(Amaia)

"Next we have participants from the State of Orion," Gaslne turns towards us with that phoney smile of hers.

"We won’t be bowing, just stand behind me and give your names," Alnilam calmly says, standing up all majestic and upright.

I love this quality about Alnilam—he fears no one.

We nod and follow him. He has already trained us on how to present ourselves.

Heat seeps into my cheeks as every eye in the hall trails us. Alnitak remains on my right side while Mintaka is on my left.

Kacir and Rahria are just behind me while Alnilam is in front.

He halts a few feet away from the grand table of the kings. All five of us line up behind Alnilam.

I notice, none of the kings have their mates/queens beside them. It does make me wonder why it’s like that. They are the strongest men of our world and yet I don’t feel intimidated by them. Their sharp gazes waver to all of us, assessing and judging.

"May I present this year’s recruits from Guild Leo, representing the Orion Academy," Alnilam says with confidence and tilts his head slightly as an indication for us to speak.

King Orion has his chest slightly puffed out while others appear relaxed. King Xamian almost appears bored.

Rahria begins with introductions, Kacir follows, then both my mates and finally it’s my turn.

"Amaia Zhāng!" I announce with every ounce of confidence I can muster.

While others remain unmoved, almost disinterested apart from Hathial Kane. He regards everyone with keen interest, especially the twins.

But it’s King Xamian who goes through the most subtle change. His expressions are of shock. His eyes widen slightly as they find me, confusion so prominent in his gaze. His body appears to have gone tensed, that relaxed and bored posture just disappears.

I don’t understand the sudden jump in his demeanour.

"Welcome to Istrale," Natianu half-heartedly says, showing us his yellowing teeth.

"Both my sons are competing. I am expecting great results." King Orion beams at us and we nod.

Even Hathial Kane offers us an appreciative nod. Ramian’s father appears jealous and doesn’t acknowledge us.

We turn around and return to our table. Taking our seats we settle down. It’s the turn of the host country’s recruits.

Gaslne guides them forward with Meissa remaining in the centre. Natianu stands up and claps as if they had already won.

"Why is he so annoying and over the top?" Rahria mumbles, wrinkling her nose.

"Yes, he is hyping his own recruits too much as if trying to say they are somehow superior to us." Alnitak picks up the glass and takes a swig of water from it.

"His daughter is competing. He favours his children too much. You guys should have seen the times when the B-Twins competed against us," Alnilam nostalgically says. "If it had been in his hand, he would have forcefully declared them the winners."

"This year is going to be worse because they are playing at their home ground. Not only is it going to give them an advantage, they are also going to try and cheat their way to victory," Mintaka says in a hushed tone.

My eyes remain on recruits of Istrale but I can see that King Xamian is watching me. Why? I have no clue.

My eyes waver to the recruits.

"Meissa Jahaz!" She introduces herself in a sweet, melodic voice that is like music to one’s ears. The quality of her voice is so soft that I have hardly heard anyone use such a tone.

"See, even her voice is a weapon. She can literally bend others to do her bidding just by using her sweet voice. So be careful when facing her on the battlefield tomorrow," Alnilam warns us all. We attentively listen.

Tonight we will be drawing a final battle plan. From what I have gathered so far, every year they change the themes so no one knows what kind of battles and scenarios they will be facing.

There can be individual one-on-one combats with other guilds. There could be monster battles too. We could be thrown into a battlefield and made to overcome obstacles. We could even come face to face with wild animals. There could be a maze. The possibilities were endless.

Whatever it was, we will be ready.

"Let’s proceed with the dinner," Natianu announces once all the introductions have been made.

The caterers enter the hall carrying trays of hot food. Smoke rises like tendrils from the trays. All of them wear white catering uniforms. They begin serving the food. There are dishes I thought I would never see again because their roots were in my people.

"What is that?" Alnitak points towards a mountain of rice, veggies and meat. Before anyone can answer, I say in a hushed but nostalgic voice.

"Maqluba!"

I don’t even know if these dishes are served on purpose or they just want to mock one representation that is missing.

Alnilam senses my grief. Reaching under the table he takes my hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"Let’s eat."

He piles up my plate with food while Mintaka spreads the napkin on my lap. But somehow my appetite has died, I am only able to eat a few spoonfuls. It’s the chalice I grab, filling it with wine, I begin to sip, hoping to calm my nerves.

My mates insist that I should eat more but I can’t, it’s impossible.

The thoughts of Rigel, my people, my family and tomorrow’s Inter Guild Wars have me on the precipices of madness. Only the closeness of my mates is preventing me from spiralling out of control.

The sharp tangy taste of the wine burnt its way through my throat but I didn’t care.

After the dinner, the light music begins to play and everyone leaves their seats to mingle with others and strike up conversation.

I take Alnitak’s arm while standing up as he takes me around. Mintaka remains just behind me. Alnilam has gone on to speak with other instructors and enforcers. I have seen two others with the crescent moon tattoo on their foreheads.

The werewolves of Diera come forward and introduce themselves. "We were expecting Ramian’s guild to make it," one of them says with a cheeky smile. "Akial here." He extends his large hand towards Alnitak and he shakes it.

"Their guild was close but not close enough. See you in the battle tomorrow." He nods at both of us before moving away and we find ourselves face to face with Meissa.

Her delicate lips spread and she offers us a warm smile.