I winked. “Understood, mister agent.”
His muscles quivered ever so slightly. “Do you have any more weapons on you?”
“Other than my venom?” I flashed him my fangs. “That was my only one.”
“Good.” He turned to Dimitri quickly. “You’re the enforcer of this squad, meaning you are to act as a physical shield. You will negotiate through strength or become brute-force backup when it is needed.”
“Understood.” Dimitri took a deep breath, and his fangs receded into his gums.
“Zuko, as the torture expert, your job is to interrogate anyone you find at the village. It’s an abandoned village, but that doesn’texactly mean there will be nobody present,” Jesper continued. “Do not lose focus.”
“Sick. Just when I thought this would be boring.” Zuko grinned.
Jesper raised a brow. “Do you understand your mission?”
“Understood.”
Jesper hesitated for a split second before moving on. “Slater, as the arcane specialist, your job is to decipher the corrupted runes or bindings in the ritual all around the village. You have to decide whether to contain or free the phantom. That may require more risk.”
“Understood, future brother-mate.” Slater winked.
I groaned.
Was he going to call every male I thought was attractive that?
Jesper’s brows furrowed, and he opened his mouth before snapping it shut and moving on. “Aura, being the tech specialist means that without being equipped with tech, you must create anything you need by using old tools and electric wires from village houses. Perhaps even unlocking certain locations within the village.”
“Understood,” she replied softly.
“Coralynn, as the intelligence analyst, you need to map the pattern of magical and natural decay through clues in the abandoned village. Predict where the next anomaly will spread. Figure out what is going on and how to stop it.”
Coralynn nodded with a smile. “Understood.”
“Koa, as healer, you keep the team alive during the mission. You may also have to stabilize the phantom stuck in the ritual or purify magical essence rot from a team member.”
“Got it.” Koa nodded, crossing his arms. His muscles bulged from the movement, and I had to tear my gaze away from him.
“Eleanor, being the diplomatic envoy means it’s your job to negotiate with the phantom and the warlock. Perhaps you couldprevent a fight. Maybe you can calm a terrified phantom who’s seen too much. It’s up to you.”
“Understood,” she agreed with a determined nod.
“Good luck,” Jesper said, his eyes meeting mine for a few moments before he turned toward the controls. “Initiating field practical exam, third trial. Version two.” A loud chime echoed through the simulation as Jesper hit the large green holographic button.
The simulation of the abandoned village fell into place around us.
Heat clung to everything, distorting the horizon in shimmering waves. The season within the simulator was consistent with summer, but that was the only familiarity.
A thick, metallic rot crawled along my skin and made my gums itch. It was an uncommon scent of magical decay.
The ground was stripped of wild overgrowth and creeping vines as if the fae had abandoned the land completely, and maybe they had. There was only dry dirt beneath my boots. Even the trees stood wilted, their bark flaking. Not a single leaf blessed the branches.
The structures in the villages, at least the ones still intact, were brittle stone and scorched wood, warped by magic and time. Some homes had partially sunk into the earth, while others leaned at crooked angles. Shadows moved in the corners even where there should have been none, curling along the ground in slow, syrupy movements. I knew it wasn’t a glitch in the simulation, so it had to be there for a reason.
At the center of it all stood a statue—a war monument. Jesper had told us about it, but it pulsed with weakened magical energy, faint and irregular. It was defaced in red runes, old and messy, bleeding into the air. The magical energy surrounding the monument was so thick it was palpable, yet it carried a rotten aroma.
Everywhere else in this village was lacking magical energy. Yet, around the monument, magic fractured in the air.
“That’s magical essence rot,” Coralynn murmured softly, pulling her long blonde hair into a bun on her head with the tie that was on her wrist.
