A minute into Reggie's match, the sky behind them lit orange-red.
The light came from the Grand Amphistad.
One violent beam punched through the open roof and shot straight into the clouds, bright enough to turn the carriage windows into fire.
For a second, all their faces glowed.
Kai.
Aria.
Lila.
Rin.
William.
Then the beam faded.
The roar came after.
Deep.
Heavy.
Rolling down the cliff road behind them.
Lila had both hands on the window.
Her eyes were huge.
"Cool."
Kai leaned over beside her, trying to look back up the road.
"That came from the arena?"
Aria smiled as the red light died across her face.
"That's a big move for a rookie."
Rin sat across from them, wrapped in bandages, his shoulder stiff under his cloak.
He didn't say anything.
He just smirked a little and kept looking out the window.
The carriage rolled away from the Amphistad, wheels clacking down the cliff road cut into Magnara's upper rise.
Behind them, the Grand Amphistad sat high against the evening, still roaring like some giant stone beast.
Ahead of them, the city opened.
Magnara stretched below in rings of light and smoke.
The Steel Flame Tower burned in the center, its gold beam cutting straight into the sky.
The Seeker Citadel stood beside it, dark and proud, banners of the Thirteen Pillars snapping above the rooftops.
Blue resonance canals ran through the city like veins.
Black-stone bridges crossed over them.
Far below, the Iron Cothon turned against the sea, merchant ships crowding the outer harbor while the war basin sat darker and tighter inside.
Forge smoke climbed from the lower rings.
Market lights flickered on.
Cranes swung over freight yards.
Carriages moved along the roads like sparks sliding through metal.
William sat with his arms folded.
Eyes closed.
He hadn't looked out the window once.
The beam had lit his face.
The aura from Reggie's attack had rolled over the carriage like heat from a furnace door.
He felt all of it.
Still, he sat like he'd seen it a thousand times.
Then he spoke.
"Take a good look."
The four of them turned toward him.
William's eyes stayed closed.
"There are other monsters in this tournament besides you lot."
The carriage rounded the first bend.
The Amphistad slipped behind the cliff wall, and the roar softened into the distance.
"Don't get cocky," William said. "And don't get comfortable because everyone has decided you're number one for the night."
He opened one eye.
"Tomorrow will be worse."
Aria smiled.
That warning did nothing to scare her.
If anything, it woke her up.
She flicked her short blonde hair back with two fingers.
"Good."
Lightning crawled faintly over her knuckle, then disappeared.
"I didn't come here for easy."
She leaned back against the seat.
"A girl's gotta stretch now and then."
Lila giggled and lifted her chin like she was already wearing a crown.
"Same."
She pressed one hand to her chest.
"And plus, I don't think they want to fight a queen like me."
Aria looked at her.
"A queen?"
Lila pointed toward the Amphistad behind them.
"They chanted it. I didn't make the rules."
Kai nodded.
"They did chant pretty loud."
Aria gave him a look.
"Kai."
"What?"
"Don't help her."
Lila smiled harder.
"Too late. The monk has spoken."
Rin's smirk stayed small as he watched the city pass outside.
The carriage reached the lower part of the cliff road and joined the upper trade ring.
The wheels changed sound beneath them.
Rough mountain stone became smooth blackway.
Evening lamps clicked on along the streets, blue and amber glass glowing over shopfronts.
A glass-domed academy passed on the left, students gathered on the steps, all pointing back at the red scar fading over the Amphistad.
A cart full of roasted peppers rolled by.
Steam rose from noodle stalls.
A man selling honey buns shouted louder than the crowd around him.
The city kept moving like the tournament was just another fire in the furnace.
Kai looked back toward the Amphistad until the road turned and the arena disappeared behind buildings.
"Yeah," he said.
His voice went quieter.
"I think that first fight with Carlos caught me by surprise because I'd never seen Muti used like that before."
Aria looked over at him.
Kai rubbed his thumb across his palm.
"The timing. The pressure. How fast everything changed."
He looked at the window, watching the lamps slide across his reflection.
"But I adapted under pressure."
His eyes sharpened a little.
"Besides, I can't lose now."
He sat back.
"Si and me still have a match to settle."
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then William started laughing.
Full.
Loud.
Joyful.
It came out of him so suddenly that Lila jumped.
Kai blinked.
"What?"
William bent forward, one hand over his stomach.
"My fault."
He laughed again.
"My fault, truly."
Aria stared at him like he had lost his mind.
Lila started smiling because William was smiling.
Kai still looked confused.
William wiped near his eye and leaned back.
"I forgot who I was talking to."
He looked at all four of them.
Then laughed again, softer this time.
"And again, I've never had a squad before, so bear with me."
That got them.
Aria laughed first.
Then Lila.
Kai laughed because they were laughing, though he still didn't fully understand why.
Even the driver chuckled from the front seat.
Rin didn't laugh.
He just kept looking out the window with that same small smirk, like he was trying very hard not to be part of the moment.
The carriage crossed a brass bridge over a glowing canal.
Below them, lantern boats drifted under the arch.
A woman on a floating grill turned riverfish over coals, and the smell rose through the carriage window.
Lila's eyes followed it.
The carriage turned away from the polished trade road and dipped into older streets.
The scenery changed.
Tall clean storefronts gave way to brick buildings with hanging laundry.
Steam rolled from basement kitchens.
Forge sparks drifted from an alley where men in soot-black coats hammered late under red lamps.
Children ran along the sidewalk waving little paper Seeker flags.
One of them shouted Kai's name.
Another shouted Lila's.
Lila immediately sat taller.
Aria saw it.
"Don't start."
Lila waved anyway.
"I have duties now."
"You have a big head now."
"It's called leadership."
"It's called compliments poisoning your brain."
Kai smiled at them.
Then Lila's stomach growled.
Loud.
The carriage went quiet.
Lila froze.
Both hands went to her belly.
Her face turned serious in the goofiest way possible.
"My tummy."
Aria stared.
"You are dramatic."
Lila looked at William with big wounded eyes.
"I'm dying."
William nodded slowly.
"Good timing."
Lila sat up fast.
William opened both eyes.
"I have something special for my champions when we get back to The Talking Boar."
Lila threw both fists up.
"Yay!"
Aria grinned.
"Hell yea. I needed more than Amphistad food."
Kai looked at her.
"What?"
He sounded genuinely bothered.
"I really liked those aura noodles we had."
Aria turned to him slowly.
A sarcastic smile pulled at her mouth.
"Of course you did."
The whole carriage laughed.
Even the driver.
Kai looked around, lost.
"What? They were good."
Lila wiped at one eye.
"Kai, they tasted like hot string and salt."
Kai thought about it.
"That sounds good."
Aria covered her face.
William slapped his knee once.
The driver laughed loud enough for the horses to flick their ears.
Kai leaned back, still confused.
"I guess I'm a simple ma—"
"Monk," Aria finished.
The carriage broke again.
Lila folded over laughing.
William's shoulders shook.
The driver wheezed from the front.
Kai stared at Aria.
"I was going to say man."
Aria smiled at him.
"No, you weren't."
Kai opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Rin stayed by the window, quiet as ever.
But his smirk was still there.
The carriage rolled deeper into the tavern roads.
The buildings leaned closer now.
Warm windows glowed above narrow stone lanes.
Music spilled from somewhere ahead, a fiddle fighting with a drum while people shouted over both.
The Steel Flame Tower still rose behind the rooftops, but down here it felt farther away.
The smell of Magnara changed again.
Less smoke from the harbor.
More bread, Stew, Grilled meat, Ale, And Tonics.
Then The Talking Boar came into view at the end of the lane.
The painted boar sign swung above the door, one tusk chipped, one hoof holding a mug.
Warm yellow light poured from every window.
Noise spilled out before the carriage even stopped.
Laughter.
Cups hitting tables.
Somebody yelling for more stew.
Lila pressed her face to the glass.
"My kingdom."
Aria laughed.
"You just claimed half the city."
"I'm growing."
The carriage slowed outside the tavern.
William looked over his squad.
Kai still smiling like he was trying to understand the joke.
Aria bright-eyed and alive.
Lila bouncing in her seat.
Rin bruised, bandaged, quiet, smirking at the window.
For a moment, William just looked at them.
Then he reached for the door.
"Come on, champions."
The carriage stopped.
"Dinner's waiting."
Lila shoved past Kai.
"Move, monk. My tummy is dying."
And the carriage filled with laughter all over again.