Catalyst

Tobias' POV

The moment I landed, I looked to Liam.

No words. Just a signal.

One finger.

One down.

Not enough time for more.

We didn't need to speak.

We both knew the truth—she was too fast. If we let her control the pace, we were done.

I launched forward.

Fire burst from my heels in sharp pulses, accelerating my steps. Each punch came with a snap of blue flame, trailing heat. I moved to strike, feint, dodge, shift—using short combustion bursts to blink out of reach or hammer down pressure.

I couldn't land a clean hit.

So I rained fire.

Not reckless. Measured. Controlled chaos.

Liam and Zoey caught the rhythm instantly. They backed me up without hesitation, syncing their movements to my tempo. Liam cut angles, forced her toward my flames. Zoey shifted the floor beneath her, tilting the terrain for half-seconds of imbalance.

And yet—

She danced through it all.

Unbothered.

She caught one of William's projectiles mid-air and redirected it. Then, with a flicker of motion, she closed the gap and slammed him to the floor.

Down.

But not without purpose.

Because William had been bait.

As she turned from the hit, Raika was already mid-air.

And this time, she connected.

A solid strike to the jaw.

The proctor staggered. One step back. That was all.

But it was more than we'd managed all match.

Then she smirked.

A tight, knowing curl of the lips.

Maybe because we surprised her.

Or maybe because she knew it didn't matter.

But it wasn't for nothing.

Because Raika had planted something.

A small metal sphere. Barely visible. Attached to her uniform.

I saw Erik, standing still. Focused.

The mark on the ground beneath the proctor glowed red.

So did the sphere.

And suddenly, she slammed into the floor like gravity itself had flipped.

Anchor.

Stronger than before. Far stronger than when he used it on Raika.

Dust erupted. The room shook.

For one breath—just one—we thought we had her.

Then Raika flew across the room like she'd been hit by a train.

She hit the wall, hard.

The proctor stepped forward, her figure flickering.

Lightning danced across her skin, sparking from her eyes, her veins.

She didn't look calm anymore.

She didn't look amused. She looked angry.