Serene’s POV

I lay in bed and thought about what had happened today. I couldn’t believe my ears when Kilamin said he was proud of me. What did Artins Sensei say to him to make him act nice to me? This was Kilamin I was talking about. He didn’t do nice and he brought me chocolate as a peace offering. Something was wrong with him.

I drifted off to sleep. The night was restless and there were continuous nightmares today, I saw my bloodied hands and someone’s body laying upside down. I couldn’t see who it was but I knew it was someone close to me. I woke up drenched in sweat and my heart beating like crazy in my chest.

There was no point in sleeping again. It was almost dawn outside so I made my way to the bathroom to shower and change. I had chosen black leather pants and a skin-fitted black and gold leather top for today, which covered my neck. I tucked my necklace inside so it would touch my skin. I took my bow and wore my backpack.

Ayrden was still sleeping, as she had been upset since her defeat yesterday. I didn’t want to wake her up. She was pretty beat up about it and had slept rather late.

So I waited till Alvene came to fetch me and both of us went downstairs. Kilamin was waiting for me. Alvene left me with him and went off to find Ralph.

"Did you sleep well?" He inquired.

"Sadly, no. I had too many nightmares. But I am ready for my match." I told him with a sigh. His forehead got creased at my words but he didn’t dwell much on it.

"Let’s get you something to eat so you feel energetic." I nodded as we made our way to the dining hall.

It was still pretty early so the hall was almost empty. We took some sandwiches and juice and settled down to eat.

Kilamin went on to give me some final tips and we went over our plan one last time. Soon the hall began to fill and Zeph, Ralph, Mikasim, Tanzil, and Ayrden joined us. Everyone wished me good luck as they ate their breakfast.

Zeph sat down next to me and whispered in my ear: "Was he alright with you? I hope he didn’t give you a tough time."

"Surprisingly he was and he even apologized," I whispered back as Kilamin was busy with Ralph and Mikasim, giving them tips.

"Serene, thank you for supporting me yesterday. I will surely be cheering you on today." Tanzil placed her hand on my shoulder and said with a smile.

"Thank you Tanzil and you were phenomenal yesterday." I beamed at her. I was glad that we were able to patch things up. If only I could do the same with Dria but Arlo had instructed me to stay away from her and I hardly ever saw her.

Thinking of Arlo his match was before me and I knew he was facing his bully today. The Sensei of Red Valtire had apologized on his team’s behalf yesterday and they were allowed to remain in The Contest. I wanted to wish Arlo good luck, but like always he was nowhere to be seen.

Druine, Trikile, and Layla were sitting at a table near us. Druine walked over and introduced himself. Everyone shook hands with him.

"Good luck for today, Serene." He gave me a small smile before sitting down with Kilamin.

"Same for you," I replied as my eyes fell on Layla. She was giving me weird looks.

Finally, it was time for us to head to the battleground. The dome had been brought down to mark the entry point for participants. We took our seats and waited for Arlo and his team to arrive. All the other teams from different institutes were seated with their Senseis. All of our Senseis were present too and had taken their respective seats, Kilamin joined them and let me be with my friends.

Our Vampire Team arrived shortly after and I was surprised to see Arlo had tied his hair in a ponytail, away from his face. Sahala from Ralph’s team, Aronis from Amethyst Strikers, and another male vampire from Azul Skyriders completed the lineup.

"We should wish Arlo and his team good luck," I spoke up and others nodded. Zeph looked reluctant but I forced him to accompany me.

They were happy to see us all and promised to give their best. They had come to know how Red Valtire had tried to corner me yesterday and were furious. We spoke for some time and as the time drew near for the battle to commence, everyone made it back to their seats.

"Good luck, Arlo. Don’t forget the shield." I whispered to him before returning to my seat. He understood what I meant and smiled softly.

Shumal Sensei took the podium and announced:

"Welcome all to the second day of The Contest. I hope all of you are as excited to see today’s battle as I am. Because it’s the day for the Vampires to flex their skills and show their dominion. (crowd erupted in cheers and hoots at her words)"

She continued: "Today’s battle will be to test the speed and endurance of both teams. Team Red Valtire will be given Green bands while Team UIMB will be given Red bands. Each member will wear the band on their wrists and the other team has to collect the bands from their opponents. The battle will end when Red Valtire had collected all red bands or UIMB would collect all green ones. Use whatever means you like to succeed except killing your opponent. Good luck to both teams, don’t you dare disappoint me." Shumal Sensei was clapping her hands in excitement after the announcement while Lavaria Sensei stood by her, smiling. The crowd cheered.

Both teams entered the domes and were given the bands that they adorned on their wrists and huddled together for the group discussion. After 10 minutes the horn sounded to announce the start of the battle between vampires and a hush fell over the crowd as both teams faced each other.