Free The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) by Daphne Robynson

Glacier in the direction of where their team is being led.
    “Try to stay on both feet, will you?” His voice is light and playful as her face heats with embarrassment. He continues to follow the others without awaiting her response.
    He walks off ahead of her to his place as fourth, leaving her behind the fifth contestant, Neena. They are led to stand behind the Terra team that waits in a straight line at the bottom of the steps, leading up to the stage where the High Chamber waits.
    Glacier has a better view from where she now stands behind Neena, despite standing behind every person in line. She is able to see everyone on stage clearly and completely.
    The two earth elemental Chamber members, Sasis and the Fourth Seat, Julieen, step forward towards the front of the stage, closer to the opposite set of stairs that the teams wait.
    “Without further ado, Julieen and I would like to introduce to you, the Terra Team of two thousand and fifty-six!” The crowd rejoices loudly. Glacier waits for the first name.
    “Our first volunteer, Gamble Kelmen.” She watches a boy with a lean, muscular back climb the stairs two at a time, throwing his arms up to rouse the crowd. They roar at the sight of the first contender, women screaming for his attention.
    Gamble has long, thick brown hair tied at the base of his neck in a loose but elegant bun. His jaw line is straight and clean-shaven, and his eyes shine with excitement and arrogance.
    A small flying device appears from the side of the stage and lingers over his face for a while. When Glacier cranes her neck, she can see his face projected onto screens around the arena.
    Gamble pumps his fist in the air once more when he believes the crowd is settling before Julieen can announce the next contender.
    She smiles at Gamble’s antics, and waits for the audience to settle before she announces the next member of the Terra team. “Our second volunteer, Porter Kayt.”
    The audience cheers for Porter loudly as well, as he approaches the stage. He waves to the crowd as he continues over to where Gamble stands at the other end of the stage, and high-fives him once he was close enough. The hovering camera then moves onto Porter, highlighting his face on the screens. His light blonde spiky hair is intensely gelled in sharp points, and his dark green eyes shine with excitement from the attention.
    Pig-headed jerks.
    “Our third volunteer, Alidia Temp,” Sasis continues. A girl with a tight bun and sharp features steps up onto the stage with her blank stare still holding. She gave the audience a downward glance, before her lips tighten and she pumps her fist in the air to rill the crowd.
    “Our fourth volunteer, Bronze Hyde.” The next is a girl with light hair and a bright smile; she waves to the audience cheerfully.
    It continues on with Sasis and Julieen announcing the rest of the teams. The fifth volunteer is a sandy-haired boy, Isaac Loid and the sixth is the girl with short raven hair, Care Benns. The floating camera ensures every face is projected onto the screens surrounding the audience.
    Once the Terra team has been announced, they all bow and exit the stage down the steps on the opposite side of the stage. Glacier looks back up to the stage to find that Karn Hile and Emilia Frae, the Third and Sixth Seats, now stand where Sasis and Julieen were minutes ago, their parchment in hand with the names of the Hydra team.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, Emilia and I would be proud to introduce you to this year’s Hydra team.” Glacier suddenly remembers listening to the tournaments on her radio, hearing Karn’s voice through the small speaker. The sound of his voice in person is immensely more powerful than what her old radio at home could achieve.
    He is a lot younger than what she expected. His hair is a soft brown combed back behind his ears, his lips naturally pursed. He is beautiful, perfectly fashioned in a cobalt button down with the two top buttons undone and dark grey