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“Two-o’clock! Manic!”

“Logs! Logs! LOGS!”

“Eleven o’clock! Manic! Arrows!”

“Above! Ravens!”

The members of E Team called out what they saw as it came, and it was coming at them fast. Skye had calculated for the mages within the course, but not unmanned traps. Her resculpting of the terrain had destroyed some, but not all.

Random spring traps went off as they ran by. Hollow logs popped out of the walls, and trip wires pulled tightly across their path. Skye was trying to sense them with her Earth magic, but she would have to sit still for a couple of seconds to get an accurate read.

As they neared the area that the Pillars were supposed to be, the wall dividing the two groups of teams suddenly became no bigger than three feet tall. ‘How the HELL did I Not sense that before?!’

Unknown to Skye, the Earth mage that had helped design the course was present within the main wall dividing the two lengths of the course. She hadn’t sensed the gap before because it hadn’t been there before.

.....

Seeing her capabilities, and being one of the examiners; he wanted to see how fast she would react to the sudden change.. Skye did not disappoint.

Everyone involved in evaluating the competition was already impressed with the commoner princess. Skye wasn’t only using her powers, but she had easily stepped into a leadership position, and was using well-planned strategies. The crowds watching wouldn’t know it, but the evaluators could tell how much thought and effort that the princess had put into her preparations..

Lucas was on the edge of his seat as he watched his daughter. He couldn’t believe how far she’d progressed in under a year. As he watched her with loving pride, Magnus smiled at his friend before commenting; “You’ve raised her well...SHE would be proud of you.”

Knowing that Magnus was talking about Sorcha, he grinned appreciatively at his long-time friend. They had finally come to an understanding about their mutual love for Sorcha, and now focused on the piece of her that they had left.

Marco had heard the comment his father had made, but paid it no mind. He was too busy watching Skye dominate her competition with a dark smirk. ‘She will make the perfect Queen once I break her..’

Karena had seen her husband’s grin and huffed in annoyance. The not-subtle noise didn’t even register with him, he was so enthralled with the trials. She didn’t realize that he was smirking at Skye, but the Fae had; Aero in particular.

The Fae King had kept an eye on Marco ever since they’d arrived. Even going as far as to assign some of his Brownie Spies to follow him, yet somehow, he had still managed to disappear on occasion. As the games continued, Aero scrutinized the Crown Prince...

************

“EVERYBODY DOWN!”

As Skye’s team hit the ground, they slid and tumbled with their momentum. Skye used the few seconds she was connected to the ground to raise the wall. Just in time to stop a sheet of rubber bullets and blunted knifes from covering them.

With the wall in place, they stumbled to their feet, and took off again. E Team was close to the halfway mark now, and the crowds were riveted by the competitors so far.. But their true tests were just beginning...

As they rounded the corner, Klaus sped up to check ahead. Skye needed to know which Pillar they were facing so she could call out their strategy.

This was the most difficult part of the plan in her mind, and in Franky’s. ‘If the Pillar turns out to be Zas, I don’t know what I should do..’

As Franky inwardly struggled, Klaus disappeared around the corner..

With a loud grunt, Klaus came flying back into view, then slammed against the wall hard enough to leave a crack in it. He gasped as he tried to refill his lungs, but the wind had literally been knocked out of him.

Coughing to gain one breath, Klaus managed to get out; “ZAS!”

Skye’s stomach dropped as she called out; “TRIDENT!”

Klaus was coughing, but he got onto his feet. He, Franky, and Kari were pivotal to the plot, and he had to be on his feet for it. ‘This is where I prove my worth!’

Right as the other four of E Team came to a screeching halt, Zas cleared the corner. His eyes immediately locked onto Skye, and with the most unnerving roar anyone had ever heard: Zas charged her.

Franky tried to step in front on her, but he was instantly bulldozed. He hadn’t planted his feet firmly enough, like Zas had taught him, because of his fear. ‘General Zas is scary as Hell!’

Right as he was only a few feet from Skye, four falcons dive-bombed Zas. It distracted him right when he reached for her, giving Skye the moment that she needed to dodge him.

Zas slammed into the dividing wall hard. He’d caught himself by digging his claws into the wall, then twisted around to ready himself for an attack..

He looked up just in time to see Kari slip around the corner.

Zas roared angerily before taking off, and rounding the corner himself. As soon as he’d cleared it and headed around to the second part of the track, a small rock that felt like a cement brick hit him in the face.

Kari hadn’t trained with Zas, but he knew what she was capable of. He’d made it a point to check out every mage participating in the first set of trials because he knew that it was the day Skye was assigned.

There were four mages with elemental traits this year; a new record. The most that had ever participated were two before. Elementals were the rarest type of magic users, so it was even rarer for so many to be involved in a single year’s trial.

Since Skye had been born, the number of mages born yearly had increased exponentially. No one realized the correlation except for the Fae.. Specifically, Nicolas.

Since he’d been studying the regression of natural magic, he noticed the increase in mage-born humans. One of his theories was that the natural magic came from the hunks of land that had originated from their home reality.

They were like batteries: keeping the surrounding land and plants rich in magic. But over time, they had started losing their charge. Nicolas was trying to figure out if there was a way to reconnect to the Source, but so far, his research hadn’t led anywhere.

The Fae royals, along with Maevis and Nicolas, were sitting with Magnus, Lawrence, Marco, and Karena. It was awkward and uncomfortable at first, but once the trials had started, everyone was too involved to care.

As they watched, Celestia gripped Aero’s hand like a vice; she was so nervous. She recalled Zas from when he was a messenger for King Edmund, Tidas’ Great Grandfather. He was a kind, well spoken Zheng. The Zas she was seeing now was sending chills down her spine..

Howling in pain while holding his face, Zas hadn’t seen Klaus running at him. The side that they were on now was back to looking like the original track. Large rocks and jagged points stuck out in every direction, blocking the glimpse he’d gotten as he’d come around the bend.

Slamming into Zas exactly how he’d slammed into his pupil before: Klaus sent the General flying against the wall. Sensors went off on his back, sending painful little electrical impulses throughout his backside. It wasn’t a critical hit, but it had been damn close to one..

Panic surged within Zas as he realized that Skye wasn’t in sight. Jolting up, he leaned forward to look down the track. Skye, Ronnie, and Kari were heading towards the edge of his area. If they passed the threshold, Skye and Tidas would have to fight.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins as Klaus and Franky charged him. Seeing a touch of fear on Franky’s face, Zas snarled as loudly as he could, making the rookie hesitate. He flipped Klaus over his shoulder, then closelined Franky.

‘Taking out these two will only buy me a few seconds. I have to stop Skye now!’ As the thought rushed through Zas’ mind, he sprinted towards Skye with his eyes flared, and his desperation apparent.

Skye turned around just in time to watch Franky’s head bounce off the ground. Her instinct was to run and see if he needed to be healed, but she saw him stir as Zas took off running. ‘I many not have a choice..’

Right as Zas reached her, Skye yelled; “Kari! Ronnie! Run! I’ll hold him off!”

“No! The plan!” Kari screamed back as they came to a stop.

Skye kneeled down to touch the ground as she yelled back; “No time! Go!”

“KLAUS!” Ronnie cried out so loudly that his voice cracked, but it was too late.

Zas was reaching out for Skye; a mere inch away.. And she moved out of his reach.

The confusion that spread across his face brought a smirk to hers as she said; “Gotcha..”

Zas’ surprise gave Klaus the moment he needed to do his trump card: Acceleration. It was a one-and-done, last resort move because he hadn’t figured out how to do it without tearing the tendons in his back legs. Springing into action; Klaus was behind Zas before he could finish taking his breath..

Colliding with the General’s backside had nearly taken them both down, but Klaus had dug his feet into the ground right after his initial takeoff. Zas doubled over from the force, but Klaus stayed standing.

Wrapping his arms around Zas’ waist, Klaus cried out like a warrior as he lifted the General into the air, and over his shoulder. He kept a hold of him, and let his weight fall with Zas; turning the move into a suplex.

As Klaus handled Zas, Skye immediately started building her Earth magic to make a wall. As soon as she had it ready, the wall started to go up as she told Kari to hop over to her and Ronnie’s side. As she said it, the other competitors could be heard coming around the corner.

“You guys go! I’ll stay on this side and keep the wall’s density as strong as I can, for as long as I can! Win it for me, would ya?!” Kari screamed as Skye nodded, then finished the her construction.

Skye and Ronnie sat with their backs against the wall for a few seconds until Ronnie stated; “Oh shit, we’re in trouble...”

Looking up, the first thing Skye saw was random bodies scattered around near the end of the rock wall. They crawled the three feet to the end, and saw a total of six mages scattered about.

Skye recognized the two on the ground closest to her as the Hybrid Tanks from the C Team. Four of the five members from the A Team laid unconscious on the ground, in a pile... With Tidas sitting on top of them in a leisurely fashion.

“Hello, Wife,” Tidas stated as he stared at her.

The look in his eyes wasn’t something she’d only seen twice. Once in Warrick Forest, and at last year’s Mage Trials, when the assassin attacked. Looking at him now: Skye understood why most found him intimidating.

With a cheeky grin, Skye replied; “Hello, Husband...”