[ Thalia's POV ]
{Later That Evening}
I stood on the rooftop of the villa.
It had been provided for Princess Freya since she was participating in the tournament. And because Lady Celestine was accompanying me, her father/my uncle had made arrangements for us to stay here as well.
While other candidates were out there in their tents, roughing it in the competitor's camp.
And here I was.
Broken.
Completely and utterly broken.
Tears welled in my eyes as I leaned against the railings. The cool evening breeze did nothing to soothe the storm raging inside me.
I kept recalling the events of today. Playing them over and over in my mind like a curse I couldn't escape.
We had won.
But instead, it was a humiliating defeat. A slap from reality itself. As if the universe was telling me how foolish I had been to think I could make them regret.
I thought I was getting one step closer to making them pay. One step closer to justice.
Everything was shattered now.
I didn't feel like myself anymore.
I looked up at the darkening sky.
"Father..."
My voice was barely a whisper. "Your daughter is useless."
The stars were beginning to emerge. Indifferent. Uncaring.
"She can't fulfill her promise. She's not capable of freeing your love. Freeing her mother."
My throat tightened. "And the revenge she promised you... she can't deliver it."
Tears started dripping down my cheeks.
"Thalia." A voice came from behind me.
I didn't turn. Just kept staring at the ocean visible at the edges of this island. The water stretched endlessly into the horizon, merging with the darkening sky.
Footsteps approached.
Then Freya leaned against the railing beside me. Adopting the same posture.
"You're still upset about the match." Her voice was cold. As always. But beneath that frost, I could hear something else.
Worry.
"How can I not be?" I hissed the words at myself more than at her.
"I was almost defeated. And worse, on my very first matchup. Against weak opponents."
I clenched my fists on the railing. "Weak opponents, Freya. And I nearly lost to them."
She turned to face me.
"It was just a bad day for you." Her tone was matter-of-fact.
"And let's not forget you were fighting one versus two. Or if we include that shaman's interference with his spell, it was one versus three."
She paused.
"Think of this match as experience. One where I'm sure you learned the most important lesson for any battle."
I finally looked at her. "What lesson?"
"Never underestimate your opponent." Her eyes were sharp. Serious.
"Taking into account every possibility of their moves, their skills, their strategies, that should always be your top priority."
She turned back toward the ocean. "My mother taught me something. In a fight, it's never about the clash of power. Never about summons colliding with summons."
Her voice softened slightly. "It's always about the battle of minds."
She raised a finger. "You never reveal your ace until you've squeezed every piece of information from the brain working on the other side. Every tiny detail matters. Every flinch. Every moment of shock. Every smile."
I understood what she was trying to do.
She was helping me. Giving me the review I had missed. The lessons I should have learned on my own.
Then I recalled him.
That infuriating man.
"That's what he was doing..." I murmured.
Freya thought for a moment. Confusion crossing her features.
"You mean Eric?"
I nodded.
She smiled slightly. "Well, his case was totally different. It's hard to explain, but..."
She shook her head.
"No one can read what's going on in that maniac's mind. Trust me. Even I have failed countless times."
I was even more confused now. "Whatever the case was... I looked small in front of him."
I recalled his words. The disappointment in his voice when he spoke to me during the match.
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand.
"Freya, I can't afford to lose tomorrow."
My voice hardened. "I would rather die than accept defeat."
I gripped the railing tighter.
"My matchup is against the prince of the Elven Kingdom. My cousin."
The word tasted like poison.
"This should have been a perfect setup for me. It could have been the start of showing them all what they did wrong. A sweet slap across the faces of everyone watching from that cursed kingdom."
My shoulders slumped. "But I don't feel it anymore. I can't find the real me."
Freya grabbed my shoulders.
Turned me to face her.
"Then stop looking for her." Her eyes bore into mine.
"You say you can't find the 'real you'? That's even better."
I blinked in confusion.
"Because the 'real you' was arrogant. She walked into that arena thinking her rage, her path of revenge was enough to buy her victory."
She didn't look away.
"I'm sorry to say this, but that girl deserved to lose."
I wanted to protest. To defend myself.
But I couldn't.
Because she was right.
"But the girl standing in front of me now?"
Her grip on my shoulders tightened.
"The one who is terrified? The one who knows exactly how heavy the cost of failure is?"
A small smile crossed her lips.
"She is the one I would bet on. Tomorrow, don't give him a duel. Give him a massacre."
She released my shoulders.
"You said you would rather die than lose? Then take that desperation into the ring. Let it fuel every strike. Every command. Every breath."
She stepped back.
"You feel like you've hit rock bottom, Thalia? You feel shattered? Good."
Her smile widened.
"Because rock bottom has a floor. It's the only place where you can stand firm without fear of falling further. And it is the absolute best place to plant your feet... before you launch yourself at his throat."
Every word she spoke carried weight. Every syllable ignited something within me that I thought had been extinguished.
She turned. Leaned back against the railing. Gazed at the sky.
"And don't forget... you have him too."
First I was confused then realized she meant Eric so I frowned. "And that's what haunts me as well."
She smiled knowingly. "He may look playful. He may seem like someone who would drag you down."
She chuckled softly. "That's a quality of his I can't deny."
Then her expression shifted. Became serious.
"But what's unique about him is his determination. His resolve. And what matters most to him is his ego."
She paused.
"If he enters the arena with a genuine resolve to win... I'm afraid even I would be scared of him."
I was baffled.
Completely baffled.
Freya—the one I considered the strongest here. The number one contender to win this entire competition. She was saying she would be scared of that man?
Just because of his resolve?
"But why?"
"Because I know that moron won't give up until he fades."
She caught herself. "Actually, 'fade' is too gentle a word. He could wake up and continue his madness until he dies right there on the arena floor."
She looked at me directly.
"Trust me. I've seen it with my own eyes."
"With your own eyes?" A third voice interrupted us.
"Freya, I knew you were friends with him!"
Both of us panicked.
We spun around.
Celestine stood there. Arms crossed. A childish, triumphant expression on her face. As if she had been spying on us the entire time.
Which she probably had.
Freya quickly regained her composure. "I said it because I taught him."
Celestine's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Freya's cheeks colored slightly. "Because he begged me to."
Was she... blushing?
Celestine seemed satisfied with that answer. Or at least, she pretended to be.
"Anyways!"
She clapped her hands together. "I came here to tell you guys that I'm going out."
I stepped forward. "Lady Celestine, but where? And this late?"
She smiled brightly. "I need to find Goonman.. umm... I mean Eric and bring him to our house!"
Freya's expression hardened instantly. "No way. I am not allowing that."
Celestine's face morphed into the most pitiful pleading expression I had ever seen.
"But he would be staying in those poor people tents! Don't you have any sympathy for your own disciple?"
She raised a finger. "And he's also big sis's partner! So for strategy purposes..."
Another finger. "Oh! And he's my friend too!"
She said the main reason, the real reason she wanted him here at the very last.
With the most innocent, jolly face imaginable.