A flurry of arrows whizzed through the air. A cool breeze caressed my cheek right before the last one buried itself in the tree trunk just behind me. At least they weren't shooting incendiary arrows any longer, but, damn, these guys weren't playing around.

The tall brown wolf growled, and, in response, the other four lowered their heads and changed course away from the fae, who, almost in perfect sync, appeared at the tree line across the clearing, bows drawn and ready to fire. The wolves had their backs turned to them, but...they didn't shoot. They didn't even glance at them.

These jerks. They were teaming up on us.

Five more arrows were sent our way, forcing us further back and giving the wolves another opportunity to advance unchecked. If we didn't do something soon, we'd not only be outnumbered, but surrounded as well. Not exactly a great way to start this game.

From my spot just behind Kenas, I could barely see anything. The distinct snapping of branches and increasingly loud panting and snarling told me all I needed to know. We were running out of time.

I peered around Kenas's massive arm in time to see the blond fae girl giving a string of hand signals too quick for me to decipher.

Had they planned this?

With a haughty expression on her face, she called out, "I guess I should thank you for stumbling right into our little trap. You made it so easy for us. Not a very smart move, I might add. We thought we'd have to comb through half of the forest to find you."

"Your... Your little trap?" Jaydis asked, barely keeping a straight face.

Another arrow sliced through the bush he was hiding behind, but he didn't even have to dodge it.

"Tell me, Calla, did part of your little trap include losing your flag?" he continued.

Calla's smile disappeared. Keeping her bow trained on Jaydis, she tilted her head to the side and glared at one of her teammates. "You lost our flag?"

"I-I didn't..." The poor fae blanched even further. "They... They—that shifter—h-he was..."

"He was what?" Calla hissed. "Too fast for you?"

"Y-yes. I mean, no—"

"You're a—a lost cause. A disgrace. Consider yourself off the team." With that, her icy eyes snapped back to Jaydis. "And you. You got lucky. Prepare to kiss both flags goodbye."

"Spoken awfully confident for someone conveniently camping out in a tree," Haze said, voice as smooth and taunting as ever. "You think they're magically gonna come floating your way?"

"Shut up, demon."

"Running out of things to say already? Disappointing." He laughed. "I expected more. Especially from someone who enjoys the sound of their own voice as much as you do."

Her frustrated shriek pierced the air, and she released another arrow, this time missing by a mile.

Guess my assumption about him annoying the crap out of the other teams wasn't even that far off.

As if to antagonize her further, Haze tsked in mock disappointment. To an outsider, it might seem like that was all he was doing, but there was more to it. He was providing an opening.

While the wolves were preoccupied with witnessing this exchange with both annoyance and confusion, Danox had managed round the entire clearing without anyone noticing. With his white eyes trained on a seething Calla in the tree in front of him, he waited, tail twitching back and forth.

"Don't just stand there," Calla screamed. "Do something!"

That seemed to snap everyone out of it. Three of the fae hopped down from their trees and the wolves continued their advance. Seeing the window of opportunity, Danox launched himself at Calla's tree, and, before she knew what was happening, knocked her off.

Fae were notoriously agile, and she landed on both leather-clad feet with ease, but she wasn't happy about it. With another inconspicuous hand signal at her team, she tried to get into a solid shooting position. Unluckily for her, Danox was fast and forced her to keep repositioning.

Using the closest trees as cover, we—or more like the other three—flanked around to make sure the wolves couldn't advance from all sides. Meanwhile, I grabbed two Liquid Ice and prepared myself with my back against one of the black-barked trees as cover. None of them left my sight and I couldn't help but feel like I was holding them back in a way because they had to watch out for me too.

I clenched my jaw and got into a more defensive position. I could hold my own, no problem. As long as I didn't need to aim precisely anyway. At least the wolves had to get close, and they weren't exactly small targets.

I took a moment to watch my team. Calla was out of sight, and Danox sped back across the clearing to pick a fight with the wolves. Using the trees on our side to his full advantage, he got the high ground and easily knocked the team leader off his feet multiple times by pouncing on him.

That only made the large, brown wolf angrier. It got to a point where they all lost focus and Danox was practically playing with them, jumping and dodging as he circled them.

Part of me wondered if it was Aidan and his team, but there was simply no way for me to tell. I'd never seen them in wolf form, and I surely didn't know them well enough. Still...something told me he would confront me directly sooner or later. Why? Not a clue.

Kenas was holding his own against two shifters and a fae exceptionally well. The fae, who barely reached his shoulders—and that was saying something since fae were notoriously tall—kept trying to pull our flag off his pack. Despite his size and disadvantage in terms of speed, Kenas didn't let him.

When Jaydis wasn't firing silver arrows at the wolves, he sneakily approached them from behind, his little dust pouch in hand. Two out of three times, he managed to send a little cloud their way. It wasn't much, but it caused them to erupt in a fit of hilarious sneezes and consequently interrupted their pursuit of Kenas.

Unsurprisingly, Haze's fighting style was a little unconventional. He currently only faced two fae, and instead of pursuing them, he chose to dodge their attacks and retaliate with small rocks. Admittedly, his aim was on point, and when a pebble hit the blond fae square in the forehead, I briefly considered asking him for throwing lessons.

Despite these little wins, we were outnumbered, and it didn't take long for the other two teams to force us closer together. When an arrow grazed Danox's flank, he hissed in pain and jumped down from the tree.

Three shifters closed in on us, and seeing me, one of them darted in between Haze and Kenas and leaped in my direction. The stupid seal on one of the flasks was stuck and I barely had time to raise my forearm to block an incoming paw.

Thank you, armguards.

Before I could open my freeze trap, the bristly black wolf was pulled—no, knocked—off me and into a spiky bush.

I opened my mouth to thank whoever was responsible but stopped short. None of the guys were within reach. Still...one of them had to have intervened.

"You good, Cupcake?" Haze called from beyond the nearest bush.

I nodded. Maybe he'd tossed something at the shifter...

Focus.

The wolf reemerged, already aiming to lunge at me again. This time, however, I was prepared.

With my thumb, I flicked off the cap, and right as the wolf was midair, I tossed the pale blue liquid in their path.

Bullseye. Sort of.

The poor wolf dropped to the ground like a frozen sack of potatoes.

Howling, they rolled around, trying to bite and claw at the ice encasing their chest and shoulders. Their naturally high body temperature would melt it sooner or later, but I'd bought us some time.

"Ari," Jaydis called from his spot atop a moss-covered log on my left, "please tell me you got something in that pack that could, uh, get two teams off our asses."

It wasn't looking too peachy. Somehow the fae and shifters seemed to have significantly improved their teamwork and pushed us further away from the clearing. Calla, now back in her role of self-proclaimed leader, shouted instructions at the others.

"You bet I do," I told him.

With Haze suddenly hovering around me, I dropped to the ground and started searching for my satchel of sulfur powder and a pre-prepared vial of Fumos.

"I need a minute," I said, slowly removing the seal.

In daylight, the liquid inside was crystal clear. It looked inconspicuous and almost...harmless. And it was. Mostly. But you didn't mess around with sulfur.

Haze took a swing at one of the snarling wolves. "Now?" he hissed.

"Yes, now," I hissed back.

The dark gray wolf jumped at him, barely missing his bicep.

I winced. "If I mess up the dosage, your face will be the last thing I ever see."

Okay, that might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but he didn't need to know that.

After dodging the wolf a second time with an agility that almost rivaled Danox's, he smiled. "That wouldn't be so bad."

"For you, maybe."

With two surprisingly steady fingers, I added a pinch of sulfur. The liquid immediately took on a pale white, almost milky consistency and I smiled.

Perfect.

With the now highly reactive potion in one hand, I checked to make sure the rest of my team wasn't standing in between the shifters and fae. Then I got to my feet, vial held in front of me.

Just aim. Nice and steady. You got this.

I raised my hand to throw it when the very vivid image of me hurling that stick at the vynari popped into my head.

Or maybe not.

Slowly lowering the potion, I turned to the closest team member. Haze was still wrapped up in some sort of wrestling match with the snarling wolf, avoiding snapping jaws left and right.

When he saw I was ready, Haze ducked so the wolf fell forward onto his shoulders, and then stood up and catapulted the poor shifter into the closest bush. His eyes shone with what had to be curiosity when he jogged up to me and took in the potion.

I cleared my throat and said as confidently as possible, "Maybe you should, uh, toss that..."

"My pleasure." Taking another look at it, he stepped forward with a wicked grin on his face and sent it flying.

I barely had time to yell, "Now!" before the potion connected with the forest floor in between our team and the others and exploded.

The milky liquid condensed in the middle of the clearing almost in slow motion. Not a second later, it violently expanded, sending bursts of white mist in all directions that swallowed half of the clearing instantly.

Perfect.

Out of the corner of my eye, Calla released another arrow from her spot atop one of the higher branches. To my horror, sparks flew from the dark tip as it made contact with the mist.

Incendiary arrow.

Shit.

The smoke took on a yellowish tint right before exploding with an ear-splitting bang. Jaydis and Kenas disappeared from view entirely as Haze and I were catapulted backward. I could only hope there were no trees in their direct path.

Kenas would probably be fine, but Jaydis didn't have extra tough skin. Danox's pitch-black form clawed onto another tree. At least he was safe.

Numerous pointy branches scratched at my exposed neck and cheeks as I fell through a bush. Finding nothing to grasp onto, I continued my tumble down what appeared to be a previously hidden ravine. Just when I thought the worst was over, the earth dipped, and I fell straight into a hole in the ground that had likely opened up because of the impact.

A scream pierced the air, and it took me a moment to realize it was my own.

The dirt I landed on was soft. Gulping down damp air that reeked of clay and rotten leaves, I scrambled and slipped. Staring up at the opening, I watched as multiple boulders ran down the hillside. A particularly large one slammed onto the opening, effectively blocking off the exit.

Then there was nothing... Nothing but impenetrable darkness.