He nods slightly.

»That includes my decision to fight today. Please understand that I'm not doing this for myself, but for you. I'm not trying to prove anything to myself, as you might now assume. I'm trying to show you that I'll always be there for you, that nothing can get me down that easily. I know that I don't need to prove anything to you three anymore, but there are many Lux who still doubt me. They doubt that I'll be a good queen and that I can lead them. This fight today, this final exam, is supposed to make them trust me again. To have hope in myself and my abilities. So I'm not just fighting because I enjoy it, but primarily because I want to prove to my people that I can lead them. Do you understand that? Can you understand that?«

Levi looks stubbornly into my eyes. I can see that he understands me and that he wouldn't do it any other way, but he doesn't want to admit that.

»I understand you, Micah.« Jaxon comes closer and puts a hand on my shoulder.

»You? You understand her?« Alivia asks indignantly.

Jaxon shrugs. »My parents have always had very high expectations of me, which I will probably never be able to fully live up to. I know what it means to have to win the trust of a people who don't want to believe in you. And my people aren't even close to as big as yours,« Jaxon explains.

»Well, I never have any problems keeping the trust of the Sirens,« Alivia scoffs.

»Of course, everyone is at your feet,« Levi remarks, turning his gaze from me to her.

Alivia brushes a loose strand of hair from her face and looks at him stubbornly.

»With so much grace, you have no other choice,« she replies.

Levi and Jaxon burst out laughing. The argument is completely forgotten, as if it had never happened.

That makes me sad. I have the feeling that this issue will now stand between us forever. If we don't get it out of the way now, it will come back to haunt us at the most inopportune moment.

Hopefully it won't claim a life then. Alivia and Levi discuss loudly about their beauty and who could attract more Lux to their side.

The mood is happier again and is filled with Jaxon's laughter. We continue to the battlefield and the closer we get, the more Lux we meet. When they recognize me, they move out of our way, wish me good luck in my fight and bow slightly.

I feel Levi tense up a little more behind me every time someone mentions the upcoming fight. Shortly afterwards we reach the stands, where my friends say goodbye to me. They will look for seats in the normal spectator area while I go up the steps to my parents.

As expected, they are already sitting on their chairs and talking to each other. A bell rings and the conversations stop. Our headmistress steps onto the fighting area and stands in the middle, looking at our royal box.

»Good morning, my king, good morning, my queen,« she begins her greeting.

Her powerful voice is reflected off the walls and echoes into the last rows of spectators.

»And welcome back, Princess Micah. I am pleased that you are feeling better again. I am looking forward to your upcoming fight. But before we get to you, your classmates will first test their strength against each other in combat. So I would now like to welcome everyone else present to this fourth day of the final exams. Today, the last second-graders will duel and demonstrate their strength in spectacular fights. Dear fighters, please remember that it is not about destroying the opponent as quickly as possible, but about demonstrating to us, the judges and your families and friends how well you can control your strength. Therefore, listen to our instructions and end a fight when the bell rings. It is important to us that, despite the rivalries that prevail on the battlefield, you do not forget one thing: We are one people. We stand together, we fall together.«

»We are one people. We stand together, we fall together,« I murmur her words quietly to myself.

Two sentences, so simple and yet so powerful.

The director bows to my parents and me and then leaves the fighting area. There is cheering and a witcher comes from each corner of the arena. They will start today's fights. I recognize them as Landré and Kyron.

They line up in front of each other and assume a fighting stance. As far as I can tell, neither of them is carrying a weapon. The bell rings and the fight begins.

Kyron immediately throws himself at Landré and tries to throw him to the ground, but Landré rolls to the side and thus avoids him. Kyron lands on his stomach on the ground.

Some spectators start to boo, others cheer. Landré creates a small ball of fire in his right hand and throws it at Kyron, but Kyron rolls to the side and creates a fireball of his own, which he throws at Landré. Landré tries to dodge, but is not fast enough and part of his sleeve is singed.

He throws his arm to the ground and smothers the edges of the flames before they can spread any further. Some girls in the audience start to sigh. They expect one of them to take off his shirt during the fight.

I can't blame them. Even I love to admire the boys' well-proportioned upper bodies.

Landré and Kyron are both in the gym training a lot. Their strong upper arm muscles are visible under their sleeves and their tops are stretched over their bulging pectorals.

In terms of their abilities, they are both roughly equally strong, which is why this fight is of great interest to the audience. They continue to throw fireballs at each other and dodge the other's, but not always in time, so that after a short time their clothes are riddled with burn holes.

But neither of them seems to be out of breath and still has reserves of strength. All the training is paying off.

At least until Landré hits Kyron in the leg with a perfectly placed fireball. Kyron lets out a pain-filled groan. He falls to the ground.

The crowd holds its breath in shock.

Did they expect this?

I don't think so, but it's only a matter of time before one of the fighters makes a mistake.

Kyron lies defenseless in front of Landré, who is coming towards him with a fireball in his hand. The end of the fight is predictable. If Kyron doesn't tap out now, Landré will throw the fireball at him. Just before the fire reaches the sorcerer, it is held back by its creator, which means that the fight ends in victory for Landré.

Landré carefully approaches Kyron.

Is he expecting Kyron to set a trap?

Or is he just delaying the inevitable?

Many friends who are competing against each other delay their fight until the bell strikes so as not to have to make the final attack. I didn't realize that Landré and Kyron were such good friends.

Kyron doesn't move.

Is he giving up?

Wizards usually fight mercilessly to the end.

Unless...I let my gaze wander around the arena.

Nothing seems unusual to me. But then I see it. It flashes only briefly in the sun as it passes my gaze.

I focus my gaze on the opposite wall just as a stream of fire shoots out of the shadows towards Landré.

Those who see it scream in horror and try to warn Landré, but it is already too late. The fire reaches him and surrounds him, locking him in like an animal in a cage.

Kyron steps out of the shadows. The crowd applauds and the bell rings. Kyron has won.

»But if the witcher was in the shadow, who is lying there on the sand?« asks my father.

»Look here, darling,« my mother advises him.

I also look at Kyron lying in the sand. I stare at him, but I don't see anything. He looks like a normal witcher to me. The fires go out and Kyron begins to flicker.

»A mirage, but of course. How could I have missed that?« my father concludes.

»It's not just you who missed it, Elian. It seems like a lot of people do. The other witcher doesn't seem to have known either,« my mother reassures him.

My father nods relentlessly. My attention turns back to the arena, where the next two duelists are already facing each other.

The bell rings and the second fight begins.

The two magenta straps slip from my shoulders and my dress falls to the floor. I pick it up and put it on a chair.

The changing tents are sparsely stocked. There are ten in total, so everyone can change in peace. In each tent there are two stools and a bowl of water on a small base. The floor has been covered with a thick carpet.

After lunch and a few fights afterwards, I came here to get ready for my own fight. I spread the contents of my backpack neatly on the carpet.

I put on my battle dress. It consists of black knee-length, tight-fitting trousers. Over this is a black pleated skirt with silver seams, but instead of pleats it has long rips so that I have the freedom of movement I need to fight. The top consists of a reinforced black bodice with silver seams and sleeves that cover my upper arms.

I step into the reinforced boots and fasten the complicated silver lacing. There is no patch of skin left on my legs unprotected.

Next, I pick up my belt and put it around my waist. It consists of two black straps that come together to form a silver clasp on which our family crest - a phoenix - is engraved. The black dagger sheath, in which my dagger is already stuck, hangs on the lower strap. It may be small, but don't be fooled by that. Perfectly balanced, it is a dangerous weapon for killing.

»You look good,« a voice suddenly calls out from behind me.

I turn around and see Levi standing in the tent entrance.

»Thanks,« I answer curtly.

I don't know what he wants here. The situation between us is still very tense after our argument this morning.

»Can I come in?« he asks uncertainly.

»Haven't you been here for a long time?«

He lowers his gaze and falls silent. I return to my preparations and put on my gloves. They protect my knuckles and palms, but leave my fingers free.

I feel Levi's gaze on me. He hasn't moved yet and seems unsure, maybe even embarrassed.

»I wanted to apologize to you,« he blurts out as I'm putting my dress in my backpack.

Everything in me screams to forgive him, to look at him and say that everything is fine, but I stubbornly carry on packing and put my shoes in my backpack.

»Micah, please. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that,« he tries again.

I'm still silent and avoid his gaze. I bend down and fiddle with the laces of my shoes so I don't have to look at him. I know that then I wouldn't be able to hold back. I would forgive him for everything, even if he was responsible for the destruction of my entire family.

He sighs.

»You don't want to talk? Well, please just listen to me. I don't want you to think that I don't want you to fight, that you don't want to risk your life for your people. I know how much the Lux mean to you, how important your duties as our princess are to you. And I also know that you would never intentionally hurt us, that you wouldn't act rashly. I understand your decisions and I accept them. I respect you, Micah. But please understand that I'm worried about you and that I can't just stop. I love you, Micah. You are like the sister I never had and probably never will have. I don't want to lose you. I just wanted you to know that. I wish you much success in your fight. I stand behind you, as I always have... and as I always will.« He turns to leave.

»Wait,« I stop him and turn to him.

He looks at me. His eyes show a desire for my forgiveness and a longing for our friendship.

»I forgive you,« I finally manage to say. »I know that I don't always make it easy for you to be friends with me and I know that you didn't mean any harm in what you said. You are like a brother to me too and I couldn't bear to lose our friendship. Thank you for being so honest with me. You should always be. I don't want you to think that you have to lie to me to make me feel better. You know that honesty is better than a good lie.«

He nods.

»I forgive you, Levi. I will always forgive you,« I finish.

A smile creeps onto his lips and reaches his eyes. His usual carefree expression dominates his face again.

»Then you'd better hurry up now. Your fight won't wait for you.«

All of a sudden I realize how long I've been in the tent. He's right, I should go before I miss my exam.

»Go on now. I'll take your backpack while you're busy.«

»Thanks.«

I stand on tiptoe and give him a friendly kiss on the cheek. Then I walk past him and leave the tent towards the battlefield.

»Have fun,« Levi calls after me.

I smile slightly. Now that we've made up, I feel much better. The stone on my heart is gone and my thoughts are now fully focused on the upcoming battle.

Who will I be fighting against?

The sun is already quite low and blinding me. The cheers of the spectators are getting louder.

Have there been more of them or is it just me? I hear the sound of the bell announcing the end of the last battle.

»Princess, there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere.« An excited forest spirit runs towards me.

»Well, now you've found me. What's up?« I ask him without stopping.

He tries to keep up with me, walking quickly. »Your fight is about to begin. You're next,« he answers breathlessly.

»Then I should probably hurry.« I quicken my pace and rush towards my destination.

It's not far now. The forest spirit breaks into a light trot so as not to be left behind by me.

»Please, Princess, forgive me, but there's something else you should know,« he tries again.

»What is it?« I say, without slowing my steps.

»Your opponent... you will be fighting against a...«

»Stop. I don't want to know. Like everyone else, I won't find out who I'm fighting against until I'm facing him or her on the field,« I interrupt him.

I reach the arena when the forest spirit calls after me something that sounds like »Good luck, you'll need it.« The audience's applause stops as soon as they see me on the sand court.

The stands cast long shadows on the floor. My gaze wanders over the crowd and stops at my parents. I can see that they are sitting a little more upright in their chairs than usual and are watching the action in the arena with suspicious looks. They will not miss any step I take here, any strategy I use.

I look for my friends in the audience, but cannot find them. Most of them look to the opposite side of the arena. I follow them and now understand why the forest spirit was so keen to warn me about my opponent.