A small crowd followed us to the arena, realizing there was gonna be a duel, and they sat on the surrounding benches in anticipation.
Zai was floating fifty feet in the air, lying on his back as if he were on water... he didn't even need his wings.
"Rules are: the first one to surrender loses. This is a long-awaited rematch," Zai announced, then he 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!" he yelled.
I walked to the changing room and after putting on my combat gear, I returned and said,
"Aye."
Qon had gotten ready and yelled his confirmation as well.
"Okay, start!" Zai shouted.
I immediately covered the arena floor in a blanket of 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," he mocked.
I didn't offer a reply but got into a fighting stance.
From the air, Qon launched a volley of tiny, glinting darts that hummed through the air like deadly hornets.
Compared to my training with Zai, his attack came at me in slow motion, so I dodged effortlessly, my feet gliding across the ice at high speed.
My form blurred with swift, graceful arcs.
The darts penetrated the ground behind me as I danced beyond their reach, leaving behind sparkling frost patterns like fleeting constellations.
After struggling with his projectiles, Qon decided to try attacking close range.
He dove toward me, throwing punches, but the result was the same. Qon threw a desperate kick; it was so slow that I was able to catch his leg under my arm and use 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 scattered objects, and ground below.
The metal flowed like liquid, coating his knuckles and feet before hardening.
"You're really good at getting out of the way! Why don't you fight me?!" he shouted.
That's when I summoned down a bolt of lightning and struck him.
The thunder was so loud it drowned out his scream.
I made sure he was in the air so he'd take the full force of my attack.
The skin around his metal coatings was badly charred, and his eyes rolled back.
His body bounced when he hit the arena floor.
He was barely recognizable.
He hasn't said he gives up yet, though... So I charged my body with electricity, ready to strike him again.
Qon jumped up, maybe from sensing danger.
The area around his feet was beginning to thaw because of how hot his body was, but that was no issue to me.
The ice was just to make him too paranoid to stand in the arena.
I threw my charged jabs at him.
I intentionally held back my speed to give him time to counter and dodge, so I could see him lower his guard a little.
I wanted to surprise him yet again, but then I felt a prick... then another, and then hundreds of thin metal needles pierced into my back.
I gritted my teeth so I wouldn't yell out in pain.
His face was healing rapidly, and though he was still panting from having to control his power to such a technical point while under attack, he seemed smug.
"You can still give up," he noted.
Maybe he thinks I can't use another powerful lightning attack.
Or he feels like there's no way for me to beat him now.
I could feel the needles digging into me deeply, some burrowing under my skin.
Knowing him, they'd soon work their way into my vitals unless I forfeit.
"You can give up too," I declared.
His needles stopped moving, and then Qon's eyes widened as he realized he could no longer move himself.
I took a deep breath, before approaching him.
It hurt to walk, but spreading my wings to fly would only slow me down.
A millisecond later, my body was as light as air, and I landed as many punches on him as I could, shocking him with a mixture of ice and lightning.
It was only a second for everyone else, but I had hit him so much that by the end he was pulverized and my fists were drenched in blood.
He could barely let out a whimper, and in a hoarse voice said,
"I forfeit!"
I was readying to hit him again but had to stop myself.
He was shivering; he was covered in injuries that would take a long time to recover and his clothes were in tatters; and his face was in shock.
"Do you have anything else to say to me?" I asked, taking a step back to ease the tension.
"I... regret what I did to you... I am sorry, so, so sorry," he cried.
This is the closest I will ever get to a sincere apology.
"Then, take your metals out of my body," I demanded.
He lifted his hand and did as told, instantly.
As the needles tore out of me, I flinched but did my best to clench my teeth and hide how I was feeling.
After it was over, I exhaled and said,
"Goodbye."
Zai slowly landed beside me.
He hooked our arms together and looked at Qon, who was still shaking.
He was twitching erratically; it seems Zai's version of lightning, which he gifted me, lingers in the body a while after battle.
A couple of onlookers stepped down to the arena to assist Qon and carry him over to a bench to rest.
"How did I do?" I asked, pulling his attention away from my adversary.
"I think my student has learned well," he replied while petting me with his free hand.
I blushed, and we began walking away.
"Thank you, teacher," I whispered, and my heart raced as the memories of every time I said that phrase to Zai raced through my head.
He is 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 before replying. He nodded, so I shouted,
"I don't need to tell you anything!"
Then I flicked Qon off.
We then teleported back to our hotel room immediately.
Zai was the first to laugh, and it was infectious, so I joined in.
"You got nothing else to say to him?" he inquired 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. I feel so free. Thanks, you made it possible for me to move on," I admitted.
Zai pecked my cheek and started humming the song I wrote for him, making me feel a little bashful.
"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.
He stepped closer to me and lifted my chin, before murmuring sweetly, "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," Zai whispered.
Then he hugged me by the waist and pressed his lips to mine.
I 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 actually need to rest?" I asked.
I hate getting worked up just for him to tell me he was joking again.
"... I don't need to sleep to fight him," he answered before getting carried away with me, until just moments before his match the following morning.
"How could you distract me so long?" Zai grumbled,
"Me?! It's not my appointment, and I had no idea when you two were supposed to meet!" I argued.
He responded to my words by rolling his eyes and saying,
"Excuses, excuses," he said in a mocking tone.
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, eyes fixed on me, and said,
"Snowe, stop... we're out of time now, and I can't be late."
Does he think I'm trying to seduce him right now?! We met up with Smoke at the arena area.
It was early, so there was no crowd watching... yet. When he saw us, he waved and approached us to ask,
"Can I speak to Snowe alone?"
His question caused Zai to frown, but he covered his mouth with his hand to hide his expression and said,
"Sure."
He then folded his arms and sat on the edge of the arena stage, while Smoke led me away. We were walking for almost a minute before I asked,
"Where are we going?"
Smoke paused and looked around.
"Here should be fine... How've you been?" Smoke inquired, flopping down onto the ground and then patting the spot next to him, inviting me to join.
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 is the same one that was on you 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 considering who I'm talking to.
"I wished for years to see you again... and the moment I stopped having hope that I would... You show 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 over what happened to you; it was agony."
I felt a bit guilty hearing his confession.
I did my best to stay loyal to him until he confirmed he moved on, but my heart had already been swayed by Zai before we reunited.
"I... am sorry, I had no idea you went through that," I replied.
"Did you think I didn't care about you?" Smoke asked this question while turning to look at me and moving closer.
I met his eyes, saying,
"I couldn't fathom meaning that much to you."
My answer was honest. He sighed, and then he nodded before speaking,
"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 did, things would be different..." he murmured. "Maybe you would have felt comfortable relying on me."
I didn't want to disagree, but unless he strongly convinced me that he cared, through years of trauma, I wouldn't have reached out to him instead of Qon... and things would've ended up the same.
"My... low self-esteem isn't your fault," I replied, then I noticed him closing the gap between our faces, and I covered my mouth instinctively.
"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?" he assured.
I sighed with relief and put my hand down,
"I'm 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 pressed forward, connecting our lips once again.
My heart panicked, so I yanked my head back and stood up to escape.
Neither of us spoke.
"Oops... I didn't mean to do that... I just couldn't resist. Time to fight your fiancé now, I guess," Smoke stated, but he lingered for a while, seemingly awaiting my response.
What the heck just happened?!