The fights that follow are not as exciting as the Siren Puk fight, as many call it.

I dutifully stay in my seat, applaud the winners, thank the losers and watch each fight closely. But secretly I would like to go to my friends and talk to them about what happened. So much has happened and we haven't had a chance to talk about it yet.

The last fight of the day ends shortly before sunset. The two shapeshifters have really beaten each other up. They are bleeding from several wounds and are taken to the nurses by two friends. Since neither of them wanted to give up voluntarily, the fight ended early as a draw.

My parents stand up and I do the same. The audience follows our example and waits until we have left the stands. As soon as I go down the first few steps, I can hear them discussing things excitedly. They are debating which fight was the best, which was the worst and which fights they will see tomorrow. I hear my name mentioned worryingly often.

My parents are waiting for me behind the stands. They say goodbye to me to freshen up and get dressed for dinner.

My mother recommends that I change as well, as many eyes will be on me again this evening. The news that I have woken up will make even the injured come to dinner.

On the way to my hut, several thank me, tell me how happy they are that I am better and assure me that they are looking forward to my fight. I try not to get drawn into conversation and fob them off as quickly as possible.

»So that's what you look like when you've slept for two days straight,« I hear a familiar voice call out behind me.

I stop and turn around. »But you shouldn't try to imitate that, or you might never wake up again, Jaxon.«

My friends run towards me and Alivia falls into my arms. She hugs me so tightly that I think I'm suffocating.

»I can't breathe,« I choke out.

»Sorry.« She lets go of me and takes a few steps back.

Her hands are still on my shoulders and she looks me up and down and back again.

»Let her go now. She doesn't belong to you alone.« Levi tries to gently pull her away from me and wraps his strong arms around me.

He still smells of sweat and sand sticks to him. They haven't changed or showered. It almost seems as if they've been waiting for me.

»We thought you'd never come down from up there,« Levi confirms my suspicion.

»I couldn't miss the other fights. Even if none of them came close to yours, although you didn't really fight.«

He lets go of me and exchanges a fleeting glance with Alivia.

»You noticed that?« she asks me quietly.

I nod. »It wasn't clear to me at first, but the longer the fight went on, the more obvious it became.«

»Did your parents notice?«

I shake my head. »No, I don't think anyone else noticed. You were really good.«

They breathe a sigh of relief.

»Were you afraid they would notice and fail you?«

»To be honest, yes,« Levi confirms.

I smile.

Only the two of them could have come up with an idea like that. Staging a fight so that it seems real to everyone is not easy.

»And you really want to fight tomorrow?« Jaxon asks.

I nod. »I just have to. It would feel wrong to skip the test.«

»But you know that no one would blame you for that?«

»Yes, I would blame myself.«

»Everyone knows what you did. You don't have to fight,« Jaxon protests.

A thought occurs to me that I have to get to the bottom of. »Have you fought yet, Jaxon?«

He lowers his gaze.

»Yes, and he lost,« Alivia answers for him.

So he's not afraid of having to compete against me again. But why does he want to talk me out of it?

»Let's go to our hut. We urgently need to talk. Alone, without any curious listeners.« I nod to the students who have gathered around us at a certain distance.

Levi, Jaxon and Alivia only seem to notice them now, so we go back to Alivia's and my hut. Addison and Joyce won't be there. They are responsible for organizing and preparing dinner and have their hands full with that. So no one will overhear us.

We spread out on the sofa in the living room and three eyes are directed attentively at me.

»How are you really?« Alivia finally dares to start.

I sigh. »I don't know. I'm trying to be strong, for my parents and the others, but inside I'm unsettled and restless. I'm tormented by the fact that I don't know exactly what happened. I'm worried that the academy is vulnerable and that I might not be able to help next time,« I answer, being honest for the first time that day.

I consider whether I should also tell them about my encounter with Aurora and what I learned about my sister, but I leave it at that for now. I have to be clear about the other points myself first.

»You seem strong, I can assure you of that, and your speech during the fight gave us courage. Your voice was heard all over the square. It gave us hope and strengthened us,« Jaxon assures me.

»When you then said that you wanted to fight yourself, people almost went crazy. Everyone is looking forward to your performance. They are excited to see if you have changed. Many suspect that you will finish off your opponent in a matter of seconds. We all felt the sheer power of your magic when you freed us from that curse. Your opponent can brace himself. He will have no chance against you. But you should only fight if you are really sure that you can handle it. There are some who are saying that you are still weak. They claim that they have seen cracks in your strong demeanor. Cracks where there were none, mind you. But they doubt the authenticity of your future fight. They say that the management will make it easy for you. You don't need to worry about the academy. Since the attack, security measures have been increased. New spells have been placed over the huts, the protective shield around the grounds has been improved. They have pulled out all the stops to prevent something like this from happening again. But they believe that after your performance, no one will attack the academy so quickly.«

I stare at Jaxon, perplexed. Alivia and Levi share my surprise. We've never heard him talk so much in one go. Jaxon is usually rather taciturn and tries to use up as little energy as possible by talking. But this Jaxon here in front of us is different.

»What? I just said what I think and what I noticed?«

Levi is the first to wake up from his stupor. »You noticed quite a lot, man.«

»People talk a lot and carelessly when they think you're not listening to them or are sleeping.«

»You mean you overheard them?« Alivia asks.

Jaxon just shrugs. »Perhaps.«

Levi starts laughing, Alivia joins in and Jaxon just shrugs again before he starts laughing too. Infected by my friends, I can't help but laugh out loud too.

It takes a long time for us to calm down again, especially because Levi keeps imitating Jaxon, which only makes us laugh even harder. It feels good to be so exuberant and forget our worries for a moment.

But deep down I feel that the worst is yet to come. Aurora's words are spitting around in my head.

Trust in your friends, trust in your magic.

All of a sudden my mood changes. I become serious and go to the window. My gaze wanders over the huts lying in the shade. My friends fall silent.

»Is everything OK, Micah?«

I see in the reflection of the glass how they are watching me worriedly. Levi wants to get up and come to me, but I turn around.

»You should go take a shower and get changed for dinner.«

»Are you saying that we stink? Aren't your dirty friends good enough for you?« Levi jokes.

»Yes, Levi, what I'm saying is that you stink of sweat and dirt. I'm definitely not going to dinner wearing something like that,« I say back.

Levi's shoulders slump and a sob is heard. Jaxon puts a calming arm around his shoulders and I'm already thinking that I may have gone too far when they both suddenly jump up and run towards me. They try to knock me over, but I dive to the side. They land on the floor and I'm standing next to Alivia above them.

I smile down at them with my arms crossed in front of my chest. »You'll have to think of something better.«

»But we almost had you,« Levi replies from the floor, laughing.

They turn around and look at us. Since the last fight against Jaxon, the two have been trying to surprise and overpower me. It's meant as a joke, but it's incredibly useful training for all of us.

My reflexes have been far better than ever since and they're getting more creative with every attempt. One defeat teaches more than two victories.

»Maybe we should freshen up a bit. We don't want to embarrass our princess,« Alivia helps me.

»No, she really doesn't need our help for that,« Levi replies.

He holds out a hand to us in the hope that we'll help him up. I'm tempted to refuse him this favor after his last comment, but Alivia is faster than me and helps him up. I pull Jaxon up instead.

Levi hugs me tightly again. »Please be awake the next time I see you. I can't stand it again,« he whispers in my ear.

I nod against his shoulder and hug him. We let go at the same time and Jaxon promptly wraps me in another hug. He doesn't say anything to me, but I sense that he was worried about me too. I return his hug with the same passion. It's good to know that you are loved so much.

The boys say goodbye to us and go to their hut. After the door has closed, Alivia and I go upstairs. Alivia goes to take a shower first, while I sit down on my bed and get my notebook out of the bedside table drawer.

Alivia calls it a diary and it probably is one. I write down all my thoughts and feelings in it, sketching what happened. Images of individual memories fill the pages of the book instead of words. This time I have a lot to write down.

My thoughts wander back to the past. I sketch two people lying in the sand of the arena and looking into each other's eyes. Around them appear images of a girl and a boy, a waterfall of fear, a group of friends lying on grass and admiring the starry sky, a queen surrounded by a powerful force and everything is overshadowed by the indomitable cocoon of a dark spell, but a flame of hope, a flame of magic breaks cracks in it.

Alivia comes into our room, humming a melody, just as I put the book back in its place. Her hair is still wet and she is wrapped in a towel. I get up and go into the bathroom.

The mirrors are fogged up and my figure tries to look through the veil. I notice that there is sand on my skin and dress too and decide to take a shower too.

The hot water relieves tension in my muscles that I didn't know I had. I stand under the stream for a long time and let it wash away all the dirt and grime of the past few days.

Holding back tears find their way and mix with the water on my cheeks. I cry for everything that has happened and what could have happened, mourn for those we have lost and those we will still lose.

A knock on the door tears me out of my thoughts.

»Is everything OK in there? Are you still there, Micah?«

»Yes, everything's fine. I'll be finished in a minute.«

That was a flat-out lie. It would take me forever for my hair to be halfway dry again. The water dries up and I wrap myself in a towel.

Alivia comes in. She has two dresses in her hands and holds them in front of her alternately. »What do you think? The green one or the red one?«

Both dresses are floor-length and beautiful, but the cut is completely different. The green dress has a flowing skirt with several layers of fabric and long, translucent sleeves. The red one, on the other hand, is tight-fitting, off the shoulder and has an impressive neckline.

»It depends on what you're planning. The green emphasizes your eyes, but expresses more restraint. With the red, no boy will be able to take his eyes off you.«

She twists her mouth suggestively, thinks for a moment, and finally chooses the red dress. Her hair is almost dry, while mine is still dropping drops of water. I wring it out and wrap it in a towel.

With the right hairstyle, no one will notice that it isn't properly dry. We put on some cream and try out a new lotion that is supposed to smell of lavender and cinnamon.

Alivia wears a noticeably heavy amount of makeup. She emphasizes her eyes, reddens her cheeks, and puts on lipstick. She always pays attention to her makeup, but rarely uses that much. I just put on a little eye shadow and don't add any other decorations.

Then I help her into the tight dress and close the clasp at the back. The neckline is admirably bold, not just at the front, but also at the back. A long slit from the floor to her thigh gives her the necessary mobility.

I put on my dress from the last prom. It consists of several wafer-thin, light layers of white fabric, interspersed with ice-blue layers. The top clings to my upper body and is again only held by a single strap over the right shoulder. I put on white strap sandals with ice crystals.

Alivia is wearing red elegant shoes with a breakneck high heel. This makes her almost a whole head taller than me.

Her hair is now completely dry. I braid two strands from front to back and pin it with a red crystal brooch.

My hair is still wet, but Alivia braids it into a long braid that she lets fall over my shoulder. She puts small ice crystals in it so that it sparkles and glitters. Our forehead tiaras and birthmarks are clearly visible.

Alivia's birthmark is two outstretched sea-colored feather wings that form a ring around her upper arm.

»We should get going now. Do you think the boys are already waiting for us?« Alivia asks me.

»I think so. They're usually faster than us.«

We leave the bathroom.

»Wait a minute«, Alivia stops me as I'm about to go into the hallway.

She runs to my closet and takes something out. The fact that she helps herself to my things without asking hasn't bothered me for a long time.

»Turn around«, she tells me.

I follow her command. She's holding one of my tiaras in her hand. It's a silver one with ice crystals and the same one I wore with this dress last time. She carefully puts it in my hair.

A look in the mirror shows that it stands out more clearly from my hair than Darya's.

But that's mainly because it's bigger than the other one. The crystals are arranged in a silver vine weave that is about three fingers high. Even though it is so conspicuous, it is beautiful.

»Now you are finished,« says Alivia.

We leave our room and go downstairs. Alivia is still a little wobbly in her high heels, but she is getting more confident with every step. I want to help her up the stairs, but she waves me off.

»Are you sure these are the right shoes for eating outside?«

»It doesn't matter. They are the only ones that go with this dress. So I'll manage somehow.«

I shrug. She's right. The shoes go perfectly with the dress. But that's why I would never put them on voluntarily. They could also be approved as instruments of torture.