"Are you sure about that?"

"Why, yes, I am." I gripped the vial tighter and turned to face the sceptic, who eyed the inconspicuous pale orange liquid with arched brows and what could only be described as an unconvinced frown. "But if you want to be extra certain, we could test it on your face right here."

Haze raised both hands in surrender, a playful smile on his lips. "I've had enough for one day, thanks very much."

The five of us were huddled around the most isolated stone table in the courtyard, as far from the other groups as possible. Various opened bags of chips and sour candies, as well as hand-drawn maps and lists, littered the space between us.

At least half of them were total nonsense, but since most of the teams used the last couple of days to do their planning outside to snoop around the other teams—according to Jaydis anyway—he wanted to lay a couple of false trails for any that came too close to our table. A perfect diversion, he'd said.

"What... What is that supposed to mean?" Jaydis asked, looking up from his notebook with a pen in hand. When neither of us answered, he turned to me, seemingly deciding that I was more likely to answer than Haze. "What does he mean by that?"

I shrugged and went back to properly sealing the flask. If this accidentally came undone anytime during our trip, it would be us they had to come collect after the game was over.

Jaydis set the pen down. "What exactly happened in that room today?"

Haze's grin widened as he leaned back. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Three different sets of eyes landed on me and Red over there just laughed. When he saw my glare, he laughed even harder. Jerk.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, whatever you're thinking, that's not what happened."

"Hypothetically speaking," Jaydis said, "if there was something happening here between you two—"

"Never in a million—"

"Fine!" He waved his hands. "Save that hostile energy for the game."

Once the others had returned to listen to Jaydis go about explaining the terrain and what areas to watch out for, Danox nudged me with his elbow. With one arched brow, he said in a low voice, "That was awfully defensive."

"Shut up," I mumbled, focusing once more on the potion.

Not quite able to rid myself of the feeling of being watched, I looked up to tell him off, only to find that his white eyes weren't on me at all. Nope. Instead, a pair of crimson ones were focused on my face from across the table.

I quickly averted my gaze, not wanting to give anyone any ideas, least of all myself because the only reason he could be watching me was because he was afraid that potion would explode in all our faces, right? Right.

"Heads up," Jaydis said, quickly flipping one of the papers around and pulling it closer to his chest.

After slipping the potion into my backpack under the table, I looked up at a group of five shifters that gave Danox a run for his money in terms of grouchiness. One glance to my right confirmed that he still managed to look grumpier though.

Jaw ticking and arms crossed in front of his chest, he stared them down with an intensity that left no room for interpretation. He did not like them.

The tallest of the shifters stepped forward with an unfriendly smile. As he opened his mouth to speak, Haze turned to him and said, "Aidan, always a pleasure."

Aidan frowned, flexing his hands, clearly put off by Haze's borderline friendly greeting. "Can't say I feel the same," he replied after a moment.

"Yet, it's always you coming to see us," Haze drawled. "Interesting."

"Shut the hell up, demon," the only girl in the group spat. Her long brown hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail whacked the guy next to her in the neck as her head whipped around to Haze.

Aidan's white eyes landed on me and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Maybe he was in one of my classes...

"Guess you finally found someone dumb enough to join your team," he said.

"The only dumb thing about any of this is gonna be your face when you lose," Jaydis countered, partly shielding me from view as he leaned forward.

Two of the shifters behind Aidan laughed.

"We don't lose," the taller of the two said. "Especially not against a team of collective rejects."

What was that supposed to mean?

"I'll remember you said that when we whoop your asses," Kenas said quietly.

If it wasn't for his clenched fists on top of the table, I wouldn't have guessed he was affected by their presence at all. Maybe this was more than a simple rivalry.

Their laughter died immediately and all four stared him down, their lips pulled back in silent snarls. Only Aidan's hostile gaze never left me.

Something about him rubbed me the wrong way, like I should know who he was. This was ridiculous. If he had a problem, he should just spit it out.

"Do I know you?" I straight up asked.

His eyes widened ever so slightly, almost like he was confused, right before he crossed his arms and stepped up to the table. "I don't know, do you?"

The mood changed collectively. Both Haze and Danox placed their hands on the tabletop palms down and leaned forward.

"What's with the cryptic shit?" Haze asked, voice low.

I turned to Jaydis, intent on ignoring the tense atmosphere. "Is this some kind of pre-game psychological intimidation tactic I should be aware of?"

His hyena laugh made the shifters visibly uncomfortable. "Right, of course. I should have prepared you for possible lame encounters with the other teams."

The girl stepped forward. "Shut—"

Jaydis cleared his throat. "Meet the sorest losers of them all, Aidan and"—he looked over at the dumbfounded shifters—"you guys got a team name or something? I feel like you do, but it must not be very good 'cause I keep forgetting every year."

"I think it was something with moon," Kenas said, barely holding back his laughter.

Aidan looked like he was a good two seconds away from losing it. The smartest member of his team seemed to notice at the same time, and quickly wrapped an arm around the seething shifter's shoulders and steered him toward the campus store. The others followed wordlessly, only the girl raised her hand and flipped us off.

"See you on the field," Aidan snarled with a final look over his shoulder.

"Bye-bye," Jaydis replied, curling his lean fingers in a quick wave.

"So, you have some sworn enemies," I said. "That would have been nice to know."

Jaydis waved me off. "Don't worry about them. They're all howl and no bite."

Kenas arched a brow. "They won two consecutive years."

"Only because our fifth sucked. This year we have Ari. They don't stand a chance."

"Right, no pressure or anything," I mumbled, reaching for my backpack.

One after another, I placed the different potions in the middle of the table. I'd just reached for the last one when Jaydis jumped up onto the stone tabletop and raised his arms like he was trying to shield my creations.

"What are—" I started.

"Are you crazy?" he hissed. "You can't just put these here out in the open?"

"Why—"

"For everyone to see!"

When I just stared at him, Haze sighed. "He takes this whole tournament very seriously."

You don't say.

"It's not just a tournament," Jaydis said. "It's our chance to prove to everyone here that it doesn't matter what you are..."

"We're the only, uh, mixed team," Kenas explained. Seeing my confused expression, he added, "All the other teams only have members of the same species."

What had Aidan called us? Rejects?

"Why?" The question left my mouth before I even finished the thought. "I mean, humans and supernaturals, sure, I see that," I backpedalled, "but I always thought supernaturals were this united front."

They all just stared at me.

"I mean, look at you guys," I added in a small voice, "you get along just fine."

"Because we're awesome," Jaydis enthused.

"We're the exception," Kenas clarified.

"Not all of us by choice," Haze added, pointedly looking at Danox, who just shook his head and glared at the tabletop.

"Guys," I said, batting my eyelashes, "stop being vague, or those potions will be put to good use right here, right now."

Jaydis lowered his arms around the vials and flasks almost protectively. "No."

"'S 'cause of Vespyrea," Danox sighed. "Not sure if you've noticed, but I seem to be the only shifter who gives a crap. Either they're scared to get kicked out, or they've just accepted it. In the end, doesn't matter, I guess."

But someone knew. Someone cared. Someone had gotten those crystals for him. Remembering my promise to him, I didn't press, but I wasn't about to forget about that little tidbit of information either.

"What about you?" I asked Kenas.

He shrugged. "How many half-giants have you actually seen here?"

Good question.

When I didn't answer, he smiled and said, "Exactly. The few that go here aren't even from Ardua. They grew up on Earth with their human parent. I've never even been to Earth before starting here. Spent my entire life in Rhunak with my father." His smile turned sad. "We're just...different."

"What about your mom?"

He just shook his head.

"I get it," I said. I did.

His eyes flitted to mine. "Thanks."

I turned to Jaydis. "What about you?"

"Are you kidding?" Haze said, nodding at Jaydis's hunched-over form still perched in the middle of the table. "Look at this fool."

Said fool cleared his throat. "Excuse me for not wanting to lower our chances of victory before the game begins." His eyes darted around the courtyard. "Have you seen the way the dryads keep looking over here? They're probably trying to come up with a strategy as we speak."

"They don't have an alchemist," Danox pointed out. "And they're probably gonna camp out in the tree roots just like they did the past two years. Their camo will make 'em hard to see, but even damp earth ain't gonna hide their scent when we get close enough. And we will. They always pick the densest area furthest away from the fae."

That had to be the most I'd ever heard Danox talk at once.

"Well, I see why you're on the team now," I said. "You know, apart from your senses and"—I suppressed a smile—"feline prowess."

He glared at me.

Jaydis smiled. "We might not look it, but we make a damn good team."

I was starting to get that. With Danox's brain and senses, Kenas's brute strength and endurance, Jaydis's familiarity with and orientation in forests, as well as his camouflage skills and knowledge of herbs in all terrains, we were pretty well off.

That left...

Haze picked up the Darken Draught and studied the black liquid with interest. His eyes flitted to Jaydis and he asked, "How come you've never made any of this cool shit?"

"I've made countless—"

"What are you actually contributing to the team now that we have Cupcake over here, hmm?"

"Wait a minute," I cut in, suddenly feeling the need to defend Jaydis, "what do you contribute, Zee Zee? You're a sloth." He opened his mouth, but I just pushed on. "I suppose, you could melt stuff if we poke you hard enough... Or wait, let me guess, you're the team sacrifice when we need a distraction."

"If anyone is gonna be the team sacrifice, it's you."

"Oh?"

"After you give us the potions, of course."

"Of course."

He took a moment to study me. "You're the perfect size. I can pick you up with one hand and toss you right at—"

"Okay," Jaydis interjected, waving his hands, "there will be no tossing of anything but potions!"

He looked more than a little hilarious still squatting in the middle of the table like some sort of forest gremlin.

"We clear?" he added, pointing a finger at Haze.

Haze said nothing, but that mischievous glint in his eyes spoke for itself.