“The one behind her,” Zoe continued, “is an elf. The pointed ears, narrow eyebrows, and thin chin are telltale signs.”
“And the one in front?”
“Possibly a human,” Zoe lied.
Serena had told her about how romanticized vampires were in modern mundane media. She did not want to set off a million teenagers on a quest through dark alleys in some attempt to become a vampire.
“Not all non-humans have obviously distinguishing characters,” she said after a moment of silence. “The Nod Complex does enroll humans as well as non-humans, so it shouldn’t be surprising.”
“Well,” he said as the camera shifted on to the next group of students, “I think the
He definitely had questions. Zoe could see it in his eyes.
But she was already moving on to introduce the next school.
“Mount Hope Academy,” she said as three younger-looking students walked out of the dueling hall. “I believe all three of those students are fourth years. To be selected, they must be quite capable. I look forward to seeing them in action.”
She really didn’t have much more to say about the school or its students. None of the three were familiar to her, even when their names popped up on the screen. The school itself was… average. Though she thought for a few moments, she couldn’t think up a single interesting fact about them.
If she were honest with herself, she wasn’t particularly looking forward to seeing them fight. It was highly doubtful that they would perform well. Mount Hope had two fifth years on the team with the rest being sixth years. Perhaps they had decided to send in their worst three students, hoping to gain an advantage in the second event with their best.
None of them looked all that confident either.
At the same time, she almost wished that the camera had lingered on them just a few moments longer before flying over to Brakket’s students.
“Brakket Magical Academy,” she said, trying to ignore Hank’s wide open jaw upon seeing Eva.
Despite repeatedly telling Zoe that she hadn’t wanted to participate, Eva was actually smiling at the camera.
A wide, tooth-filled smile.
Zoe had to resist pressing her hand to her forehead. Eva’s face would be the first student from Brakket that everyone in the world saw. And she was deliberately making herself look unnerving.
An idle part of her mind wondered how Anderson was reacting. Being press-ganged into the tournament was probably why Eva was acting how she was in the first place.
“You said that Brakket Academy accepted non-humans,” Hank said before Zoe could continue introducing the school. “I take it that the girl in the front is not.” His words came slow as if he were trying to pick them with extreme care.
Zoe decided to save him from trying to figure out a proper question.
“Believe it or not, Eva was born a human. Beyond that, it really isn’t my story to tell. Something fairly personal happened to her. If she wishes to divulge it, that will be her choice.”
“I see,” he said, unable to keep the dissatisfaction out of his voice.
“Brakket Academy is fielding the youngest students in this tournament. Two third years, though only one of them is participating in this event.”
Behind Eva, Randal Hemwick and Rachael Davis followed.
Together, with the candidates from the other schools, they lined up before a large wooden stage. The judges were seated atop on one side while the headmasters of each school were seated on the other. Wallace Redford, who had been sitting in the very center, stood and moved to the front podium.
All the cameras focused on him.
He ignored the hovering drones in favor of looking over the students.
“The event will soon begin. Lots will be drawn to determine your starting location,” he said, holding up a large colored marble. “There are seven starting locations with a maximum of three students per location. Each student will pick one marble. You may find yourself among friends from your own school, but you’ll likely find yourself with an opponent.”
He paused for a moment. The cameras switched to a wide shot of all the students.
Zoe watched their expressions. Specifically, Eva’s still-wide smile. She didn’t flinch in the slightest. Of course, if she had Arachne on her, she would have very little need to fear starting with even two opponents.
Her eyes flicked to Eva’s wrist, catching sight of a small snake wrapped around just behind her hand. Something she might have mistaken for a bracelet had she not known that Eva never wore jewelry. The two flasks at her hip were notable as well. If Eva really wasn’t using blood magic, the flasks likely lacked blood.
Zoe could imagine what potions were inside.
