"At least you won't be putting Maven at risk by losing control again," Silas adds.
"He also won't be able to defend himself if things go to shit in combat," I point out. "Everyone here has taken notice, whichmeans whatever quintet we're assigned to fight will see this as a new weakness and target Baelfire."
They all consider that before Silas shakes his head. "No, their first target will still be our keeper. Protecting you will remain our top priority."
I glare at him. "I'm a barely-ranked atypical caster. Baelfire is a Decimus, a dragon, and a highly-ranked threat with a temporary handicap. He's a far bigger prize. Enemies will want to take advantage of his inability to shift while they can. I'm the keeper, I pick the priority, and I'm telling you: watch Baelfire's back."
Bael stops tugging at his collar and smiles like he thinks I'm being adorable. "Look, I fuckinglovethat my mate is worried about me, but you have nothing to worry about. I've made it through tons of combat classes without shifting. They usually tell me not to, anyway, remember? It'll be fine."
"The lizard can handle some extra heat," Everett agrees.
Silas nods.
I look between them, irritation brewing. They're not taking me seriously.
Maybe it's because they still see me as a weak asscaster, or perhaps they're just used to being the biggest, baddest threats around—but I've seen them in action now and as impressive as they are, they can be careless. They don't know how to work as a team yet, and it's going to bite them in the ass.
The coach calls everyone to attention and announces that each quintet will be assigned a rival quintet to hunt down and fight in Everbound Forest. No unmatched legacies are participating in today's combat training. He explains the point system and starts rattling off assignments. When he finally gets to our quintet, he nods at Brooks and the four guys standing around him.
"Maven Oakley, your quintet will be facing off against Brooks Benson's. And that's everyone, so line up and prepare for the whistle. Remember, maiming, torture, and death are all on the table, but today you're going in bare-handed. No weapons allowed."
Thank the universe. It's been too long since I had a good hand-to-hand fight.
We move to the edge of the forest. I'm sure that, as usual, the faculty's spells will transport us and our rivals into separate parts of the forest.
"Stay close,sangfluir," Silas reminds me, cradling my jaw gently as he gives me a pleading look.
I know it's part of the exposure therapy, but goosebumps scatter down my arms at his touch.
"Watch out for Baelfire," I fire back.
The whistle blows, and we all take off into the woods. Transportation magic twists and pulls us, and when my feet hit the ground running, we're in an area of spaced-out trees that I recognize as being near the small pond I occasionally visit.
We slow to a stop and follow training protocol, checking our surroundings. It's cold and quiet in these twisted woods, the darkness encroaching as the mist drifts past like a haunting cloak.
Everett steps further away from me and almost trips over a skeleton. He grimaces. "It's like they enchanted this forest to be eternally creepy. The shadows, the deadly creatures, all the bones and hideous trees…"
"Isn't it wonderful?" I grin.
That earns a snort from Baelfire before he tips his head. "Does it look anything like what you're used to? You know...back home?"
"A bit. Mostly because there isn't much sunlight or color," I muse, studying our surroundings. "It's nearly colorless there. When I emerged in the mortal world, my eyes hurt for days."
However, I've grown to like certain colors—gold, red, purple, icy blue…
Damn it. These legacies really have gotten under my skin, haven't they?
Silas frowns. "I'm curious about that. Whendidyou come into the mortal realm? Did you escape it all alone?"
I hesitate. My leaving the Nether was an entirely formulated thing. Once Amadeus decided the stars had aligned and it was time to send out his weapon, my emergence was disguised under a massive surge in Maine. Once I managed to make it out of the Divide unseen, a demon with connections in the Nether gave me fake human records, modern clothes, and money. She was supposed to introduce me to the human world and help me blend in.
Of course, that demon was arrogant as fuck and decided instead to try her hand at killing the rumoredtelum, just to see if she could. I had to dispatch her and move on alone, giving myself a crash course into modern human shit to supplement everything I learned from Lillian previously. Finally, I reported myself as a "newly manifested" caster to get to Everbound and gain access to Melvolin Hearst.
But I don't enjoy talking about this. Even though Baelfire and Silas have gotten a snapshot of my past, it still feels weird as fuck to talk casually withanyoneabout it…especially when a particularly frosty professor is present.
Everett sees me cast him a brief look and grumbles, "I know where you're from, too, Oakley."
"If that's true, I find it strange that you haven't reported me,professor."
