Liz narrowed her golden eyes at Kael.
"You want me to do what?"
"Just sneak out the back," he whispered, adjusting his stance as Caius, Vander, and Rowan stalked closer. "I'll keep them busy."
She didn't move.
"Kael."
"Yes, Sunshine?"
"I hate this plan."
"Trust me, it's a great plan."
"No. It's your plan, which means it's an awful plan."
He placed a hand over his heart, mock-wounded. "You wound me, truly."
She exhaled sharply, glancing at the ruined temple's exit.
Caius's voice cut through the air like lightning. "Done whispering, rat?"
"Not yet. Five more minutes."
"Come out already, you damn rat!"
"No, we're busy here. Go away."
BOOM.
A blast of golden lightning tore through the air, scorching the ground near Kael and Liz.
Kael sighed. "Fine, I'm coming. Damn." Then, he turned to Liz. "Go. Now."
She glanced between Kael and the three demigods, then sighed heavily. "You better not die, idiot."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
She hesitated for a second before slipping out the back in one smooth motion.
Caius didn't seem to notice. Vander frowned slightly but didn't move. Rowan, however, narrowed his eyes.
"She's gone," Rowan muttered.
Caius glanced around. "Coward."
Kael shrugged. "Oh, shut up. You're the one who brought a squad to beat up little ol' me."
Vander cracked his knuckles. "Doesn't matter. You're the one we wanted anyway."
"Why?"
Caius smirked. "You just have a punchable face."
Kael scoffed. "That's a dumb reason. Now tell me why you're so upset, and I might come out and fight. Otherwise, I can just disappear like last time."
"You can, but I bet Liz can't. We already sent a few people after her."
Kael cursed under his breath. "Fine. Damn it."
He stepped forward, throwing his arms out dramatically.
"Ahhh, so this is love." He sighed. "I knew you guys cared, but bringing a whole crowd just for me? Thirty of you? All for little old me?"
The students surrounding them tensed.
Caius rolled his eyes. "No one cares, Kael."
But his smirk twisted into something colder.
Kael's own smile didn't waver. "No, but why do you guys dislike me? I haven't done anything, yet you three have been hurting me since the beginning. Why?"
Caius's voice turned sharp, dripping with superiority. "You shouldn't be here."
Kael's expression remained steady. "Because?"
He was buying time for Liz to escape.
Caius's eyes glowed with golden sparks. "A rat born in the slums pretending to be one of us? You're a mistake, Kael. A fluke. You don't belong in the same class as us, let alone the same school."
Kael let out a low whistle. "Ouch. You wound me, Caius." He tapped his chin. "Though, I must say, for someone as strong as you, you sure worry about the wrong thing. Could it be that you're jealous that Orion and the other Holy Knights give me more attention than they do to you? That he trained me instead of you?" Kael smiled. "Oh yeah, both of you have the blood of Zeus. That makes sense."
Caius's eyes darkened.
Kael grinned wider. "Oh, wait. I get it now. You're jealous."
Caius clenched his fists. "Shut up."
Kael laughed. "You hate me because of that? That's so lame."
Caius's fingers twitched, sparks snapping at his fingertips. He hated that Kael, a nobody, was getting more attention than him. Hated that Kael was still here. Hated that he was making fun of him.
Vander crossed his arms. "You don't shut up, do you?"
"Not when I have an audience."
Before Kael could continue his monologue, something blurred past him.
Two students dropped instantly, arrows buried in their chests.
Kael turned to see Liz standing on a nearby tree, her bow aimed for another shot.
"Oh my gods, Sunshine," he gasped, clutching his chest. "You do care about me."
She scowled. "I'm rethinking that."
"You shouldn't." He grinned. "Now come give me a smooch—"
"Focus, Kael."
"Damn it, you guys ruined my first date."
She smacked him on the back of the head.
Caius and the others moved closer.
Outnumbered.
Outmatched.
Perfect.
Kael cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Sunshine. Wanna see something cool?"
He lifted his hand and began to chant:
"From the depths of silence, I call upon the forgotten."
"Through shattered bones and lingering echoes, arise once more."
"Bound by will, unchained by death—"
"My legion, awaken!"
The earth split open.
The temperature plummeted. The air thickened with something ancient. Shadows stretched, shifting unnaturally.
Then, the ground cracked.
Thirty warriors rose from the abyss.
Not flesh and blood. Not living. Dead.
Skeletal soldiers. Their armor was cracked. They had terrifying blue flames blazing in their eye sockets. Some still carried traces of their former life—torn cloaks, rusty swords, shattered shields designed with emblems of past battles.
They stood there in silence, their presence pressing down on the battlefield like an invisible weight. Waiting for a command.
Liz froze. "That's how you got so many points. You used them."
Kael smirked.
Vander's grin faltered.
Caius's lightning sputtered.
Rowan tightened his grip on his spear.
Kael let the moment settle.
Then, he grinned. "Now it's fair."
He raised his hand. "Bring your king victory."
At his command, the undead moved forward, crashing into Caius's forces like an unstoppable storm.
Metal clashed. Students shouted. Chaos.
One of Caius's allies raised his hands, summoning a tidal wave to drown Kael's army.
Kael snapped his fingers.
Chains of darkness erupted from the ground, dragging the demigod down before an undead knight cut him down.
Another opponent swung a massive war hammer at one of the skeletons—only for the warrior to dissolve into mist, then reappearing behind him and driving a rusted blade into his back.
Screams. Shouting.
Kael stood in the middle of it all, completely at ease.
Caius, Rowan, and Vander still hadn't moved.
They were watching. Waiting.
They knew if they rushed in too soon, they'd be caught in the chaos.
Which meant Kael had an opening.
Liz moved like she was part of the forest—silent, untouchable. Arrows flying. Opponents falling before they could react. Even Kael could barely follow her movements.
Kael whistled. "You know, you're just too amazing."
Liz didn't miss a shot. "Shut up and fight."
"Oh, but I am fighting." Kael bonked an opponent with the blunt end of his dagger. "I just happen to be really good at multitasking."
She scoffed but didn't argue.
A brute wielding twin axes charged at them.
Kael smirked. "Wanna see something cool?"
He vanished into the shadows.
A second later—
THUD.
The brute collapsed.
Liz blinked. "You are so—"
"Honk."
Silence.
Then—
The colosseum erupted into laughter.
Even some of Caius's soldiers hesitated.
Kael exhaled, shaking out his arms.
Then, he grinned. "Let's dance."