Chapter 314: The One They Saved

Arthur shouted when the scorpion’s tamer raised her hand.

Elsa spun toward him, delighted to have caught him at it, then turned straight back to the terminal.

"Two-two! Dad, that’s two-two!"

"I can see it," he said, smiling despite himself.

"He got around the pincers. Mum, did you see the second one? It almost caught him."

"I saw," Elena said.

She was still sitting forward, hands clasped between her knees. Arthur followed her gaze to Glitch, whose sides were working hard as Jin examined the cut.

"He’s tired," she said.

"Yes." Arthur leaned closer when the camera changed. Glitch was standing evenly, but he recognized the effort in the lowered head. "They’ll check him before another bout."

Elsa sat down. "He’s staying?"

"If they clear him and his coach agrees," Arthur said.

On-screen, Jin rested a hand against Glitch’s neck. Arthur wished the camera would remain there. He wanted to see how the boy answered the official, not a slow replay of the winning pin.

Elena touched his arm. "He promised he’d listen."

"He did." Arthur covered her hand with his own. "Let’s see what they say."

The four-minute highlight had made the sweep look wonderfully simple. Watching the time between bouts, with his son waiting beside a tired beast, was much harder.

The inspection took ninety seconds.

Jin stayed beside Glitch while the official checked the fresh wound, his movement, and the readings from the scanner. Nobody brought a bowl or a recovery drink. This was permission to continue, not a break to restore what they had spent.

"Minor laceration, bleeding controlled. Bruising. Fatigue within the permitted range," the official said. "No disabling injury. Fit to continue."

Marris approached as he stepped away.

"Your assessment?" she asked.

"Two Presses and a short Harden," Jin said. "The claw’s untouched. No Rush. His shoulder’s sore, but he isn’t favoring the leg."

"And the casting strain?"

"It’s there. I’d want any further Press very short." He glanced at Glitch. "I can’t treat him as fresh."

Marris nodded. "Do you want to stay?"

Jin looked toward Sablecourt’s gate. He knew who would be coming. Bex could take his place, but he hadn’t prepared a stronger answer to that pair than Jin had.

"Yes," he said. "I want to try."

"Then we use what you’ve kept," Marris replied. "Protect your position. Don’t let her draw you away from Glitch, and don’t chase an opening that leaves you exposed."

"She’ll be faster than me."

"She will. You have to notice the approach before the burst." Marris held his gaze. "You’ve earned your place here. You don’t have to prove it by ignoring me if I call you off."

Jin nodded. He was grateful she hadn’t promised him a win. He would have known she didn’t believe it.

"You’ll hear me," he said.

Renn leaned over the nearby rail as Marris returned to the team area.

"Remember her back foot," he told Jin. "The light starts low. Don’t wait for her hand."

"Got it."

"And keep an exit behind Glitch. You’ve done your part already. See what you can do from here."

Jin managed a small smile. "That’s the plan."

Sera Vantt stepped out, and the applause swelled across the arena.

Jin had heard his own name shouted when he entered. This was louder, with people standing before her profile appeared on the screen. He could see Sablecourt students waving toward the gate, utterly certain that the person they needed had arrived.

He envied that certainty for a moment.

Mantle walked beside her, heavy through the shoulders, pale ruff lifting around its neck. A small crackle passed between the hairs and vanished. The tiger didn’t pull ahead or need calling back. It adjusted its pace when Vantt did.

[Bout 4 — Sablecourt nomination]

[Sera Vantt — Mantle, Stormmane Tiger]

[Rank 1 Novice, 9-Star — Quality: Gold (Middle)]

[Tamer talent: Lightning affinity, A-Rank]

Jin had studied the profile in the hotel. He knew she had delayed Rank 2, knew the earlier Meridian team hadn’t needed to face her, knew that her talent allowed brief attacks which Talren’s control hadn’t approached.

None of that stopped him looking at the tiger’s forequarters and wondering how Glitch would feel the first hit.

Same Star. I really wish that meant more right now.

Glitch watched Mantle without lowering his head. Jin felt his interest through the bond, mixed with the annoyance of still being tired. He rubbed the uninjured side of the lizard’s neck.

They had faced stronger enemies in the Engine. There, Flicker could pull an opponent’s attention away, and a failed attempt left information for the next run.

Here, his mother was watching.

Jin shifted his feet, making sure he hadn’t let the thought stiffen his knees.

Vantt stopped at her mark.

"Good timing on the second pulse," she said across the space between them. "Dahl almost had the turn."

"Nearly," Jin agreed. His hand was still damp from checking the cut.

"I watched your sweep. I’d have preferred meeting you fresh."

"I’d have preferred that too."

Vantt smiled briefly. "I’m still going to use the advantage."

"I know."

She turned toward Mantle and spoke too quietly for Jin to hear. The tiger’s ears moved toward her, then forward again.

Jin looked back at the team area. Nessa stood beside Corin’s chair. Dray had one hand on the rail, and Marris gave him a short nod.

He wanted badly to give them another point. For now, he would settle for getting through the opening without making them regret letting him stay.

"Tamers ready."

Jin stood a pace behind Glitch, slightly to the right of his tail. He checked the clear ground behind them. Enough room to retreat, provided he didn’t panic and run straight toward the boundary.

"Close," he murmured. "Keep me behind you."

Glitch glanced back once.

"Begin."

Mantle advanced on Jin’s left, angling toward Glitch’s front quarter. Vantt followed several paces behind, moving toward the other side of the pair.

Jin backed up with Glitch and kept both opponents in view. For the first few strides, it seemed manageable. The tiger was quicker, but it hadn’t committed. He could still turn with it.

He considered a pulse beneath the tiger, then held the command. Mantle’s steps were light, its route still changing. He would be guessing, and Vantt was close enough to punish the moment he spent watching whether it worked. Jin made himself look back at her. She was watching him rather than Glitch, and that frightened him more than the crackling ruff.

Then Mantle accelerated.

Its paws struck the ground harder, the pale ruff lifting as it drove toward Glitch’s left shoulder. Glitch planted and turned his head to meet it. Jin moved with him, trying to preserve the cover of his body.

That turn opened the right side.

Vantt had advanced while he watched the tiger. She was now only several meters away, with an unobstructed line past Glitch’s hindquarter.

Light gathered around her back foot.

Jin moved before she launched, stepping diagonally toward the cover of Glitch’s right shoulder.

"Back! With me!"

Vantt crossed the remaining distance in a crackling burst.

Glitch checked his turn toward Mantle, stepped back, and swung his armored shoulder into her approach. Jin ducked behind it as her hand flashed around the edge.

The electrical snap passed close enough to sting his cheek. Her fingers missed his collar by inches.

She planted, turned out of Glitch’s reach, and withdrew toward the tiger. Mantle had checked its own advance just beyond Glitch’s jaws; now it moved sideways to screen her retreat.

Neither had needed to trade a hit.

Jin stumbled one step and caught his balance. Glitch stayed in front of him, but the lizard had lost the angle from which he could threaten Mantle. The pair had approached, split his attention, and left together while he was still trying to recover his stance.

His heart hammered. Sabel had taught him to step away from an attack, but there were two attacks here, and choosing the wrong direction could put him into the other one.

Vantt settled beside Mantle, already watching for his next movement.

Jin could not send Glitch after the tiger without opening a route to himself. Holding him close gave Mantle room to choose another approach.

He tightened his fingers against Glitch’s plating, then let go so the beast could move.

Across from them, light gathered beneath Vantt’s heel again.

This time, Jin knew exactly who she was coming for.