I crossed my arms over my chest. "Let me down or I'll sprinkle pretty rainbow dust and put you to sleep for the rest of this exam," I threatened.
"You’re not scary with that face, Cutie Pie," Hunter muttered, but he spread his blazing wings.
"Wait till you see pissed off Cutie Pie. Then we’ll see if you think I'm still cute," I argued.
He grinned at my retort, but it vanished the moment we touched the ground. Orion rushed over to us.
"We have to go full out if we want to have a chance against this thing. Celestia, you okay?" he explained before giving me a sympathetic look.
I nodded while Hunter lowered me down so I could stand.
"So much for waking up from a nap," I replied, giving him a playful grin.
"We were all asleep. We all woke up from a loud sound and that's when Hunter showed up saying you were fighting off a Forsaken. We arrived right before you passed out," Orion explained.
"Guys! A little help?" Finn called out, jumping to the side to avoid a tentacle that slammed into the spot where he previously stood.
Hunter and Orion exchanged looks, both of them looked down at me. I rolled my eyes.
"This is NOT the time. Go help Finn, Theo, and Caio! I'll be fine and can defend myself," I retorted
They were silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"Be careful." Orion brushed his palm against my cheek.
I gave him a smile. "I'll be fine," I reassured him.
"Lovers," Hunter mumbled, patting my shoulder gently.
"You’re just jealous she likes me more." Orion winked, making his way to help Theo who was using a short blade to slice through the tendrils that attacked him.
"You know, for a guy who's always shy and quiet, you've been all talkative and confident since meeting Celestia," Hunter called out, giving me a final pat before heading to help Finn.
I looked for Caio, but couldn't see his ginger hair. I was debating on how to be most helpful in this situation.
I'd researched a lot about Forsaken over the years thanks to Magnor. He had to know every detail about the beings of chaos and darkness, having helped on a few missions to wipe out a large mass of them a few times when I was younger. I closed my eyes, needing a few moments to recall the conversation I'd had about them with Magnor.
"How do you beat a Forsaken, Magnor?" I asked, lowering the ancient book onto my lap, afraid if I placed it on the ground it would somehow crumble into dust. It was one of the oldest books that talked about the first appearances of the Forsaken and how they grew and attempted to take over our lands for years until they were vanquished.
"You need to engulf them with enough power to reach their core. The strongest element against them is their counterpart, light, but any element can destroy them if it's enough to shatter their core," Magnor explained from his desk, turning the page to the book he was reading.
"If it's as simple as that, why can only a few people achieve it? Or why does it take a group of high-rank magicians and shifters to beat just one?" I questioned.
"Because it has fast rejuvenating properties. The core can be in sight and within a minute the darkness will begin to rebuild around it, shielding it once more. It takes an onslaught of attacks and once the core is exposed, it needs to be submerged in magic. Once shattered, the rejuvenating process cancels out and the Forsaken dies," Magnor finished.
"That sounds tiring," I replied, returning to read my book.
"It is. But with a team, it's easier than on your own," Magnor concluded.
I opened my eyes, analyzing where everyone was.
"Guys! We have to aim our magic all at once to break down the dark sludge around it. Once it's broken down we need to attack its core," I yelled.
"How are we going to do that with these damn tendrils?" Hunter asked, letting go of an arrow that sliced through three of said tendrils that had tried to attack Orion who was casting various spells.
I was tempted to watch the different magic circles that formed beneath him, waves of fire, water and ice fighting off multiple tendrils and tentacles left and right, but we didn't have much time. I could tell the guys were tired and we needed as much combined energy as possible.
"I'll take care of them! Just regroup and start reserving as much magic as you can!" I instructed. They nodded in agreement, jumping off the ground to avoid the current set of attacks and making their way to where I stood.