Aronia raised her hand to halt the team’s movements. Everyone’s eyes scanned the surrounding area, trying to spot whatever caught Aronia’s attention. One moment, only the sound of the wind and the chirping of biyrds filled the forest. In the next moment, total silence. Anemone placed her finger to her ear and traced a Uruz rune along the side of her face. Soon, a faint buzz began approaching from a distance. It was a familiar buzzing. One, like the beating of Odonata fae wings. Wings that fluttered through the air at blindingly high speeds. As the vibration of the wings echoed in her ears, Anemone widened her stance.

  “I guess it couldn’t be a total breeze. Insecta should be way easier than those hounds,” thought Anemone.

  She placed the book back in her grimoire and drew her blades from it. Although her palms sweated, Anemone was looking for the perfect opportunity. A reason to make up for the night that she struggled with that gallu-lycan. Today was different. The muscles in her arms tightened as she clenched her knives. After taking a step forward, she furrowed her brows and swallowed the lump caught in her throat.

  “So, our first hunt of the day is probably Vespula, aye?” said Aronia.

  “Should we know what those are?” Rowan shrugged.

  Rubus stated, “She means the murderous honey-gatherers lookalikes.”

  Rowan scratched his head.

  “Why didn’t she just say Yellow-jackets?”

  “Because Nia is a scientist first and a soldier second.” Stated Anemone. “But it doesn’t matter what they are—this won’t take long. Uruz!”

  An alert gaze grew on Anemone’s face. All she had to do was take them out without error. The runes on her legs glowed from beneath her boots. As the muscles in her calves grew dense and tight, Anemone crouched down. In seconds, she launched towards the upper canopy, leaving everyone behind. Upon reaching the upper canopy, she noticed the fading conversation below.

  Aronia smiled, “And there she goes.”

  “Did she just rush headfirst into an unknown situation?” Timber said.

  Rowan looked at Rubus with a smirk.

  “Reminds me of somebody I know.” He spoke.

  “I’m ignoring you for the rest of this exam,” Rubus scowled.

  Even as her heart throbbed in the back of her throat, she breathed easily. After her heels smoothly dug into a branch, Anemone bounded higher. The wind howled and zipped by with a whistle while her ascent continued. With every bounce, her ears twitched and focused on how the sound waves swam through the air. Snapping to her left, Anemone focused intently and held her chin high as she stopped to land.

  “245 beats. Wait… I hear intervals between the beats. Three separate rhythms? No, there’s more.”

  There were slight pauses separating the sound of their wings. Anemone could tell there was a swarm ahead of her. But something was interesting about it. The swarm had formed three separate groups. Each group matched the buzzing of its partner as if they were coordinating. There were so many vibrations that she had to grip her ears. Anemone released the spell, resisting the urge to shriek.

  She said, “It’s about eleven of them…but one broke off.”

  Her jaw tightened as she spun on her heels into a dash across the branch. Anemone darted from branch to branch horizontally, flowing like a ribbon in the air. The bottom of her boots grazed across the branches before thrusting her through the air. In only a few seconds, she found the lone yellow and black insecta rushing toward her. As it zoomed through the branches, it wove its way to Anemone through the thicket. She locked eyes with it. And the moment Anemone blinked, she threw her knife. It cut through the air and wedged itself between the thorax and pronotum, next to its wing. However, it did not stop the insect. It flew into her.

  “Don’t think you’ve got me yet!”

  Anemone stuck her right hand out and successfully rolled off the impact of the Vespula. And with her left hand, she caught her knife’s handle. Like a doll, her body flopped in the opposite direction that the Vespula flew. Branches and leaves cut across her clothes and face, almost blinding her. The rush of everything forced her to shut her eyes as the insecta zipped around. Left and right. Up and down. It did everything to try to throw her off. When Anemone opened her eyes, she saw everyone down below. Rubus signaled everyone in the group to fan out, and they formed a circle. Everyone stood ready to cover each other’s blind spots. And as the lone Vespula jetted toward the group from the upper left side of Rubus. Anemone heard him chanting a spell.

  “Sylph-Tetra: 3rd Tier: Aer Gae- (Vespula),” Rubus yelled.

  The grimoire on his hip glowed and formed a magic circle before him. Spears of wind launched from a magic seal, flying through the tree branches and piercing into the Vespula she rode. Anemone’s heart stopped. Her hands clenched her knives so hard she could feel the handles pinching into her skin. She straddled the insecta all the way to the ground. As it slammed into the ground, the impact of the crash rose through the insecta up to her forearms. They twitched constantly, almost unable to stop. Her hands stayed shut tight, even though Anemone attempted to release them. The hard shell had cracked from the force of her knife thrust in between the joints. Life left the Insecta’s body, causing it to creak and squirm while Anemone sat upon it.

  Anemone realized how big the creature truly was. Its head was half as large as hers, with its body almost as long as hers. Its antennae stilled, and so did its razor-sharp mandibles. The size of its dagger-like jaw made her swallow her spit. It was the size of her hand. Anemone shivered as she felt a piercing grip clench onto her shoulder. Her neck snapped to her right and saw Rubus mouthing off. Despite how animated his face none of his words registered. Instead, she focused on his lips.

  “How many more are there!?” Rubus yelled.

  Anemone screamed in his face.

  “You almost killed me! I had it under control!” Anemone glared.

  “Nin, how much did you hear or see?!” Aronia commanded.

  “I didn’t see any thanks to him! But I heard about twelve insecta in total.”

  “It’s probably the first wave,” Aronia shouted.

  “Rowan defense! Timber offense!” commanded Rubus.

  “Roger,” Rowan saluted. “Undine-Penta: 3rd Tier: Aqua motion.”

  Timber called out, “Oread-Penta: 3rd Tier: Terra heart.”

  Anemone’s muscles thickened and became dense like the earth. All the tension in her body disappeared. Then the feeling of water sliding down her body calmed her while loosening her joints. Her eyes darted to the left, off, and a large swarm rushed out. It was a group of eleven Vespula that sped above their heads. Anemone dashed to Aronia. With all her might, Aronia caught Anemone and tossed her at the passing horde. Within seconds, Anemone split the wings of two Vespula and jumped on the back of a third one, riding it out of the group much like before.

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  “Ugh! This is gonna make me sick!” roared Anemone.

  “Well, quit riding them!” Aronia yelled.

  “I almost wish I was that insecta,” Rowan grinned.

  In harmony, Rubus and Timber pinched their brows, “You’re embarrassing.”

  As the insecta flew around, Anemone saw the rest of her team covering each other with ease. Flames flew from Aronia’s hands and burned the Vespula to a crisp as they fell to her casting a Vulcan: Tyndre Ars. Then, Rowan used an Undine: Aqua Gae Ars. Globs of water that formed in the air condensed into spears and launched at three other Vespula. Because the Vespula wove impeccably between branches, only one got hit. Rubus, however, was quick on the draw. As he pulled a bow from his grimoire, he sniped the two that Rowan missed.

  “You thief!” Rowan laughed.

  Rubus responded, “You set, I slam.”

  From above, Anemone could imagine their faces as she heard Rowan hollering something and Rubus making some kind of rebuttal with a sardonic tone and maybe a smile. With the wind bursting into her face, Anemone could hardly fight her eyelids’ urge to close. The Vespula darted about with sharp turns between every branch. Branches and leaves zoomed by, cutting her cheeks. Sweat dripped from her fingers, making her grip wane thanks to the added force of the Vespula’s quick turns. Soon, the insecta halted and juddered. Anemone gritted her teeth, clutching its shell so hard blisters were bound to form. A gust of wind rushed by, and one of her hands flew back as the Vespula fought against nature’s gales. Anemone’s eyes flew open, and she raised her knife, ready to strike. As if it sensed the blade, the Vespula glowed green. Its wings tucked and its body rolled, throwing her aim off. Then a sudden gale pressed into her chest and forced her downward. Anemone blinked, and the insecta shrank in size.

  “Am I—”

  The wind silenced her sentence, and her ears went mute from the sound of air clapping around her. Although it did not hurt as much as she expected, it still sent her flying. That movement was so fast she did not feel the air pressure until seconds later.

  “It threw me. With an Ars?”

  Anemone tumbled through the air, plummeting to the earth. Her heart raced as she saw the ground approaching quickly. Her body tensed up, and her vision went blank. Anemone’s mind replayed the scene of the gallu crushing an elf’s body when she thought of her body slamming into the ground. Her muscles tensed, and she shook her head as her nostrils flared.

  “SHIT!”

  Without a second thought, Anemone stuck her knife out. She prayed with all her might to catch a branch. Her knife stabbed the meat of the wood, hooking into the tree. Unfortunately, the force from the fall swung her body around and snapped the knife in half.

  “For Lauma’s sake! I forgot Oread makes me heavier!”

  Timber’s Terra heart-Ars had a minor side effect; all Oread-Ars made the body heavier. Anemone’s lighter sensation of Arcane-Ars was more her speed. But now? She was as heavy as a stack of bricks. The remaining swarm returned for another assault, catching Anemone’s eyes. When her eyes jumped back to the ground, Anemone caught Timber’s gaze. Without a breath, he cast an Oread: Geo-Wall Ars. Suddenly, a sloped earthen wall burst from the ground.

  The earth wall climbed high into the air, splitting the swarm in two. Anemone landed roughly on the wall, rolling down it. As she spun uncontrollably, she panicked, seeing only the sky, trees, and darkened earth. Once she glimpsed a flash of green, she focused on judging how far it was. Moments later, the blot of green was only a few feet away. Her foot dug into the side of the wall, thrusting her body at an angle. Anemone caught the ground and tucked her body into a controlled roll. Everything kept spinning until a tree trunk caught her spine with full force. The blow dropped her flat, and she coughed from the impact. Everything ached, and her lungs burned as she gasped for air. Anemone rose to her knees and turned her focus back on the fight. Her vision cycled between fuzzy and black.

  “Undine-Tetra: 3rd Tier: Bubble Prison,” a voice chanted.

  Three large globs of water reformed into a widespread net of droplets that launched at three Vespula. As the droplets made contact, they engulfed the Vespula like a wave. Each wave condensed into a sphere that violently spun their bodies. The insecta spiraled until there was no more movement.

  “Got ’em!” Rowan pumped his fist.

  Then, Rubus shot a volley of Aer Gae at the remaining Vespula. Pockets of air condensed to where you visibly saw the shape of spears. The air clapped and whistled, striking through the sky, but it was impossible to see where they landed. But what should have taken down the last three Vespula did not. Instead, the Vespula organized themselves into a triangular formation, and their bodies glowed with a green luster. Everyone’s eyes widened at the event that unfolded before them, and Anemone’s vision finally cleared up. The spears bounced off a pale green wall of light and ricocheted at Rubus. As if the world moved slowly, Anemone slid her eyes toward Rubus. He leaned to the side as fast as possible, but she knew there was no way he could move that fast.

  “He’s dead…” she whispered.

  Anemone held her breath, and the world went gray. As if someone had wiped away all the colors of the world with a rag. In the distance, Anemone heard the whispering sounds of the air. She blinked heavily, and words hushed into her ear like a secret.

  “Anti-Sylph wall.”

  Color flashed back into the world, and the same pale wall of light appeared before Rubus. The air spears bounced off the wall and back to the Vespula. And out of the sky dropped their exploded remains. Rubus turned to Rowan after taking a deep breath. The veil that covered his eyes had shifted down over his nose. They revealed wide, blackened eyes with purple irises. As they shifted back to their normal drooping stare, Rubus covered his eyes again. As he placed his hand on his chest, he took a deep breath. Then he bumped his fist into Rowan’s right pectoral.

  “Thanks, Rowan, I should have listened to you. I thought you were crazy when you said they could use—”

  Aronia interrupted, “THIS IS AMAZING! But so dangerous… How is this even possible!?”

  “Glad I’m not the only one surprised here—but I told you so.” Rowan snapped his fingers and pointed at Rubus.

  Anemone tried to stand, but her legs still felt like jelly. Her body trembled as she dug her broken knife into the earth to hoist herself up. Anemone continued to lean on the earth wall.

  “There’s no way…Anti-Sylph Wall-Ars that fast? Quick casting is insane!”

  Anemone’s jaw dropped, and before she said a single word, Rubus quickly confronted her.

  “That was pretty careless of you,” Rubus continued.

  “Careless!?” gasped Anemone.

  “Wingless, why did you break formation?” Rubus commanded.

  Anemone rubbed her back and temple, “Formation? You didn’t even want to be a leader!”

  “No—I know, but! I thought you were doing recon. Not riding a stallion?” Rubus stumbled.

  Anemone walked up to Rubus, “Recon? Why would—!?”

  “Enough, you two,” Timber demanded. “We have a bigger problem here. Yellow-Jackets can cast magic, and they have rudimentary battle tactics. We need to reevaluate how we manage future battles.”

  Rubus walked off.

  “This. This is why you should’ve taken the lead.” Said Rubus. “It would have put her at ease.”

  “I don’t need to be put at ease, Rubus,” Anemone scowled.

  Aronia spread her arms in front of Rubus to stop him. As they locked eyes, he took a deep breath and sighed. After she placed her hands on his shoulders, Aronia turned to Anemone.

  “Nin, relax. He donnae mean anything by that.”

  As Anemone saw Aronia rub Rubus’s shoulders, her brow twitched. An ache clawed at her chest, and Anemone threw her hands down to her sides.

  “Why are you defending him!? And why are all of you so calm!”

  “You really are green, Wingless.” Rubus scoffed. “Death is normal for Silver Soldiers, isn’t it, Aro?”

  “Don’t act as if you know her!” Anemone pointed at Aronia.

  Aronia stood between them.

  “Both of yoo need to relax.”

  “Aro, you can’t defend her. She’s not weak, but her inexperience is a liability. You know that,” said Rubus.

  “Just give ‘er a chance, Ru. She’s much more than you think,” said Aronia.

  “What did you just call him?”

  Anemone’s chest constricted into a painful knot.

  “How could she? Aronia? With him?” She stiffly turned to look Aronia in the eyes.

  Rowan gleamingly gasped, “Holy shit, it’s a—”

  Timber interrupted Rowan as he face-palmed.

  “Please don’t finish that sentence. This is not the time.”

  Aronia fumbled to form words while her right hand stroked her lips, mouth, and face. Anemone shook her head, agreeing with the look on Aronia’s face, but her heart throbbed and twisted itself in her chest. Of course, it was stupid to have this happen in the middle of a life-and-death situation. But the pain only persisted. Anemone took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself. The swirl in her chest made Anemone avoid Aronia’s gaze, but before any discussion could occur, buzzing echoed in the distance again.

  “Well, shit!” Rowan heckled.

  Another wave had arrived.