Chapter 40: The First Challenge

Astrid

The object sat in the distance, close enough to see, and Team Two was already moving toward it fast.

Xander studied them. "That’s Team Two."

"Should I know who they are?" I asked.

"They’re annoying."

"They’re also good," Reed said.

They’d clearly chosen the fastest route, already pulling ahead. I studied the terrain around the prize, and something about it looked deliberately wrong.

"Wait," I said.

Reed stopped. "What?"

I pointed toward the ground near the fastest path. Faint markings, almost invisible unless you were looking for them. "That path is a trap."

The other team reached the marked section a moment later, and the ground dropped beneath their feet without warning, students scrambling backward just in time to avoid falling through.

Xander stared at me. "How did you see that?"

"The markings."

Reed looked closer, confirming it for himself. "Good observation."

I smiled. "You’re going to keep complimenting me today, aren’t you?"

"If you keep earning them."

That caught me off guard.

"Okay, that’s enough," Xander cut in. "You’re making the rest of us look bad."

I laughed.

Reed studied what remained of the terrain. The obvious path was gone now, collapsed entirely, and I noticed a narrow route weaving through the trees to one side, difficult but possible.

"I’ll check it," Xander said, already moving.

I caught his sleeve. "Don’t."

He looked at me. "Worried about me?"

I released him immediately. "No. I’m worried you’ll make us lose points."

"Sure," he said, grinning, and went ahead anyway.

He confirmed the route was safe, and we followed him through. The path narrowed further as we went, until I had to climb over a fallen tree blocking the way. I slipped halfway across.

Reed caught my wrist before I could fall, and for a second I hung suspended against him, our faces closer than I expected. My whole body went still.

"Got you," he said.

My heart beat harder than it should have. "I’m fine."

He didn’t let go right away. "I know."

Then he steadied me back onto solid ground. Xander glanced back from ahead, one eyebrow raised.

"Everything okay back there?"

"Fine," I said, stepping away from Reed a little too fast.

Xander smiled knowingly and said nothing.

Another team caught up to us not long after, positioning themselves to block our path. The rules allowed interference, just not injury.

One of them looked at me and smirked. "Maybe you should sit this part out."

"Why?"

"You don’t have a wolf."

I smiled. "Neither do I need one to beat you."

He attacked. I didn’t try to overpower him. I dodged, redirected, let his own momentum work against him until he was the one stumbling.

Xander watched with obvious pride. "That’s my—"

"Don’t," Reed said.

"I wasn’t finished."

The opposing team had three members, and watching Reed and Xander move against them was like watching two halves of the same machine. Reed called out quick directions, and Xander executed them almost before the words finished, barely any wasted motion between them.

It made sense. They’d trained together their whole lives.

Watching them, I realized I wasn’t looking at two arrogant princes anymore. I was watching an incredibly effective team.

One of the opposing students lunged toward Reed’s blind side, and Xander was already moving before I could even open my mouth to warn him, cutting the angle off and forcing the student to redirect straight into Reed’s path instead. Reed handled him in two moves, calm as though he’d known exactly where the attack was coming from all along.

"Left," Reed said, not even raising his voice.

Xander pivoted without asking why, and a second later I understood, another student had circled around to flank him, only to find Xander already facing the right direction, grinning like he’d been waiting for it.

"You could at least act surprised," Xander said, ducking a strike.

"I don’t do surprised."

"You don’t do fun, either."

"Focus."

I watched the exchange happen in real time, half combat and half argument, and somehow both were working simultaneously. Every correction Reed offered, Xander absorbed instantly, adjusting his stance or his angle without breaking stride. It wasn’t obedience. It was familiarity, the kind that only came from years of knowing exactly how the other person moved before they moved.

And somehow, I was part of it now.

The opposing team managed to corner us briefly, and while Reed worked out how to break through, I noticed one of their members kept glancing toward a particular tree, protective, deliberate.

"Reed," I said quietly.

"What?"

"The tree."

He followed my gaze and understood immediately. "Xander."

Xander turned, and Reed laid out the plan fast. They executed it together, drawing the other team’s attention just long enough for me to slip past unnoticed.

I reached the hidden objective first, closing my hand around it.

A bell rang out across the field, the instructors announcing Team Seven had completed the first objective.

Xander threw his arms in the air. "Yes!"

I laughed. Reed simply looked at me. "Good work."

"We did it," I said.

"You saw the opening," he corrected.

"And saved us," Xander added.

I hadn’t expected the praise to feel this good.

We walked back toward the checkpoint afterward, Xander replaying the victory the entire way.

"Did you see their faces?" he asked.

"You sound twelve," I said.

"A victorious twelve-year-old."

Reed shook his head, though I caught the small smile he was trying to hide.

Walking between them, I noticed how completely comfortable I felt. No fear. No awkwardness. No sense of not belonging.

Maybe this is what having people feels like, I thought, letting the idea settle quietly without examining it too closely.

We reached the checkpoint just as an instructor announced the next phase. The first objective had only been worth a portion of the total points. The real challenge, apparently, was still ahead, a paired combat round.

I looked at Reed, then Xander. His grin slowly returned.

"Well," he said.

"What now?" I asked.

"Looks like we’re not done."

Reed studied the arena ahead of us, significantly larger than anything we’d faced yet. "And this round is different."

I followed his gaze. Teams would have to choose which member faced which opponent.

Xander looked at me. "You should pick me."

"She should pick whoever gives us the best chance of winning," Reed said immediately.

"That’s me," Xander said.

I stared between them.

"Here we go again."