I stood at the entrance tunnel to the Crucible Arena, my bat resting on my shoulder, listening to the roar of twenty thousand people shaking the volcanic rock beneath my feet.
"You nervous?" Natalia asked.
"Terrified."
"Liar."
I grinned at her. "Yeah."
Braxton appeared at the mouth of the tunnel, his synth-cigarette dangling unlit from his lips. "You're up first. Try not to trip walking out there. I've got money riding on you looking competent."
"How much?"
"Enough that if you embarrass me, I'm transferring you to the Vipers."
"Love you too, Professor."
He snorted and walked away.
The PA system crackled to life, and suddenly I heard the most aggressively cheerful voice I'd ever encountered in two lifetimes.
"GOOOOOOD MORNING, NEW VEIN ACADEMY! ARE YOU READY TO WITNESS HISTORY?!"
The crowd's response was deafening.
