Page 59 of Two Who Live On

“And now you’re detained, you damn warlock!”

I frowned. He relished the fun of the Warlock Wars game. Not sure if that was a good or bad thing. A glint of his childhood flashed, chasing Caleb when they’d take turns being the villain. Those thoughts evaporated the instant he descended with a shackled Melanie. He could’ve dropped her, given she’d lost and her magic was dampened, but he didn’t. It allowed his other teammates, Amani and Harrison to apprehend Yaritza, which only left Jennifer and eight minutes on the timer.

“Feel that defeat? It’s over.” Kenzo closed in on her, eyeing her frantic expression. “Her empathy has latched onto the shock and disappointment of her team, shaking her. She’s defeated herself.”

He wasn’t wrong. Jennifer’s mind was flooded with the doubt radiating off Layla, Yaritza, and Melanie. Each cast a dark blue aura that painted the arena in somber shame.

“And that’s the first round!” Chanelle shouted in unison with the trumpet of victory announcing the end of the match. “And what a win it was.”

“Quite impressive, Kenzo.” I linked to his mind, unwilling to join in on the enthusiastic cheers and roar of the audience. “I guess you’re learning more about teamwork every day.”

“Fuck off, old man. I know how to work with people.” Kenzo cast a spark of static around his temples that didn’t shield the joy he held for a strategy no one saw coming.

Using the five minutes of preparation, he told his team that every damn fool here—myself included—would believe he was too arrogant to collaborate. So instead of proving them wrong, hebelieved it was best to feed into that illusion along with a few others. Amani, Jamius, and Harrison had the perfect branch magics for this tactic.

Honestly, something told me Kenzo could’ve made this plan work with any of the other students, too. I’d let Kenzo carry the pride that he’d successfully obscured his thoughts because, for the first time, I could feel his happiness unaccompanied by any other emotion—even if he masked it with a sour expression.

ChapterTwenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

I sucked my teeth, wishing they’d have more breaks between the matches because I needed a cigarette. But the next challengers were randomly decided, and I had faith in my two students drawn.

TEAM 1

TEAM 2

Gael Rios-Vega

Tiffany Sparks

Gael Martinez

Ryan Holmes

Andrew Johnson

Isabel Ortiz

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