Seraphina smiled, but it wasn't the reassuring smile from our plan. This was something twisted, predatory, filled with malice I'd never seen before. Adrenaline shot through my blood as I realized something had gone terribly wrong.

"I accept your challenge," she said loudly, her voice carrying to every corner of the hall.

The crowd erupted in shocked murmurs and gasps. This was supposed to be the easy part. Accept the challenge, have our staged fight, let me win. Simple.

But the look in ...