A small crowd followed us to the arena, realizing there was going to be a duel, and they sat on the surrounding benches in anticipation. Zai floated 50 feet in the air, lying on his back as if he were on water... he didn't even need his wings.
"Rules are: first one to surrender loses. This is a long-awaited rematch," Zai announced, then rolled over to look at the ground below where we stood. I had to look away to keep my mind focused on the match and not my husband. "Once both combatants are ready, say 'AYE.'" I changed into sportswear, then came back and yelled, "Aye!" Qon had changed as well and shouted his confirmation.
"Okay, start!"
I made the arena floor slick with ice. Qon responded by extending his wings and hovering inches off the ground.
"Pathetic, spent so much time on Earth that you forgot I can fly." I didn't reply but got into a fighting stance. Qon launched a volley of tiny, glinting darts that hummed through the air like deadly hornets. But I was faster. Slipping across the ice, my form blurred with swift, graceful arcs. The darts passed harmlessly as I danced beyond their reach, leaving behind sparkling frost patterns like fleeting constellations.
When he tried throwing punches, the result was the same. Then he tried a kick, but it was so slow compared to when I trained with Zai that I caught his leg under my arm and used the momentum from his hit to fling him a few feet into the air behind me. For a moment, he hovered stunned—then fury sparked in his eyes. His fingers clawed at the air, summoning shards of metal from the crowd's scattered objects, coating his knuckles and feet.
That's when I summoned down a bolt of lightning and struck him. It arced violently from the sky, a brilliant crack that split the charged air and drowned out his scream in thunder's roar. His body convulsed, charred and smoking, as he crashed onto the ice, the impact sending cracks spiderwebbing out beneath him. I made sure he was in the air so he'd take the full force of my attack. He hadn't said he was giving up yet though...
Electricity crackled around me, my body humming with raw power as I prepared to strike again.
Qon got up, maybe sensing danger. The area around his feet began to thaw because of how hot his body was, but that was no issue for me. I closed the distance between us and threw my charged punches at him. They were deliberately slow enough for him to counter and dodge, so I saw him relax a little.
In the midst of our battle, I suddenly felt a prick in my back—and then another. Hundreds of thin metal needles shot into the backside of my body. I gritted my teeth to keep from yelling out in pain. His face was healing somewhat, and though he was still panting from having to control his power so precisely while under attack, he seemed smug.
"You can still give up," he noted.
Maybe he thought I couldn't use lightning on him again. I could feel the needles digging in deeply, some burrowing under my skin. Knowing him, they'd soon work their way into my vitals unless I forfeited.
"You can give up too," I replied.
Then his needles stopped moving, and he realized he could no longer move. The electric waves I had been sending into his body had finally taken effect. I took a deep breath and approached him. It hurt to walk, but spreading my wings would only slow me down.
Light as air, I sprang forward, raining down a flurry of punches. Each impact sparked brilliant arcs of electricity that lit up the arena like miniature storms.
Time slowed for me, but the crowd saw a blur of motion—lightning and frost combined in a dazzling storm. Qon's screams echoed, blood dripping from my fists.
"I forfeit!" he shouted. In that very moment, I was readying to hit him again but had to stop myself—there were rules here on Infaniya that I had to follow.
He was shivering; the skin that touched the metal on his knuckles was still burnt, his clothes were in tatters, and his face was in shock.
"Do you have anything else to say to me?" I asked, stepping back to help him calm down.
"I... regret what I did to you... I am sorry. So, so sorry." This was the closest I would ever get to a sincere apology.
"Then, take your metals out of my body," I demanded.
He did as told instantly. I flinched from the pain but clenched my teeth and hid how I was feeling.
"Goodbye." Zai slowly landed beside me. He hooked our arms together and looked at Qon, who was still shaking—the residual charge of lightning lingering in his veins. Even with his body completely healed, there were still noticeable side effects from our fight.
"How did I do?" I asked my husband, pulling his attention away from my adversary.
"I think my student has learned well," he replied, petting me with his free hand. I blushed, and we began walking away.
"Thank you, teacher," I whispered, my heart racing as memories of every time I said that phrase to Zai flooded my mind. He was my true teacher—the only one who could help me push past my weakness and grow.
"Wait... how... did you do that?!" Qon yelled at my back. "Your movements were almost unseeable, and when did you learn how to master lightning?"
I looked to Zai, who nodded in agreement, so I shouted back, "I don't need to tell you anything." Then I flicked him off and we teleported back to our hotel room.
Zai was the first to laugh, and it was infectious, so I joined in.
"You got nothing else to say to him?" He asked while stroking my hair.
"I've already spoken to him enough... he was tortured, and I got him to submit to me and regret what he did... it's best if I move on now. You made it possible for me to move on." I admitted. Zai kissed my cheek and started humming the song I wrote for him, making me feel a little tense.
"You know what I want to do now?" He asked. I shook my head, then watched as he removed his shirt and grew weak as I always do. "I want to get some sleep, before my fight tomorrow." I playfully punched his arm.
"Hey! Why are you teasing me?! You know I thought you were going to say something else!" I complained, he tapped my pouting lips and said,
"What did you have in mind?" I searched for the courage to admit what I was thinking but then he burst into boisterous laughter, "You're right, I was just teasing you." Then he hugged me by the waist and kissed me. I stood on my tiptoes and hugged his shoulders, in that same instant we shifted onto the bed, with me on my back looking up at him.
"... So you don't need to rest?" I asked. I hate to get worked up if he tells me he was just joking around again.
"... I don't need to sleep to fight him." He answered before getting carried away with me, until minutes before his match.
10 minutes before the match begins…
"How could you distract me for so long?" Zai grumbled.
"Me?! It's not my appointment, and I had no idea when you two were supposed to meet!" I replied.
He rolled his eyes and said in a mocking tone, "Excuses, excuses." Then he grinned widely, and I couldn't help but smile back.
"You better not get hurt, or I'll feel guilty."
When I mumbled this, Zai bit his lip and said, "Snowe, stop… we're out of time, and I can't be late."
Does he think I'm trying to seduce him again—right now?!
We met up with Smoke near the arena. It was still early, so there wasn't a crowd... yet. When he saw us, he waved and approached.
"Can I speak to Snowe alone?" he asked. Zai frowned but quickly covered his mouth with his hand to hide the expression, then said,
"Sure." He folded his arms and sat on the edge of the arena stage while Smoke led me away.
We walked for almost a minute before I asked, "Where are we going?"
He paused and looked around. "Here should be fine… How've you been?" he asked, flopping down on the ground and patting the spot beside him.
I sat a few feet away.
"I've been well. The people who took me in have been very kind to me," I replied.
He scoffed. "I'm sure. That guy is one of them, right?"
I nodded.
"His scent was on you the last time you visited… but now you're practically engulfed in it. It's like you're the same person."
"Well… we spend a lot of time together." I felt too shy to go into more detail—especially with him.
"I wished for years to see you again… and the moment I stopped hoping, you showed up. Can you imagine how I felt when I found out what happened to you? My feelings had just started to develop, but when you disappeared, they had nowhere to go. I was stuck obsessing—it was agony."
I felt a bit guilty hearing his confession. I did my best to stay loyal until he confirmed he'd moved on, but my heart had already been swayed by Zai before we reunited.
"I… I'm sorry. I had no idea you went through that," I said.
"Did you think I didn't care about you?" Smoke asked, turning to look at me, moving closer.
"I couldn't fathom meaning that much to you." My answer was honest.
He sighed and nodded. "I... am so self-assured. I knew without a doubt that you wanted me—but I never reassured you of how I felt. That's my mistake. Maybe if I had, things would've been different."
I didn't want to disagree, but unless he had truly convinced me he cared—through years of silence and trauma—I wouldn't have reached out to him instead of Qon. Things would've ended up the same.
"My... low self-esteem isn't your fault," I corrected.
Then I noticed him leaning closer, and I instinctively covered my mouth.
"What are you doing?" he asked with a slight chuckle.
"You can't kiss me," I warned.
"I wasn't going to kiss you... I'm engaged, remember?"
I sighed in relief and lowered my hand. "Sorry for jumping to conclusions... Is there something on my face? Are my eyes a weird color?" I asked with a smile.
Then his mouth was on mine.
I gasped and pulled away, but he leaned forward again, reconnecting our lips—so I turned my head and stood to escape.
"Yeah… something was on your face," he said. "Time to fight your fiancé now, I guess."
He rose to his feet, stretched, and strolled back toward the stage.
What the heck just happened?!