiped blood from her eye with the back of one broken gauntlet.
The Announcer crossed the frost-slick ground and held Ravel's shard out to her between two fingers. The crystal still carried streaks of blood along one edge. It pulsed once and settled into a steady rhythm before Elara touched it.
"Your prize comes with teeth, Croft, so try not to let it bite anything important before breakfast."
Elara took the shard and closed her fingers around the crystal without speaking. Her expression remained fixed while Cubes rotated once beside her, testing the new shard's presence.
The shard sank into her palm.
Ice crawled up her wrist for three seconds, then broke into flakes and vanished. Elara's shoulders tightened, but she did not make a sound.
The Announcer turned back to the stands.
"Ravel stole a defense he never learned to control, and Elara made him pay for that mistake. Remember that mistake before we are forced to meet again."
