Blazewrath Games

One cannot hope to tame dragons. This doesn’t mean a Bonded dragon will betray their rider. It means the Bond is never about subservience. A dragon has a voice, too, and it’s a rider’s duty to listen with careful consideration of their steed’s feelings. When a dragon expresses what it most desires, with either words or actions, it’s essential we don’t take it for granted. Believe dragons when they tell you their truths.

—Excerpt from Carlos Torres’s Studying the Bond Between Dragons & Humans

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

We still haven’t discussed what our reunion means for the future. She did mention Todd was escorted back to Aunt Jenny’s at his unbearably insistent request. The fact that she was present during my interrogation with Director Sandhar, sitting right next to Papi in respectful silence, gives me the slightest bit of hope that all’s well again.

She even waits with me while my team endures the interrogation. Since Manny and Joaquín are serving as our guardians, Edwin’s grandparents and the others’ parents aren’t required to join them, but they’ve been texting and calling frequently. They’re waiting to see what happens with the Cup in order to decide if they’ll fly out to Dubai, too. None of my teammates come out to the waiting room with negative feedback. Héctor mentions how easy it was to take Director Sandhar and his agents into the Dark Island and show them the Sire’s cage. After the director approved keeping the Sire there, he sent the dragons to Dubai and beefed up their security detail in case of rogue Dragon Knights.

Ten minutes less than Samira and her family have been stuck in the Department of Magical Artifact Permits and Regulations. Since her wand had originally been certified and sold as Copper, Samira needs government approval before she can legally use it. That’s just the first step. According to Director Sandhar, even if she does get her wand approved, she’ll have to undergo a series of tests and interviews to further study her Gold Wand status.

“Not really.” I slide closer to her seat with a yawn. “I’m just tired.”

Luis’s snores are getting louder. He’s asleep on Génesis’s shoulder with his mouth wide open, unleashing the sounds of the underworld.

Stoically, Héctor replies, “I apologize for the disruption. But if it’s okay with everyone, I can wake him up with my best rendition of the Celine Dion classic, ‘My Heart Will Go On.’”

More laughter. Luis pretends to be offended, while Edwin does a flawless reenactment. The whole time we’re bantering, Mom smiles.

“V! About time!” Luis stands up as Victoria approaches him. They fist-bump each other. “These fools have been accusing me of things I haven’t done.”

“You know what sucks more? Sitting in those freezing metal chairs.” Manny stretches his arms. He and Joaquín are right behind Victoria. “We should get going, mi gente. Director Sandhar’s given us the all clear to go home and prep for tomorrow’s press conference. The IBF is planning Andrew’s public memorial service. That’ll be two days from now.”

I close my eyes. A public memorial service for Andrew is both great and terrible. Family, friends, and fans around the globe will honor his life as it should be honored. But there’ll be a billion cameras there. It could easily become more of a spectacle than anything else.

“Have you heard anything about the Cup?” Victoria asks. “What’s gonna happen now that Andrew’s gone? Our semifinals match is forfeit, isn’t it?”

Manny flashes a deep frown. “Russell texted me with an update. The staff in Dubai said the other dragons caused major commotion in their habitats after you Faded to São Paulo. According to their riders, they wanted to join the fight in Brazil. It would’ve taken them longer to reach the country without magical help, and since the IBF wouldn’t allow them to leave, they kept on squealing.” He nods to my team’s riders. “They were rooting for you all.”

My heart swells as I picture all those wings flapping and fangs bared for my country’s team. They were willing to go to war for us.

“Are they calm now?” I ask. “Do you think they still want to finish the Cup? What happens if they refuse to continue? Will the Cup get canceled?”

Joaquín says, “President Turner will speak at the bureau’s press conference tomorrow morning, which we all are attending, too. He’ll address our next steps then.”

For a brief second, I catch Victoria glancing nervously at me. It’s so quick I almost think I imagined it. She’d be going back to a life without her coveted trophy. So would I, but that wouldn’t be the worst part. I’m supposed to start senior year soon. My teammates will be swarmed with agents hired to fend off Dragon Knights. I’m also at risk of being attacked, but I’m not the one with access to the Sire’s prison. I won’t feel at ease knowing my teammates’ lives are in constant danger. Plus, I’ll just plain miss them.

“Yes and no, mija. We recovered eight of the Pesadelos, but Violet #43 flew away. I’ll help my colleagues with the ones that stayed behind, and once they’re all settled again, I’m hoping to search for her.” He sneaks a peek at Mom, as if he’s waiting for an atomic bomb to go off, but she just nods in approval. He smiles at her. “I’ll get her back soon.”

My eyes almost pop out of their sockets. Mom is totally okay with the fact that my father is going to find the dragon that nearly killed me. I have no idea what prompted her to start watching Blazewrath matches and support Papi’s job, but I’m sure as hell not complaining.

I hug my parents tight. I ask Mom to please tell Samira to call me later, and she promises to do so. Manny and Joaquín shake their hands and exchange kind words with them both.

Then I’m led back to where Agent Horowitz is waiting to Transport us to the Compound.

She stares at the bedroom ceiling with vacant eyes, as if she’s lost the will to live.

I’m the only one here with her. Joaquín has told us all to rest, but my teammates are in the habitat with him and Manny. I’m supposed to fetch Gabriela’s favorite compact and bring it back to her. Apparently, saving the world makes you want to retouch your makeup.

I walk to the door, but each step slams more guilt into my conscience. Once upon a time, I would’ve chosen to swallow burning coals over having a heart-to-heart with Victoria. I don’t even know if a heart-to-heart with Victoria is possible.

“Okay, listen.” I turn to the bed. “You’re not the only one who’s dreamed of holding that Cup. I don’t know what’s gonna happen at that press conference. My mind is a mess right now. But I do know that I’ll never know pain worse than losing a friend.”

“I mean, I’m not comparing how bad you feel to how bad I feel. This is super hard for me, too. You’re not the only one who fears what’s next. You’re choosing to cope this way, and I respect that, but don’t forget there are others who can help you process what you’re feeling.” I bump my fists together. “That’s all I want to say. I’ll go now.”

Her apology hooks itself into my chest, stopping me dead in my tracks. “No, I … I’m not trying to get you to feel sorry for me. I just wanted to—”

“There was someone else before you.” Victoria sits up as if an anvil is pulling her down, each movement heavier than the last. “I trusted Brian more than I should have. I loved him. But he was just nothing wrapped in pretty packaging. When he revealed the real him, he hurt people I care about. That was horrible enough. Then he hurt me, too.” There’s a grim shadow cast on her expression. “Do you know what his last words to me were?”

“‘You’ve never been a winner and you never will be,’” she says. “The same words my fucking stepfather said for years. I shared them with Brian in secret.” His name sounds foreign in her throat, as if she’s out of practice. That scum bucket used her abuser’s words against her. He used her trust as a weapon, right after disrespecting Edwin and Gabriela.

“I didn’t trust you as a person or as a teammate because I didn’t think you could help me get what I want, Lana. I thought you were here to bring us down. That you’d end up embarrassing our country.” Victoria rubs her sleepy eyes. “I lied about the others feeling the same way. I’m sorry for that, too.”

“No. I put you through some bullshit. You proved yourself the minute you saved that Fire Drake. And again when you demanded the Iron Scale for practice, then again when you froze the Sire’s propeller. That fire in here”—she taps her chest where her heart is—“that’s all Puerto Rico. You might not have strong memories of the island, but it will never forget you.”

I flash her the smile I never thought she’d deserve. Whether we play again or not, she finally respects me. Hearing it tastes much better than the president’s no-calorie cake.

We both love Blazewrath with everything we are. Blazewrath was supposed to make us matter. That’s what I told Mom. The thing is, we matter with or without trophies and medals.

“Marisol told me not to burn away,” I say. “If you let hate get the best of you, the best will be gone. You’re too important to lose, Victoria—for your mom, for your fans, for yourself.” I sit at the edge of her bed. “We might not play Blazewrath again. That freaking sucks, but we matter wherever we are.” I put my fist on top of hers. “And I’d like to add that we matter without things that make us feel important. Including fancy Gold Cups.”

Victoria puts her sneakers on. We leave the room together, smiling like we’ve been friends this whole time. Maybe we could’ve been friends earlier, but the past is the past.

THE NEXT MORNING, I’M OUTSIDE THE BUREAU’S MAIN ENTRANCE, where reporters are waiting for Director Sandhar’s press conference to start. I’ve had two hours of sleep. My team stayed with the Sol de Noches last night while they acclimated to their bodyguards. Daga was the fastest to get used to them. She even tried to play catch, but to her dismay, they remained professional.

I returned to my room to talk to Samira. She told me about the Department of Magical Artifact Permits and Regulations as if she’d gone to Disney World. She has to stay in the bureau to start her tests, but they’ve given her clearance to attend Andrew’s memorial service.

Joaquín and Manny are chatting to the left of the stage. Headmaster Sykes plants a delicate kiss on President Turner, then joins Joaquín and Manny in the crowd. Director Sandhar motions for my team to walk onstage. The seven of us are shining brightly in our uniforms.

Director Sandhar goes straight for the podium. He recalls how he and dozens of other agents stormed off to São Paulo yesterday. Though he doesn’t reveal the Anchor Curse, he mentions President Turner had been a target, and so he was kept in a secret location created by the Sol de Noche dragons. I nod along as he confirms the Sire is trapped. It’s reassuring to hear him say it with such confidence.

“We owe our lives to the seven young heroes on this stage,” he says. “We owe them to Samira Jones, the young witch who couldn’t be here with us. But there are two other names I must mention today. Two young boys who are crucial to understanding yesterday’s events—Takeshi Endo and Andrew Galloway.”

I block them out as Director Sandhar continues. “A year ago, Takeshi Endo asked to become an undercover agent assigned to infiltrate the Dragon Knights. His role was to serve as our informant, but he’d been secretly plotting to help the Sire become a mortal dragon again. For his counter curse, the Sire needed the living blood of Edward Barnes. Or, as it happened, the living blood of Barnes’s heir. Agent Endo failed to discover the identity of Barnes’s heir in time to prevent his death.”

At first, I think something’s wrong with Director Sandhar’s microphone, but it’s just that he stopped talking. He lets a few camera flashes go off before speaking again. He mentions Andrew’s murder, his true identity.

“Randall Wiggins has confessed to capturing Antonio Deluca in 2015 with the intention of framing him for Hikaru’s murder. The bureau will continue their search for Deluca with the information Wiggins provides after his interrogation.”

“What about Takeshi?” a female reporter asks. “Is it true he’s also been arrested?”

“Yes. Agent Endo broke the terms of his contract. He withheld information and stole from the bureau in order to commit murder. He kidnapped Agent Michael Robinson and has refused to disclose the whereabouts of the Fire Drake. He was also willing to let the heir of Edward Barnes die so he could enact his revenge.”

Does that mean Takeshi will rot in a cell while the world celebrates Andrew one last time? Regardless of what Takeshi’s done, this is cruel. He won’t celebrate and say goodbye to his best friend. I won’t spend another day in the presence of the boy who was once my favorite.

President Turner wastes no time getting to the podium. He’s slumped over and yawning, but he has enough energy for whatever he’s about to do. “Good morning. I’d like to start with acknowledging the brave young people of Team Puerto Rico behind me. Without them, none of us would be here. It’s because of them that I come to you today with the truth.”

“Many years ago, the Sire cast an irreversible spell on me. It bound my life to his. I’ve served as his Anchor to this world ever since. This means I obeyed his every command against my will.” He leans closer to the mic. “He’s owned the Blazewrath World Cup since 2013.”

The crowd gasps as one. Some people exchange wide-eyed glances, but the majority can only look up at the man who’s confessed the devastating truth about the Cup.

President Turner goes on to detail how the Sire orchestrated his ascent in the IBF ranks, how he demanded the Cup never get canceled despite the ongoing protests, and how the president couldn’t scheme behind his back without him retaliating.

“I was unaware that Eddie Barnes had a son,” he says in a low voice. “Andrew Galloway lived and died a hero. He stood up to injustices and fought to end them. So have the other dragons competing in the Blazewrath World Cup. Their desire to fight the Sire overpowered their will to play, and there are still Dragon Knights roaming the world. Therefore, the International Blazewrath Federation has decided to cancel the Cup and announce our organization’s dissolution. This year marks the official end to the sport of Blazewrath.”

I wait for the heartbreak to swallow me whole, but the longer I think about it, the better I feel. I love Blazewrath. I always will. But this game stopped being what I imagined. Part of that is the Sire’s fault. The other part is what the Sol de Noche dragons have shown me since they started building the Dark Island. Dragons aren’t born to battle one another for a trophy. They’re here for their riders. For their countries. For themselves. President Turner has chosen to let them do what they were meant to.

He continues, “To the aspiring Blazewrath players who hoped to qualify for future Cups, I apologize. To the teams participating in this year’s Cup, your achievements will be properly rewarded and remembered.

“The Sire has been imprisoned. However, those who are loyal to him are still at large. I urge you to return to the people you love most. I urge you to live your lives. And when the time comes, I urge you to fight.”

Smiles pop up on my teammates’ faces, except for Victoria, who’s tearing up next to me.

I grab her hand. “There’s life beyond the gold, Victoria. Find it.” I bump my shoulder to hers. “You’re worth much more than a trophy.”

President Turner thanks us again and requests applause for our bravery. Manny claps the hardest out of everyone. He waves at us as we’re led offstage. We all wave back. Six guys and girls dressed in my same black uniform. All six making sure nobody trips while flashes go off all around us. Six people who chose to save my father over winning an international tournament.