The afternoon light from the sun shone through the top windows of the magnificent palace gym, bathing the room in a radiant glow. Elianna breathed heavily, her body covered in sweat, as she knelt on the ground. With one hand on her sword, using it to keep her remaining upright, she looked up at the chunks of ice scattered around the floor, which were all that remained of her adversary.

  Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her breathing, Elianna looked back, her eyes falling on Nicholas. She watched as Nicholas plopped down into a seating position with a sigh. He was also covered in sweat, but he wasn't breathing as hard as she was, primarily because of the fact that she had been moving a lot more than he was.

  "Well," Elianna began, and swallowed hard. She smirked, "I think we did pretty well that time."

  Nicholas' eyes flicked to hers, meeting her gaze. He smiled and nodded, "Definitely." He chuckled, "It went way better than the other times."

  After they had left the garden yesterday, they had quickly changed into training attire and gone to the palace gym, where they had stayed the rest of the day to work on their team training. While they both admitted to having fun doing this, it was clear that their teamwork would need a lot of work. They kept training until dinner time, where Freya had to practically drag them out of the gym to eat. They had agreed to rest for the remainder of the day and pick up their training this morning. So, after breakfast, that's precisely what they did, and they've been in the gym ever since.

  Elianna stood up, feeling how exhausted she was. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked over to Nicholas. As she approached him, she laughed, "Thanks for not tripping me this time."

  Nicholas chortled and lay back, resting against the wooden floor of the gym. "I only tripped you twice last time." He rested his hands behind his head, and his eyes flicked to her, and he smiled. "But, you're welcome."

  Elianna sat beside him, laying her sword to the side of her, before she lay back, so they lay side by side, staring at the ceiling. She let out a long breath, "That last construct through." She shook her head, "You weren't kidding. It's definitely a good training tool."

  Nicholas nodded, "Oh, definitely. When Aunt Freya showed me the construct for the first time and had me train against it..." Nicholas shivered, "Let's just say she needed to intervene."

  Elianna turned her head, looking at him curiously. "How many constructs do you know how to create?"

  Nicholas shrugged, "Just two." He smiled, "Though I'm working on a third right now."

  Elianna's eyes widened with excitement, "Really?! Can I see it?"

  Nicholas laughed a little and shook his head before he looked at her, meeting her gaze, "No. It's not ready yet."

  Elianna felt a little bummed, but she nodded in understanding. She stared into his deep sea green eyes, and her cheeks warmed a little, realizing how close she was lying to him. She watched him as he looked up, going back to staring at the ceiling. Her eyes traced over him, traveling down and back up, seeing how well his black tank top hugged his frame. And with his shirt damp, she admired how it clung to his torso nicely, accenting his eight-pack and chiseled chest.

  "You never told me how your parents took the news."

  Elianna's eyes shot up to Nicholas' facial features, seeing that he was still looking up. Elianna's brows raised, "Huh?"

  Nicholas turned his head and looked at her, "Your parents. You said you were going to break the news to them about being here for nine days." His eyes looked to the side and narrowed slightly, "Well, eight now, I guess." He looked back at her, "Were they mad?"

  "Oh," Elianna said, and looked toward the ceiling with a sigh, recalling her conversation with her parents yesterday. "I couldn't tell if they were mad, per se. But, they were definitely upset."

  Nicholas' brows furrowed, "With me?"

  Elianna's head snapped to Nicholas, looking at him, surprised, "What? No. Why would you think that?"

  Nicholas shrugged, "Because you're here because of me, essentially."

  Elianna smiled, "I'm here for you, Nick, not because of you."

  Nicholas returned her smile.

  "And to answer your question, no, they're not upset with you," Elianna said. She shrugged, "With your dad... a little."

  Nicholas sighed and looked up, "They're not the only ones."

  Elianna tilted her head slightly, watching Nicholas, seeing how he looked deep in thought. "I noticed you didn't answer any of your dad's questions with more than a two-word answer at dinner or breakfast."

  "Nope," Nicholas said flatly. "I just don't feel like talking to him."

  Elianna's gaze softened. "At least try to talk to him before we leave."

  Nicholas looked at her with a raised brow, "Why?"

  Elianna smiled, "Because he is still your dad. Plus, you don't know when you'll see him again, and you may regret not talking to him."

  Nicholas looked down and nodded slightly, "Alright, I'll think about it."

  They both fell silent for a moment before Nicholas cleared his throat and sat up. He grabbed his staff that was lying to the side and got to his feet. He looked down at Elianna and smiled, "Ready for another round?"

  Elianna smirked with excitement and jumped to her feet. "I'm ready."

  Nicholas' face burned as he watched Elianna raise her hands above her head and do a deep stretch. His eyes traveled down, taking in the way her tank crop top fit her body nicely, accentuating her chest. His eyes lingered on her exposed flat stomach for a bit before traveling down to her black sports shorts. But he suddenly averted his gaze when she bent over to pick up her sword.

  Elianna stood straight, but her smile faded when she looked at Nicholas. "Are you sure you're up for another round? You seem flushed."

  Quickly clearing his throat, Nicholas looked at Elianna and smiled, "Yes, I'm fine."

  Elianna nodded, then smiled confidently, "Then, let's do this."

  Elianna walked forward a few paces before she stopped. She stared at the melting chunks of ice before her, waiting for Nicholas.

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  Nicholas got into a ready stance before he grasped his staff with both hands and placed the end of it on the ground. He began to concentrate on the chunks of melting ice, and the mana gem at the top of the staff began to glow.

  The water began to rise into the air, and the chunks of ice began to break apart, turning into ice magic that started to swirl along with nature magic. Elianna quickly got into a ready stance, gripping the hilt of her sword with both hands as she activated her mana guard. She watched the small cyclone of ice and nature magic swirl around each other, noticing as it began to take shape. The ice and nature magic condensed, solidifying until it no longer swirled, and now a massive ice scorpion with an emerald hue stood in its place.

  From head to tail, the scorpion was longer than Nicholas was tall. Standing on its eight legs, it was just shorter than Elianna. It had massive pincers that could easily take hold of one's head, and its tail was curled, with its stinger pointed directly at Elianna.

  Elianna stared at the scorpion, watching as it stood there motionlessly. She knew it would not even move without Nicholas' command.

  Nicholas raised his staff, getting into a ready stance as he stared at the scorpion. "Ready?"

  Elianna nodded, staring at the scorpion intently, "I'm ready."

  Nicholas narrowed his eyes, giving the scorpion the mental command to attack.

  The scorpion raised its pincers and let out a screech, with ice magic spewing out of its mouth. It thrust its right pincer at Elianna, who quickly dashed back, barely dodging the pincer as it clasped shut with a loud snap.

  The scorpion didn't hesitate to move forward, following Elianna. It quickly reached out with both pincers, trying to grab Elianna, as she quickly dashed to the left and right.

  Elianna gritted her teeth, barely dodging another pincer attack, as the scorpion was fast. She dashed back again, and the scorpion was about to follow, when the ground beneath it began to glow with a teal hue.

  Elianna smirked and quickly dashed forward, knowing precisely what Nicholas was going to do. Elianna closed in on the scorpion and quickly surrounded herself in wind magic. Pushing mana into her legs, she jumped, using the wind magic to propel her higher.

  The scorpion's pincers moved forward with lethal speed and accuracy, aiming straight for Elianna. However, before the pincers could even touch her, several vines shot up from the glowing ground and quickly wrapped around the scorpion's pincers, body, and tail. The vines tightened and pulled harshly, pinning the scorpion to the floor.

  Elianna landed on top of the scorpion, which was trapped in vines, and quickly stood up. She raised her sword, covering it in a heavy coat of wind magic. She was about to strike her sword down when a powerful pulse of icy wind burst out from the scorpion like a dome.

  Elianna yelped as she was pushed off the scorpion by the blast, with her mana guard covered in ice. She fell towards the floor, but before she could react, a gentle wind quickly swirled around her, preventing her from hitting the ground.

  Elianna smiled as she hovered in the vortex of wind and looked at Nicholas, who had his staff pointed at her.

  Nicholas concentrated on the glide spell he cast around Elianna, but his head suddenly snapped toward the sight of movement. He watched as the scorpion broke out from the now frozen vines and began to get to its feet. With a narrowed gaze, Nicholas promptly glided Elianna closer to him before canceling the wind spell.

  With her feet now on the ground, Elianna rolled her shoulders as she stared at the scorpion. The scorpion stood on its eight legs and snapped its pincers as it curled its tail.

  Nicholas stepped forward and thrust his staff at the scorpion, firing a beam of fire at it.

  The scorpion quickly covered its face with its pincers and curled its tail closer to its torso before forming a barrier of ice magic around it. The beam of fire hit the barrier with a hiss, and steam rose into the air.

  "I'll pin it down!" Nicholas yelled. "Move!"

  "Got it!" Elianna yelled back.

  Elianna burst forward, pushing mana into her legs and using wind magic to propel herself. She quickly moved to the side, trying to get behind the scorpion. She watched as the scorpion's head pivoted slightly, keeping its glowing emerald eyes on her.

  The scorpion suddenly thrust out its pincers and tail, exploding the ice barrier around it. The icy explosion shot out in all directions, and Elianna grunted as it hit her, making her lose her step. She was knocked back, falling to the floor and sliding back a few feet.

  The blast rushed toward Nicholas, consuming his beam of fire. He narrowed his eyes and quickly used the fire spell to surround himself in a defensive fire barrier. The icy blast crashed into his fire barrier with a hiss, passing over him and sending steam into the air.

  Nicholas deactivated his barrier, watching as the scorpion quickly pivoted toward Elianna, who was still getting to her feet. His eyes widened when he noticed that ice magic began to swirl around the scorpion's tail.

  "Range attack!" Nicholas yelled.

  Elianna's eyes snapped to the tail, seeing the impending attack. She gritted her teeth and yelled, "Updraft!!"

  Nicholas nodded and slammed his staff on the ground. He concentrated on Elianna, quickly surrounding her in wind magic.

  The scorpion's tail moved forward, shooting a beam of ice magic at Elianna.

  Elianna remained still, though, trusting Nicholas, feeling his wind spell around her.

  Just as the icy beam closed in on Elianna, the wind gathering around her shot her high into the air, and the icy beam struck the floor, freezing the area in a large chunk of ice.

  Elianna was flung high into the air, almost reaching the ceiling. She grabbed her sword with both hands, straightened her body, and pointed herself directly at the scorpion's back. She hastily surrounded herself in wind magic that rotated around her like a clock, and shot the wind out from the soles of her feet.

  Nicholas watched as Elianna made herself into a lawn dart, flying directly at the scorpion. The scorpion looked up and raised its pincers and tail. Ice magic began to swirl around its pincers and tail, preparing to blast Elianna with another ranged attack.

  Nicholas swiftly pointed his staff at the scorpion and formed a fire barrier around the scorpion.

  The scoring released its ranged attacks just at the barrier formed, resulting in its beams striking the fire surrounding it with a hiss, covering the scorpion in a veil of steam.

  Elianna stared at the fire barrier without worry, trusting Nicholas, as she closed in on it. As the top of the barrier became close enough that she could feel the warmth from its flames, the fire barrier quickly dissipated. She flew into the veil of steam, her wind magic pushing the steam away, as she flew down. She gripped her sword tightly, and a moment later, she made an impact.

  Nicholas covered his face as a shockwave erupted from the veil of steam, and quickly looked back with a worried expression, "Lia!"

  Nicholas thrust his staff forward, creating a gust of wind that blew the cloud of steam away. When the steam was finally gone, Nicholas' brows raised, and he relaxed with a smile.

  Elianna sat casually on a chunk of ice, as the remains of the scorpion were scattered around the room. She smirked at Nicholas and proudly crossed her arms, "I think that went well, don't you?"

  Nicholas chuckled and shook his head, "Yeah. That last move was a little risky, though."

  Elianna tilted her head slightly, "Awe, were you worried about me?"

  Nicholas shrugged, "Maybe."

  Elianna smiled, a rosy tint appearing on her cheeks, "Well, no worries, I'm not injured."

  "What's going on here?"

  Elianna and Nicholas looked toward the voice, seeing Celine enter the room. Celine held a curious expression as she looked around the area.

  Nicholas shrugged, "Just training."

  Celine looked at Elianna, seeing her casually sitting on a giant chunk of ice, which her sword was plunged into. "Uh-huh, some interesting training."

  Elianna laughed and smiled at Celine, "Come to check up on us?"

  Celine nodded, "Yeah. Wanted to see if you both wanted to take a break."

  Elianna pulled her sword out of the ice and jumped down to the floor. "A break might be nice." She looked at Nicholas curiously, "Nick? What do you think?"

  Nicholas nodded, "Yeah." He stored his staff in his spatial ring and stretched his arms. "We have been at this for a while." He looked at Celine curiously, "How did the rest of breakfast go?"

  Celine crossed her arms, looked down, and sighed, "As well as you think. My mom is still upset with your dad. And, they got into another argument."

  Elianna tilted her head slightly, "About?"

  Celine looked at Elianna, then at Nick.

  Nicholas' brows raised, "Me? What about?"

  Celine shrugged, "I guess your dad wants you to assist him with some admin things. But my mom was arguing against it. She told him to let you relax, and she could help him out."

  Nicholas let out a deep sigh and looked up, rubbing his face with his hands, "Ugh."

  Elianna looked at Nicholas worriedly, "You okay?"

  Nicholas nodded, his face covered with his hands. "Yeah." He removed his hands, crossed his arms, and looked down, shaking his head. "Just stressed."

  Elianna looked at Nicholas softly before she walked over to him. She stored her sword in her spatial ring and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. She whispered, "I'm sorry."

  Nicholas chuckled, returning her hug, and placed his chin atop her head, "It's fine." He sighed, "I just wish we could leave this place for a while, before the party."

  Celine looked at them and smiled warmly, seeing how Elianna was trying to comfort him. But as Nicholas' words registered in her mind, her eyes lit up. She looked at Nicholas and Elianna excitedly, "Maybe we can."