At our next class, Poppy told me I had a devious smile on my face. It just made me smile wider. During the lecture, I took notes, but all my mind could think about was the upcoming fight. And I was ready for it. I yearned for it. 

I tapped my pencil over and over on the paper. Nike wrote on the blackboard, but the words blurred in front of me.

When she finally called for us to move to the gym, I was the first one out of my seat. At the gym, I stretched my arms in the air, but kept my eyes on Castor. My mind was filled with memories of my fight with Leander—and how I was going to use that against Castor. I bent over, wrapping my hands around my feet. I felt prepared. Confident.

Just like our last class, Nike assigned me to spar with Castor. We walked to the mats, side by side, but silent. He turned and faced me. I shook my whole body out and took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to let him pin me this time. I raised my staff in a defensive maneuver.

Castor raised one hand at me. A gust of wind blew straight at me—ready to pin me to a wall—but I was prepared for it. I called a massive wall of fire, the tallest I’d ever created. Just like Leander had done at me. The flames mixed with the wind, creating a massive fire tornado. Which took me a little off guard. This was not quite part of the plan.

The tornado blocked Castor’s vision for a moment—which was what I’d intended. Just as the tornado died down, I came at him from below and swept Castor off his feet. He landed with a thud on the mats. I put my staff at his throat, and when he tried to push up, I forced him back down, pushing the staff into him. And when he tried to get up, I did it again.

“Going to stay down there all day?” I asked him. 

Castor looked up at me, and for a moment, his face was a mixture of confusion, rage, and maybe even a little disgust. Good. 

I gently pulled the staff off his chest. 

“The floor really doesn’t look too comfortable, does it, Poppy?” I called out. 

“No, it doesn’t,” Nilo cut in with a grin. Behind him, Poppy shook her head at us, but looked like she was holding back a smile. 

“Don’t sweat it, Valens,” I said, turning back to Castor. “No one can win them all.”

I walked away, letting myself sashay a little more confidently. 

Now we were even.

**

As we packed up for the day, Nike called out to us, “Oh, by the way, you all got your first assignment.”

The room grew tense.

“Report tomorrow morning in the classroom for your debriefing,” she said.

The next morning, Poppy and I met outside the classroom door, as Nike had directed. She fidgeted nervously, and though I didn’t move, I felt the same. Neither of us reached to open the door.

“What do you think it’ll be?” Poppy asked. I could have told her. I could have said Phantom, probably lower level. But that’s not what she really needed to hear.

“Doesn’t matter,” I told her. “Whatever it is, we got this.”

She nodded at me. “Together.”

We clasped hands, smirking at each other.

“Our first mission,” I whispered.

“You’re freaking out, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Completely,” I replied. 

She laughed at me and shoved me towards the door. I fell against it, pushing it open. Inside, Castor sat at his usual seat, on the opposite side of the room. Nilo sat at the front, looking visibly nervous. And at the front, Leander and Nike looked over a file together, murmuring quietly. They both looked up at our entrance.

“About time you two showed up.” Nike lowered her eyes back to the papers in front of her. We rushed to our seats.

Once we’d settled in, Nike gestured to Leander. “This is Leander Lang. He’ll be your escort for this mission.”

Leander gave us a short wave. Behind me, Poppy squealed and then hastily covered her mouth. 

“One of the Twelve,” she whispered reverently. I glanced at her over my shoulder and she nodded at Leander. “We grew up hearing about him, you know? He was a prodigy.”

“You’ll be heading out on your first mission this weekend,” Nike continued. “The Finders discovered a low-level Phantom haunting an abandoned church. It’s started to nest and it’s attracting attention. You four will work together as a team. You will go in alone and clear the building.”

Nike paused, then fixed her gaze on us. The last Phantom we saw had been horrifying, but, even if we hadn’t known it, we’d been surrounded by Astrals ready to help. This time, we’d be completely on our own.

“This is imperative,” Nike continued. “This is a high-traffic area in the middle of a city and the last thing we want is someone to wander in and lose their life.” 

I looked at my “team.” Nilo was staring at Castor, his jaw set—eager to beat him, I guessed. Castor, in contrast, was as antisocial as ever. Poppy was full of bravado, overeager and ready to prove her worth. 

And then there was me. Despite my prior words to Poppy, I wasn’t nearly as confident as I’d acted. No Ophiuchus. No shadow powers. Would I always be fighting with one arm tied behind my back?