Evening painted the cratered training field orange and purple while Cassie's party stayed spread across the damaged grass.
"No more throws," Jonas said with his face pressed into the dirt. "I am formally begging every nearby stone for mercy until next week's payment."
His borrowed armor carried dents across both sides, while sweat soaked the clothes beneath it.
Several paces away, Toby lay curled around his stomach with fast breaths shaking his narrow shoulders.
He had not moved since the final round ended, though Vella's ward confirmed that exhaustion remained his only serious condition.
Cassie lay flat on her back while staring toward the changing sky.
Dirt covered her short hair, grass marked both sleeves, and every useful measure of defensive mana had left her core.
Her barrier hand still twitched in her sleepless grip, catching stones that existed only inside her exhausted memory.
