Chapter 54

“Problem?”

The four slowly turned as one, standing rigid before Delphina; their intense focus was now gone, broken by her interruption. Glancing at his other team members first, the red-headed Rhael then stepped forward, wringing his hands as he blurted out the truth.

“It wasn’t us, Captain! A Knight in green sent the message- he said it came directly from the Silverwraiths, so we let him in. It wasn’t until afterwards that one of the Elves realised they couldn’t remember having seen the man before.”

Delphina’s eyes narrowed at the absurdity.

“By the Gods, what even is this mess?”

Pietro, who had wandered over at some point, stiffened beside her as he heard what was just said. His expression shifted between disbelief and irritation, the leather on his gloves creaking as he asked with some difficulty, if they had even bothered to confirm the Knight’s identity.

Rhael paled- mumbling something about urgency and assumed authority due to the seal the man had presented. Hayle sighed behind them, muttering under his breath.

“You’d think the Information Department would actually verify ‘information’.”

Delphina held up a hand to silence the gathering tension.

“Enough. We’ll investigate the impersonation later. For now, we have a Tournament to start, and I doubt anyone wants to be held responsible for its delay.”

A ripple of unease passed through both the Hunters and Knights. Pietro caught her eye, her earlier frustration easing as he nodded. Coughing slightly, he ensured his voice would be heard clearly across the plaza.

“Right. Now that everyone has calmed down, we can inform you of the Tournament’s structure- afterwards, you’ll split off into your respective squads. Those not participating may join the administrative staff to assist behind the scenes, or simply remain as spectators.”

“We will start with the Squires- for the Hunters, that’s anyone not yet an Adult. With two group battles for each skill level that will run side by side.”

“The winner of each round will face off against the other in a final. Between each level, we will have a display battle, followed by a break. Once we reach the Elite stage, we will move to the full-fledged Knights.”

“Any questions?”

Delphina sighed in relief. No one spoke up, and they could finally move on without further delay, and so together, the twins snapped out an order at the same time.

“Form up!”

“Form up!”

The order rolled across the arena, the ambient chatter dying down as spectators began to take their seats.

Delphina stepped aside to watch the squads arrange themselves. Having some time to appreciate the view in front of her, she was enthralled by the banners fluttering in the early afternoon light; she finally knew the de Velasques heraldry.

A grey and white Pegasus danced rampantly over a golden wreath and a pair of open swords, a crown glistening above it. Standing out gloriously from the plain black background, a jagged bright red V-shape framed it all off nicely.

“Damn, that actually looks really cool… Wait, why do they only use the squad’s insignia on the different Knights’ armour instead of the de Velasques heraldry?”

Shaking her head and adding yet another tab to her ever-growing list of things to find out later, Delphina moved to stand behind the wooden barrier that had been erected around the cobbled arena.

It didn’t take long for every squad to be organised. The Hunters mostly stayed together in their original groups. The way they were structured was different from the Knights; mixed skill level squads could be a death sentence for Hunters active in the field.

The Knights, however, could afford to take lower levels so they could learn from their veteran counterparts. Truly a Squire to Knight system. Delphina was still annoyed at herself for not realising it sooner.

But this meant they took longer to organise- the low-level Squires had to coordinate with their peers to form new groups.

The Squires were young-looking, especially to her. Bright-eyed and eager to prove themselves, each stood tall, trying to hide their nerves. Compared to the Hunters of the same level, they seemed far too naive.

The Hunters were shifting their weight from foot to foot, regularly exchanging looks with each other. Whilst the low to mid levels weren’t allowed out in the field, they had still been trained hard for their future growth.

The member of staff who had been designated as the announcer spoke clearly over the arena, reading off the group names and department designations, as the low-level Squires and Hunters were split into two separate mixed groups.

Leaving the barrier, she walked to the raised wooden platform where both Hayle and Pietro had gathered. It seemed it was the same platform from when she had first met the Knights that very morning.

Below, the two groups stepped into the arena proper; they saluted to the platform where the three stood, and then, almost as an afterthought, to the stands. Though their eyes were clearly still trained in their direction.

Delphina inclined her head in return. She wasn’t sure whether they bowed to her out of respect from earlier or because they were terrified of her ‘reputation’ at this point. Either worked.

A trumpet call echoed, signalling the start.

Steel rang against steel, bright and clean, the cacophony rising as the Squires fought with the energy of those desperate to prove themselves, the Hunters’ movements precise but slightly too sharp, the kind of overcompensation that came from inexperience.

Delphina leaned on the wooden railing, her attention split between the crowd’s reaction and the subtle hierarchy amongst the combatants. Hayle sidled up beside her as she watched.

“Not bad for the lower levels, though I imagine you’ll find the display battle more entertaining.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

She sighed heavily, turning her sharp gaze toward him, who suddenly seemed fascinated by a loose thread on his cuff.

“Hayle, who is it?”

Smiling at her, he glanced towards a certain unaware man, who was currently sipping away at a glass of water that had been thoughtfully arranged for them by the staff.

Feeling a disturbance in the force, Pietro looked up and around, his eyes eventually meeting the two as they watched him in a predatory manner.

“What?”

Hayle clapped a hand to his shoulder.

“You’ll do fine. You’re the perfect candidate: Captain of the Knights, loved, respected, and less likely to cause an incident with my men if something goes wrong. Besides, you know I would never let you get hurt, right?”

Delphina folded her arms. What was it about Alphas and their fucking grandstanding?

“That’s remarkably optimistic of you. Who’s his opponent?”

“One of the assassins, I told him he was a mid-ranked Knight and that he might get a skill promotion depending on how he did. Don’t worry, it’s all perfectly staged.”

“Public duel, blunted weapons, healers on standby. If he’s clean, we look magnanimous. If not… Accidents happen.”

Delphina pinched the bridge of her nose.

“If you die, Pietro, don’t worry, he’ll kill himself afterwards. And if you win, Hayle’s definitely taking us for dinner.”

Pietro muttered as he adjusted his gloves with a resigned sigh.

“At least it’ll be a short match.”