Sia clung to the railing in front of the stands, eyes straining to catch a glimpse of where Rhett and Waverly had ended up amongst the crowd of anxious competitors. Rhett was relatively simple--and while it would have been typically hard to spot Waverly given how tiny she was, the task was thankfully aided by the fact that for some unknown reason she and Rhett were holding hands.

Discreetly, she snuck a glance at Kier as the announcer's excited announcement of the course name rang through the stands. She wasn't sure what she'd expected of his expression, but it wasn't contemplative concern. Despite his usual behavior, there wasn't an ounce of jealousy in his sea-green eyes.

Did his usual distaste for others touching his companions not matter when it was specifically Rhett and Waverly?

A loud bell cut through the anticipatory silence, starting Sia's attention back to the present. Near immediately, one of the white-haired coalition mages slammed his staff into the cliff outcropping. Whatever magic he performed with the action sent a shockwave out. It was avoided by most of the participants--except, of course, one unlucky Steel Knight.

At this point, Sia almost felt sorry for them. Whomever had sponsored the knights had to be regretting their life choices' with each mistake the guild made. But, then again, who wore armor when they knew the game was going to be an obstacle course?

The coalition mage's companion laughed, her voice clear despite the distance. "That's a helluva way to make an introduction, Faolan!"

Sia's eyes cut to Waverly and Rhett. Like the others, they'd avoided the shockwave and took off for the first pillar. Before they could reach it, however, Atlas threw himself off the side of the platform. Sia leaned forward, alarmed, only to laugh as she caught sight of the water turning to ice beneath his feet.

"He's a sorcerer?" she mused aloud.

For some reason, she'd assumed the silver mage would be some sort of physical caster. Cross laughed behind her as Inan jumped onto Atlas' ice bridge. A Chaos Dog tried to follow suit, only to fall face-first as the ice collapsed beneath their feet.

"A powerful one!" Cross boasted. "He could turn the entire field into ice if he wanted."

He's that strong?

Waverly seemed to say something, before--as one--she and Rhett took a flying leap onto the first pillar. Sia didn't have to be in the course to recognize the slight shift of their bodies as Rhett's magic eased their jump. She did, however, let her mana leak into her fingers, making it easier to feel the threads of wind magic that spun around him.

The pillar jolted up, but the duo seemed ready for it. Neither faltered, instead using the momentum and height to propel themselves to the next one. Rhett's magic swirled into gusts of wind as he no doubt felt out their path. Then, surprisingly, they paused on the third as she could see him mutter something to Waverly. The fae tilted her head, studying their path.

"What are they doing?" Sia wondered aloud.

"There's a pattern to most of them," Gideon explained. "But, watch the next pillar."

It took her a moment, but as the mast jolted up and down, Sia realized that there was no clear-cut pause or direction. Unlike the previous markers, it was random.

The half-orc from Polar Fox reached their pillar before the duo came to a decision. Instead of attacking as Sia half expected, however, the woman surged past them. Sia winced, raising a hand to her jaw as the pillar abruptly changed direction, sending the woman tumbling head-over-heels after she missed her jump and the wood slammed into the curve of her neck.

"Zinna of Polar Fox, disqualified!"

"Did...she just get knocked out?" Oren asked.

Sia winced. "I think so."

She hoped that's all it was. That sort of impact could break bones.

Wind swelled around Rhett as they seemed to reach some agreement. Then, in the second their pillar surged up, they leapt. At the last second, however, another competitor--a Phoenix, perhaps?--seized the back of Rhett's collar. His magic burst, tearing him free, but also sending both of them flying above the pillars before them.

Sia's heart leapt into her throat as they soared over not only the next pillar, but the one beyond it as well. Then, something shifted and the duo plummeted, before hitting the next pillar with enough force she was shocked the wood held. Her best guess was it came from the last second-surge of wind magic Rhett used to ease their impact.

"Did Rhett drop them?" Sky wondered aloud.

Kier shook his head, knuckles white around the railing. "Not Rhett--Waverly."

Sia saw it then--the slight grayish tone to Waverly's skin as Rhett laughed--relief, perhaps?--and tugged her forward. It faded within seconds, but it made the reason they'd plummeted obvious. While Sia had only witnessed it personally a handful of times, she'd heard more than once about the woman's odd earth magic.

"I didn't know she could turn to stone without eating it," Sia commented.

"She can't fully," Kier muttered. He leaned over the railing, to the point Sia was almost afraid he would fall over. "Just harden a bit."

They reached the last pillar, before leaping onto the cliff-like platform beyond. Sia's eyes skipped to the next obstacle as her teeth worried her lip. Criss-crossing logs coated in vines and moss spun unceasingly over the stone path that ran above the water. She could feel the current it created with the movement.

"This one will be more difficult," she mused aloud.

"Not for Rhetty," Kier declared.

And what about Waverly? She almost asked. The words died on her lips, however, as the druid in question sighed and said something to Rhett, before leaning down. Then, in an action that she hadn't expected--but absolutely should have--Waverly sent a stone pillar surging up next to the base of the cross. One of the legs crashed into it, sending a reverberating almost crunching noise sweeping through the arena, before going still.

"Smart," Gideon observed.

"Seems like a waste of magic," Oren retorted. "They could've just jumped them."

"Something felt off with the logs," the bard explained. "It's better not to touch them at all."

She felt it, then--the odd way that mana seemed to emanate from the wood. Sia shuttered as Waverly took off, leading Rhett over the logs and the path on the other side. Cracks jolted across the stone as they fled. Wind gushed around them, Rhett sending waves of it back at the competitors at their backs. More than a few people were sent flying over the edges.

Then, the second that Rhett and Waverly were clear of the first cross, the stone shattered, leaving it spinning once more. It created a decent gap between them and the rest. Well, excluding Atlas and Inan that was. Given their advantage over the first obstacle, their large lead hadn't been closed in the least. The duo had already reached the third challenge--a towering, near forty-foot wooden wall.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Waverly repeated her stone pillar at the second cross, but this time when they passed Sia saw her run her fingers over it. Reinforcing it, perhaps? Confusion flitted through her. Wouldn't that just make it easier for the others to catch up?

The answer came a second later as the duo reached the third cross, only for Waverly to clench her fist, shattering the pillar behind her. The logs surged into action, sending competitors flying with more force than one would have expected. Force magic, perhaps?

They passed the remaining crosses with ease. At the base of the wall, the two let go of each other's hands for the first time since entering the course.

"Is that ice?" Oren demanded.

Sia tilted her head, before studying the wall's handholds with a furrowed brow. Clinging to more than one of the rock outcroppings were coatings of ice just thick enough to cause problems.

"Atlas?" she guessed.

Cross grinned, his tail whipping about behind him. "Him and Inan are going to win. They're too smart."

Sia shot him a look. "Did you forget who you're supposed to be cheering for?"

"No," he protested, the slight dip of his tail betraying his very clear lie. "I just--look!"

With a sigh, she glanced back, only to laugh as Waverly's magic sent the stone handholds jolting away from the wood and into more than one gut. She and Rhett had reached the top of the wall with no trouble themselves, but had apparently decided to ensure that no one else found it that easy. Bits of stone disappeared deeper into the wall, while wind gushed along the surface, causing mages to lose their grip.

"They make a good team," she realized aloud.

Who would have thought? Certainly not anyone with the faintest bit of social sense. The situation between them and Kier had created a visible awkwardness with Rhett who was otherwise extremely easy to get along with.

"Of course they do," the problem in question announced. "They're the best."

A bit of a biased opinion, but not at all unexpected.

She could see Rhett grin, before sticking his hand out. Waverly of all people smiled as she took it, before they turned and began running again. Near immediately, the duo stopped again as they faced the next obstacle. A long, "rope" bridge stretched between their position and the distant, final platform. More concerning, however, was the fact that the rope bridge wasn't complete with wooden or rope steps, but instead ones of pure, pristine glass that glinted with mana. Light magic? Sia wondered.

Whatever it was, it made the steps near impossible to differentiate from regular air. She shuddered at the thought of crossing it. Even Waverly--with all her love of heights--also seemed apprehensive as she muttered something to Rhett, who nodded. Wind swelled around him once again as they took their first experimental steps forward.

He has an advantage here, Sia realized.

Given his eyes, Rhett didn't need the steps to be visible to navigate--using his winds was already second nature for the man. Which was why it didn't surprise her at all as Rhett took the lead while tugging Waverly along behind him. The gaps in the bridge only seemed to give them momentary pause as Rhett used his winds to easily propel them forward without trouble.

Midway through, Waverly seemed to make a comment that gave Rhett an idea, because she could feel his mana suddenly grow stronger. Then, before she could figure out his intentions, it surged towards the other end of the bridge where Atlas and Inan were only a handful of steps from completion.

Sia couldn't help her cheer as Rhett's wind arrow pierced and shattered the glass beneath the Constellation's feet--sending them plummeting a good fifty, sixty feet below. Kier, too, seemed ecstatic as he practically climbed onto the railing, arms waving wildly. "Go, Rhetty!"

Lock seized the back of the elf's collar, dragging him back before he could fall. "Careful."

Kier shrugged him off, but notably didn't climb back up.

Meanwhile, Sia grabbed onto Oren as water surged up from the base of the course, catching Atlas and Inan, before depositing them back onto the initial bridge platform.

"That counts as a deduction, doesn't it?" she asked excitedly. "It has to."

"It should," Oren agreed.

He didn't say anything else, but she could feel the tension in his arm as their duo reached the final platform. There, they paused, Waverly eyeing the last obstacle with about as much enthusiasm as one might expect.

A tall, mast-like pillar of wood stretched perhaps ten feet above them. Off the back of it stretched a branch with a single rope attached. It appeared about the width of Sia's forearm with a length that ended just above the waterline.

"Go for it!" Sky shouted.

Oren stared. "Are...they supposed to swing on that...?"

"...I think so," Sia ventured.

Below them, a good thirty feet out and down, a single, stone platform had risen out of the water. Like with the mirror maze, a magic seal had been drawn into the center of it--likely to ensure that they knew exactly who finished first.

Uneasiness settled along Sia's spine as Waverly seemed to pause, before glancing complatively up at the announcer's balcony. The expression she wore was similar to the thoughtful look Cross always donned before he pulled some bullshit magic he knew he shouldn't--only with Waverly's stoic, studious frown instead of a troublemaking grin.

Kier frowned. "She wouldn't."

"She wouldn't what?" Sia asked.

He just shook his head, leaving the question in the air as Waverly tucked her forearm around the rope. Rhett joined her. Apparently, they must have decided that together they were light enough to go at the same time. As Waverly appeared to count down, winds swirled around them. And then--just as the remaining Polar Fox mage reached the platform--they jumped.

Sia stopped breathing as the dragonkin took one look at them and threw her ax.

Waverly snagged Rhett's arm as the weapon cut between them. It missed their necks--and the rope--by a narrow margin. As it was, the crowd went silent as the druid scrambled to get a hold again, her hands having lost grip in her haste to avoid the weapon. Instinct seemed to steal over her, and with a burst of mana, a shudder of glamour fell away.

Glosimer dragon-fly wings nearly as long as Waverly was tall burst from her back.

Kier cursed. Waverly's arms wrapped around her partner as she shouted--the words clear even where they sat.

"Rhett! Wind!"

The cheering of the crowd roared in Sia's ears as the duo dropped down to the platform. She could hear the announcer checking in with the judges, frantically consulting the rules, before declaring gliding not technically against the rules. The majority of her attention--however--was trapped by the rest of Starry Rose.

Because, like her, they knew how large of a target Waverly had just painted on her back. At least, some of them did. The others' cheers blended into the crowd, creating an ominous cloud of joy amongst shadowed realization. Waverly, the source of it all, seemed oblivious as she seized the obviously stunned Rhett's hand and dragged him to the finishing mark.

Gideon was staring at the scene, fists clenched in his lap. Hawthorne--who initially appeared as happy as Nova and Sage stilled as he picked up on the bard's mood. Ilias, too, watched the scene with a pale face.

Sia grimaced. At least she wasn't alone in her apprehension. "She had to know that was the worst choice possible."

Fae were hunted.

It was why most of them attempted a human or elven appearance. Like demigods and the lucky rare mortal to be blessed by a god, superstition labeled their bodies and mana as perfect alchemical ingredients. Over centuries, it had become a sickening "game" akin to hunting monsters. Admittedly illegal in the kingdom, but somehow still no less prevalent than it was anywhere else on the continent. The crown, for all their supposed distaste of the practice, took very few steps to fix it beyond the occasional adventurer contract to dismantle a rumored hunt.

Waverly refusing to hide her ears or hair color was one thing--this, this was another entirely. Pointed ears could be excused with an elven heritage. Her stunningly bright eyes and hair...those were odd, but not impossible for someone of non-fae heritage.

"Uh--Rhett and Waverly of Starry Rose take first and second place! Congratulations!"

"She knew," Kier mumbled. His knuckles were pressed to his lips, eyes narrowed as he watched Rhett pull Waverly into an excited hug. "We've told her. Again and again, we've told her to be careful."

"The hunts--" Sia began.

"She'll be fine," Lock cut in reassuringly. He and Varya had continued to watch them while the rest fretted, no obvious reactions on their equally inscrutable faces. "As long as she's with us, we'll protect her."

Well, if he worded it like that...

Sia drew in a steading breath. Her attention dropped back to Waverly as Rhett released the hug. Again, she couldn't make out what they were saying, but even Waverly was smiling. Then, without as much as a backwards glance, the fae grabbed Rhett's hand and dragged him towards a platform that had begun to rise out of the water, obviously leading to an exit.

"I didn't know she had wings," Oren mumbled.

It was the first thing he's said, and naturally it drew Sia's attention. Her friend was watching them leave with a frown. At first, she thought it might have been concern, but then his tone sank in. It was different from his truthful, sullen voice.

"Jealous?" He was fae, himself, after all.

Oren scowled. "Of course not."

"Want some wings of your own?" she asked, nudging him.

"No."

As Sia fell into the easily familiar role of teasing him, she could almost forget the unease swirling in her stomach. After all, Lock was right.

Nothing could happen--not while Waverly was a Rose. The master would never allow it, and neither would the rest of them.

Starry Rose always protected its own.