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An idea comes to me, and I bite my lip, remembering what Ruskin said. In terms of power, I have more magic than a lot of these people, even if I’m not faster or physically stronger.

“Do it,” I say. Several heads swivel towards me. “Attack up the west side. I’ll cover you.”

Wistal gives a snort that even in his bull’s form is clearly meant to express disbelief.

But Pyromey blinks at me with interest. “All right.”

“Pyromey,” Vaccia says, looking worried. “If you make one wrong move?—”

“That’s for Lady Thorn to worry about,” says Pyromey.

Vaccia throws me a doubtful look.

“Trust me,” I say, my pulse already quickening with what I’m about to promise. “Give me a few minutes to prepare, then make the play.”

The horn blows to restart the game.

Chapter 12

Ireach deep for my magic. The metal I’m searching for is buried far under our feet, and I need a few precious moments to find it. The rest of my team gives it to me, half of them fanning out across our pillars, in front of where I sit on Parsley, creating a strong protective line. The other half go for the ball, but even as I keep my focus on the ground below me, I notice they’re buying time, making half-hearted plays for the other team’s pillars, letting the ball get tossed back towards us as they wait for my signal.

There’s a scuffle on one side of our pillars. Our team is in possession, but some of the players on the other side seem to have realized something is up. The saber-toothed fae snarls at me as Vaccia’s ursinian clashes with his. But he can’t get past her.

The last time I tried to reach this metal, the effort of it nearly overwhelmed me. But I’ve gotten stronger since then, and I’ve never felt more determined than I do now.

And there it is—I’ve found what I’m looking for. I call it to me, the cold touch of ore running in a thick seam far below us. It comes slowly at first, then quickens. I look to the nearest player.

“Get the ball to Pyromey,” I mutter.

There’s a scramble as the message gets communicated and the players go on the offense, suddenly fighting whole-heartedly for possession. Our fresh strategy has done some good already: I can see our side’s morale has come back with a sting in the tail, and it doesn’t take long before one of our players—a grizzled redhead I think I heard being called Elias—has the ball in his cradle. I don’t think I’m imagining the way the ground is starting to rumble, something that this time has nothing to do with the feet sprinting around me.

The orange-haired female charges my protective line, sending a stream of violet flames across the earth. Wistal tramples at them with his huge hooves before they can reach me.

“Now!” I shout, and Elias flicks the ball to Pyromey in a straight shot. It’s barely hit her cradle before she’s turning her ursinian and racing up the west side of the circle, mere feet from the edge and the huge drop below. She gets ridiculously far across the arena in those first moments. The other side is totally unprepared for her risky play and their west flank is almost entirely unprotected. Eventually, however, there’s a shout as they come to their senses and the team begins to charge.

That’s when the ground starts sprouting metal.

The other team comes to an abrupt halt, bellowing warnings to each other as I focus on bringing the augium ore up in protective sheets, literally building a wall between Pyromey and our opponents. She keeps riding her ursinian right round the circle, until she’s just feet away from the pillars. The other team has descended into chaos, unsure what to do with this unexpected move, and there’s no one there in time to stop her as she hurls the ball through the bone columns.

A collective scream of joy goes up from our team, and Pyromey does a victory lap. The threat of the other side winning by a four-goal streak is dispelled.

“Good work,” she calls to me as we regroup, and I can’t help but beam with pride. Then she drops her voice and nods towards the western edge, where I’ve let the augium sink back down into the earth. “Shall we try it again?”

“Won’t they be expecting that?” I ask, surprised.

“Not so soon. And you can mix it up a little. Have you got any other tricks up your sleeve?”

I think about this, but maybe because I’m still high off of our success, I don’t think about it for very long.

“Yes,” I say.

“They’ll be coming after her hard now,” she says to the others. “Watch out.”

I glance over at the other team and shiver at the hate on Turis’s face. I’ve gone and made myself even more of a target—but it will be worth it if we can win this thing.

The ore is closer to the surface now, and I don’t need as much time to draw it out, but the other side is more aggressive too. I try to stay focused on the metal, trusting my teammates, but I can hear the snarls and roars close by as Turis’s team tries their best to reach me. I glance over and see Jasand fighting tooth and claw with the mountain lion. They tumble over each other in the dirt, rolling too close to us for comfort, and I’m forced to kick Parsley into a canter, carrying us away from our pillars and towards the center of the circle.

Some of my teammates follow me, trying to expand the defensive line. I know it’s not as strong as before, but I don’t have time to worry about it as Pyromey catches the ball once more.