The hunt had begun, and yet Thorne stood at the other side of the clearing, eyes on Adina who stood opposite him.

Adina didn't say a word; no, she was waiting for him to speak, to scold her and tell her how much he disliked her going against his wishes… but he didn't…

Thorne only stood there, dark eyes watching her intensely, jaw clenched so hard. Adina swallowed hard, suddenly feeling nervous. She opened her mouth to call out to him but was stopped by Levi.

Levi placed his hand against her shoulder, pulling her attention to him. "You know, I prayed to the goddess last night," he began. "I asked her for luck… and here you are on my team."

Adina flushed at his words, looking away for a brief moment only to catch Thorne's gaze stuck directly on her shoulder where Levi currently had his hand.

She gulped hard again, "Should we get started? The other teams have a head start already."

Levi hummed, nodding. "We should." He replied, glancing at the others behind them. "Come on, everyone. We have a game to win."

"Okay, so strategy," Levi began as all of them huddled into a circle, listening to what he was saying. And when he was done, they set out.

The forest was filled with noise, branches snapping, and distant laughter. Adina couldn't help but smile at all of this.

Levi led the group confidently, one hand on the hilt of the short blade strapped to his hip. It wasn't for fighting, seeing that wasn't a part of the rule. It was for flair. Kora and the fourth teammate, a noble girl with surprisingly quick feet, followed behind. Adina was beside them, her heart pounding with more than just exertion.

She wasn't sure if it was the thrill of the game or the intensity of Thorne's gaze still lingering in her mind.

"Flag locations are almost always where no one wants to go first," Levi called, glancing over his shoulder. "Swamps, thick bramble patches, rocky cliffs. Think like Mason, he likes misery."

Adina snorted, remembering how Thorne had given the said man five hundred laps. "Mason is misery," she mumbled.

"I heard that." The gamma's voice distantly echoed from another trail, making Adina's heart leap. Damn that werewolf hearing.

Adina laughed under her breath.

As they continued on, their team fanned out slightly. Kora walked toward a tree that looked suspiciously symmetrical, like something might've been tucked behind it. The noble girl scoured the low bushes. Adina climbed up a small ridge, scanning the forest below.

She spotted it.

A flutter of black and silver fabric stuck between two rocks.

"I see one!" she yelled, already scrambling down the hill.

But she wasn't the only one who had seen it.

Matilda, head maid and royal pain, was already racing toward the flag from the other direction, her skirts hoisted above her knees, face flushed and determined.

"Oh, for the goddess' sake," Kora hissed, sprinting after Adina.

"Seen another!" Levi yelled, running off in the other direction with the noble girl beside him.

Adina reached the flag just as Matilda launched herself at her. They collided midair, both falling into the dirt.

"Argh," Matilda sneered, dusting off the leaves from her body.

"I saw it first," Adina bit out, not minding that the said woman was the head maid.

"But you don't have it," Matilda snapped, and before Adina could say anything in return, she threw a gust of sand at Adina's face and quickly grabbed the flag.

"Hey! That's not fair," Kora yelled, running towards them.

"Fair? This is a game. Go look for fairness where it's kept." She turned to leave, smiling victoriously, but Adina wasn't about to let go. She was determined to win.

She leaped forward, grabbing the woman's ankle, making her fall forward, face down. The flag flew out of her hands.

"You little shit," Matilda growled, eyes red with anger. Adina wasn't sure which she was more angry about, losing the flag or her bruised ego.

She grabbed Adina's hair, pulling tightly. Adina feared she would pull out a few hairs.

"Let go of me," she said, grunting as she tried pushing the woman off.

"Never!" Matilda snarled, glancing to her left. "Get the damn flag, Lia, and stop staring!" She barked at the younger maid on her team.

"Kora!" Adina yelled.

"Coming!" Kora yelled in return, trying to get the weed that had somehow wrapped around her ankle, preventing her from running further. "Get off me, you fucking little—" she paused, the branch falling loose. "Oh, it's loose now," she muttered blankly.

"Kora! Get the flag," Adina yelled again, and she got into action, running towards the flag just as Matilda's team member did.

Kora dashed forward with full momentum, eyes locked on the flag. Lia reached out first, her fingers brushing it, only for Kora to slam into her side with a shoulder-check that would've made Adina proud if only she weren't being dragged to hell by Matilda.

"Move, peasant!" Kora growled, grabbing the flag and spinning around, only to see Matilda still trying to yank Adina's hair out of her scalp like her life depended on it.

"Oh, for the goddess' sake."

Kora stormed over and without hesitation, grabbed Matilda by the waist and tackled her to the ground.

They landed on the ground with a thud and a grunt. Kora pushed her face-down into the ground and sat on her back with zero hesitation.

"RUN!" Kora shouted to Adina. "AND TAKE THE DAMN FLAG AND GO!"

Adina didn't wait. She grabbed the flag and took off, running as fast as she could while hoping Matilda would leave Kora alone. After a few minutes of running, she slowly stopped to catch her breath. At this point, she was a mess. Sweating like a dog, dirt smeared over her face from fighting with Matilda, body filled with dust and dirt. This was so unlike her, but she found that she liked it.

She burst out laughing, shoulders shaking, tears springing to her eyes from how hard she laughed. After some seconds, she calmed down and scoured the woods again. She was so sure she'd lost Levi and the rest. Even Kora.

She shook her head. She had to find other flags, and there was just an hour left. Without wasting any more time, she continued her quest while hoping the others managed to find some flags too.