Jax was totally baffled and the confusion was written all over his face as he said. "What do you mean?"
Sianna just grinned. She raised her hand and deactivated a spell behind him. As Jax turned he saw Seraphina and Elira struggling against an invisible barrier, slamming their fists into nothing.
Their mouths were moving, screaming something at him with desperation painted across their faces, but not a single sound was making it through.
They had been trying to warn him this entire time. And Sianna had made sure he couldnât hear a word.
As she undid the magic. The barrier shattered and the two girls charged toward Jax immediately. They looked worried sick, breathing hard from the effort of trying to break through. Before either of them could tell him what he desperately needed to know, Sianna spoke first.
"Thatâs what happens with people like you. These arrogant, confident fools live in their own world. A world where they get so blinded that the reality standing right in front of them becomes invisible."
She walked toward Jax with a killer smile and got close. Close enough for the smell of White Orchid to travel from her skin into his nose, through his nervous system, and corrupt whatever operating system was running inside his skull.
She whispered into his ear. "You wanted to enslave me? You fool. Now you will spend your life as my entertainment. Until I get bored of you and end the life that now belongs to me."
She moved back and spoke with the authority of someone who had been collecting menâs pride as a hobby for decades. "You stepped into your own grave the moment you started imagining yourself as the winner. I was silent through all your insults and your foolishness just because I knew I wouldnât have to lift a finger. Wouldnât have to waste my time handling any aftermaths of killing a professor."
Her grin widened. "Because your stupidity was more than enough for me to have my sweet revenge."
Jax looked at Seraphina who had grabbed his hand with a grip that was begging him to listen. He asked. "What am I missing?"
But Sianna was enjoying this too much to let anyone else spoil the reveal. She cleared his confusion herself.
"Donât you know your current standings? You are at second position with one hundred and thirty points. While Professor Zharina stands at first with one hundred and forty."
She watched the information settle into his brain before twisting the knife further.
"And I should also remind you, knowing how wonderfully clueless you are, that tomorrow is the last main event of the tournament. The event that will decide the overall winner. And unfortunately for you, itâs a match between my son and your students."
She tilted her head watching him process it.
"So letâs suppose that impossible scenario where your students actually win. The first position team gets twenty points added. The second position gets ten."
She looked at Jax with a grin that was getting more comfortable on her face with each passing second. "Can you do the simple math? Or should I count it for you?"
She watched his face get more confused and then added to make sure no hope survived. "So in short, there doesnât exist any possibility of you winning this tournament. Because in any outcome, itâs my win."
Jax said. "The one who needs some brain here is you, my queen. Because you havenât accounted for a possibility which is pretty much guaranteed. That is, a draw."
She laughed. Not a polite laugh. The kind reserved for people who say something so ridiculous that the only appropriate response is genuine amusement. "A draw? Donât be this ridiculous. You do know what happens in case of a draw, right?"
She scanned his baffled expression and her laugh turned cold. "Oh god. Donât tell me youâre still clueless about that as well. How the hell did you even get the seat of a professor?"
She waved her hand dismissively. "But letâs not waste time pouring knowledge into a stupid slave. Iâll get directly to it."
Her tone went flat like she was reading from a rulebook she had memorized before she could walk. "If the match leads to a draw, then the winning squad will be decided by a final match. A simple one-on-one duel where each professor picks any student from their roster."
Jaxâs curiosity peaked and she didnât waste a second pulling the curtain off.
"And you know what that means? It will be a useless and boring fight because the victor is already guaranteed. Karina, the ace of the entire academy, will surely be picked by Professor Zharina."
She glanced at Zharina standing nearby. Strangely, Zharinaâs face carried no emotion of victory at this revelation. And even Sianna didnât understand why.
She continued anyway. "Karina was defeated only by luck. Only by the bad placement in that gauntlet format. But everyone in this academy knows she canât be beaten by anyone one-on-one. And to make it worse, she will destroy whichever student you pick because sheâs burning for revenge after that humiliation. No tricks would work against a girl with that kind of fury."
She looked back at Jax. "And talking about your choice, who would you even pick? Looking at your team, only Student Lilith in her demon form would have given Karina competition. But she wonât be available."
She paused letting the implication hang. "And you know exactly why."
Her voice carried the finality of a closed door. "Which leaves only two of your strongest students. Astrid and Elira. Elira would be exhausted after the main event. And then comes Student Astrid. You should already know the power gap between her and Karina. And you already know how that fight ends."
She turned gracefully and started walking away as if the conversation was a meal she had finished and was now leaving the table. "But rest assured, we arenât going that far. The winner of the tournament will be decided with my son being victorious. So get yourself and your students ready for the leash."
She turned her head slightly. That grin still sitting perfectly on her face. "And just so you know, the leash around your neck wonât be decorative."
Then she stopped. Because a laugh erupted behind her.
Maniacal. Devilish. The kind of laugh that made sane people take three steps backward and insane people take notes.
Jax composed himself. And when he spoke, his tone had shifted into something that didnât sound like the fool who had been standing there moments ago getting his future auctioned off.
"And neither will mine."