“Nah, I only let you burn me, baby.”

“This is not funny, Sera,” he growled.

“I was very nearly killed. I’m going to deal with that however the hell I want.”

“By making snarky comments?”

“Laughter is the best medicine,” she said, smiling at him.

He gave her the evil eye. “No, the best medicine is never needing medicine to begin with. You were supposed to use magic against those monsters, not play baseball with them or lure them into gasoline puddles and set them on fire.”

“Magic is the window to the soul.”

“How poetic,” he said drily.

“Every time I use magic, I give Blackbrooke a way into my head.”

“You’re not going to make it through the Magic Games without using magic,” he told her.

“Why not?”

“Because no one has ever done it.”

“Maybe no one has ever thought of it,” she said. “I am not like other mages.”

A deep sigh rumbled in his chest. “Oh, trust me. No one is arguing that point, sweetheart.”

“Funny.” She planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.

He met her stare, the magic building up in his eyes once more. His magic wasn’t burning dust bunnies this time, though. It was rough but fluid, like an ocean tide crashing against the rocks. It rolled against her magic, daring it to come out.

“So,” she said, clearing her throat. She pushed her magic down deep inside of her. Here of all places, she needed to keep her magic in check, not nuzzle and nip at Kai’s magic. Especially not when the Game Architect was probably nearby with his notepad and an arsenal of mind-frying tricks.

“So?” he asked.

“Blackbrooke. I think he told the guard not to heal me.”

Kai frowned.

“You think I’m being paranoid?” she asked.

“No. You’re not. Blackbrooke wants to break you. He’ll stop at nothing to do it. Especially after you thwarted his first attempt in the pit.”

“Nowhere in the rules does it say that I must use magic in the pit. I read the whole book.”

“You’re right,” he said. “And wrong. The Magic Games exist to rank a mage’s magic, yes. But the Games have another purpose.”

“To crack open a mage’s mind and serve it to the hungry crowd.”

“No, Sera. Pushing a mage’s mind to the breaking point tests your limits, but it also unleashes your potential. Most mages, even the powerful ones, have a lot more magic than they know. The trials of the Magic Games push them so hard that the floodgates open, allowing them access to magic they never knew they had.”

“I think I’d rather pass on that little perk,” Sera said, waving her hands across her torn and bloody clothing.

Kai picked a shopping bag off the ground and handed it to her. “For you.”

“Clean clothes?” Grinning, she peered into the bag. A pair of jeans and a black tank top waited inside. “How did you know?”

“That you’d tear up your clothes in the pit? Let’s just say that you have an impressive track record.”

Sera couldn’t argue with that. Her track record was a graveyard of monster parts and decimated clothing.

“Any chance there are some boots in here?” she asked, poking around inside the bag.

His dark brows drew together. “Did you ruin those too?”

“Well…” She lifted her foot up, showing him the partially dissolved sole on her boot. “Do you think it’s salvageable?”

He pulled out his phone and began typing away. “I’m sending someone out for boots.”

“While you’re at it, could you send someone out for pizza too?” she asked hopefully.

“You’re hungry? Again?”

Her stomach groaned.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said, typing faster.

“It’s all the fighting,” she told him. “And running away. And dodging goo-spewing metal mushrooms.”

“You wouldn’t need to run away so much if you just used your magic.” He slid his phone back into his pocket and looked at her. “Aren’t you the least bit curious about unlocking your magic?”

Maybe a bit. A teeny, tiny bit. But she couldn’t allow them to break her. “Not like this,” she said. “If there were another way…”

“In private?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“There’s a ritual. It pushes a mage’s mind to the breaking point, just like the Magic Games. But it’s not a public event. And it’s not done anymore.”

“Why not?”

“The Magic Council wants to keep these things within their control. Also, there’s more money in it this way,” he admitted, frowning.

Yeah, tickets to the Magic Games were expensive, and the fees for the participating mages were even worse. Then there was the control factor. The Magic Council was a suite of dictators with a hyperactive case of megalomania and a side order of paranoia. They had to know everything about every supernatural on the planet, and they used their collective magical might to squash anyone who stood in their way. It was a wonder there hadn’t yet been a worldwide revolt against them.

Sera grinned at him. “I hope you got me a nice discount on my entrance fees,” she said, shaking off thoughts of revolutions. For all she knew, that was what had gotten the Dragon Born into trouble the first time around.