Way of The Wand

Jira and Tomi landed next to Timi.

Tomi hugged her brother tight, drawing eyerolls from Daila.

“You did it,” Tomi said, “you made them wait.”

“Thanks to Lila and Chidi. We sang a song,” Timi told Tomi.

Jira lifted an eyebrow. “You sang? You?”

“Well, more like, Lila sang, while Chidi and I hummed.”

Tomi embraced Lila tightly, using the hug to communicate her gratitude.

Jira laughed and turned to Chidi. “Thank you, looks like I’m in your debt once again.”

“Look guys,” Sharazan said breaking up the camaraderie, “we’ve wasted enough time as it is. The match needs to start now.”

Timi held his sister’s hands. “Um, one thing. The king is here so, no pressure.”

“What?”

Before Tomi could ask for more information, Sharazan chased Timi, Chidi and Lila off the stage, allowing only Jira to stay.

“Jira you’ve got thirty seconds,” He said to her.

Jira placed her hands on Tomi’s shoulders. “The moment of truth.”

“The king is here,” Tomi said, repeating what Timi told him.

Jira smiled and squeezed on Tomi’s shoulders gently. “Doesn’t change anything. Don’t let his presence frighten or pressure you. Even if the gods themselves were here in the flesh, it still changes nothing. You’ve trained, and you’ve trained hard. This is the moment of truth, your moment of truth. Seize it.”

“What if I haven’t trained hard enough? What if Daila’s still stronger?” Doubts were beginning to cloud Tomi’s mind.

Jira squeezed Tomi’s shoulders even tighter. “Listen to me. When it really comes down to it, it doesn’t matter who’s stronger, it matters who fights harder. And I have a feeling that’s going to be you.”

“Your thirty seconds are up,” Sharazan announced to Jira.

Jira put her hand behind Tomi’s head and pushed so that their foreheads touched. “Tomi Afolabi, you’ve got this.”

With that, Jira departed the stage and left Tomi alone with Daila and Sharazan.

Sharazan had both ladies step into the ring of sand.

“The rules are simple. You fight until someone surrenders or becomes incapacitated.”

Sharazan made sure Tomi and Daila were ready, then, “Begin!” He said and left the stage.