Page 66 of House Ignis

My heart kicked against my ribs. Maddy didn't flinch; she stepped forward with a wicked grin. "You're on, you shadow bastard."

Without a word, Asher rose.

I was acutely aware of how his knees had been bracketing my hips—publicly. As he stood, the sudden absence of his heat was noticeable. Zya prowled past us toward the ring, each step a soundless hunt. Asher leaned down, his breath warming my neck.

"Wish me luck, Princess."

I rolled my eyes. "Try not to get humiliated."

As he entered the ring, the shield shimmered into a steady hum. Beside me, Sera took a slow sip of water, watching me over the rim with a look that said I told you so.

"Don't," I muttered.

Ember, however, lacked all subtlety. "Oh, he so wants to fuck you."

I choked. "Ember!"

Ryven and Ezra both grinned, their eyes gleaming with amusement. I wanted to evaporate. "Focus on the duel!"

In the ring, Maddy strode to the center like it was a runway. Skye launched from her shoulder, air shimmering around her like a heat haze.

"Begin!"

Shadows surged from Asher in writhing tendrils.

Maddy met them with a detonating cyclone, the gale whipping dust skyward as she shredded the first wave of darkness. Zya lunged, but Skye was a streak of white, slamming into the panther with a burst of compressed air that cracked like thunder.

Zya vanished into mist, reappearing behind Skye in a spill of shadow. Maddy spun, dodging tendrils and unleashing a violent blast of wind from her leg as she flipped into a defensive stance. She was a fierce, beautiful menace.

Asher moved like a ghost—no wasted motion.

He flicked his fingers, and walls of darkness slithered across the stone like a ring of vipers. Maddy slammed her palms down, creating a whirlwind vortex that shredded the shadows into smoke.

The crowd roared.

Asher only smirked. He signaled, and Zya phased through the wind, bypassing Skye entirely to strike Maddy like a battering ram wrapped in night. Skye dove in, deflecting the worst of the impact, but the force sent all three tumbling in a gust of grit.

Before Maddy could recover, Asher moved. Shadows erupted from the stone, coiling around Maddy and Skye with surgical precision. It was a cage of absolute darkness—not cruel, but inescapable.

Silence fell as the runes stabilized.

Professor Aldara raised his hand. "Match over—Asher and Zya win. Barely."

The arena exploded.

The crowd exhaled in a fractured sound—half a roar, half stunned silence. Skye hissed, her white wings still flared protectively around Maddy, eyes blazing in blue defiance.

The shadows didn't snap away; they slithered, coiling back into Asher's palms like obedient serpents returning to their master. Zya flicked her tail once and padded off, looking smug as sin.

Asher stepped forward, offering Maddy his hand. She stared up at him, her chest heaving, and for a split second, I thought she might actually punch him. Instead, she gripped his hand and hauled herself upright.

"Barely beat me," she muttered, brushing grit from her leathers.

Asher gave a lazy half-shrug, that infuriating grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Gale."

The benches shook as the students erupted again, the cheers hard enough to make the wards shimmer.

"That. Was. Insane," Ember breathed, eyes wide.