The next boss was irritating.

  I focused on the flying bug the size of a sedan. “BIND!”

  The Jernet flew higher into the sky, out of the reach of the vines, which fell harmlessly onto the grass, then vanished.

  The boss gnashed the teeth of its rodent head as it buzzed in a circle above Ether’s head. From the shoulders down the Jernet resembled a wasp, complete with the wings, stinger, and insect legs. But at the end of each of those six spindly legs was a paw that could grip onto things. When the fight had first started, it had tried to grab Ether’s shield, but we’d managed to chase it off before it could pull her shield out of her hands. The stinger hadn’t been able to find a seam in her armor, which meant we’d survived the initial bout without any real injuries. But now we were in a waiting game of trying to convince it to get close enough so we could damage it.

  “DANG IT!” Aelin swore as one of her arrows clipped it, bouncing off of the hardened exoskeleton of the boss. “I thought arrows pierced armor.”

  “It has to be a direct hit.” Ether kept her eyes on the monster above her. “The curvature of this thing’s body makes it so that your arrows will almost always be a glancing blow.”

  “So I’m supposed to shoot it in its tiny face?” Aelin huffed as she lowered her bow.

  “Give me a sec.” I pointed my hand at the monster. “Freeze!”

  The spell wouldn’t do much damage at all; in fact, it was just meant to be a debuff, but the blast of cold air covered the Jernet’s wings in a coat of frost. The heavier wings weren’t able to move fast enough to keep the monster airborne and the moment it dipped low enough, I threw out my other hand. “BIND!”

  A pair of vines grabbed the Jernet’s body, yanking it down. The boss’s rodent teeth gnawed into the vine, snapping the first one just before it hit the ground.

  “Shoot the wings!” I pulled out my pistol and aimed for the veined wings. The frost was already melting and I knew it would only be a few moments before the monster was airborne again.

  “Dash. Quickdraw.” Fray shot around Ether, her sword slicing through the left wing, severing half of it.

  I pointed my gun at the air to keep from accidentally hitting the green woman who had just run in front of my line of fire.

  The boss hissed as it twisted. Angry teeth aimed for the now stationary Hitter.

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  “Shield Bash!” Ether slammed her shield into the side of the monster’s face. “Look At ME!” The ivory woman banged her sword against her shield. “COME ON!”

  Fray severed the rest of the wing at the base, ensuring that the monster stayed on the ground. It roared as it climbed on Ether’s shield, attempting to push the short woman down and crush her with its bulk.

  “Bind!” I targeted the creature’s neck with my spell. I chose an anchor point behind the monster as well, so when the vines wrapped around the Jernet’s throat, it pulled the creature back away from Ether.

  The boss strained against the bindings, but its legs weren’t flexible enough to reach behind it and it couldn’t turn its head around to bite the vines. It staggered back a step to create slack in the vines, but stumbled as Aelin put an arrow through its right eye and Fray severed the back left leg.

  “Shield Bash!” Ether rammed her shield into the monster’s head, stunning it as it pawed at the grass to find footing.

  “Dash.” I blurred forward, pulling out my pistol and putting it against the Jernet’s small furry ear, then I pulled the trigger as fast as I could. I made it halfway through the clip before the boss disintegrated into ash.

  I straightened up and looked at the others. “Anyone hurt?”

  “I’m good.” Fray sheathed her sword and held up her hands, turning them over. “It didn’t get me this time.”

  “Good.” I looked over at Ether. “How about you? That couldn’t have been easy to hold up.”

  “I had to strain, but it wasn’t that bad.” Ether rotated her right shoulder. “I’m not sure if I could have braced against it before the upgrade, though.”

  “Cool.” I turned to the brown woman retrieving our loot. “Aelin?”

  “Somebody’s getting a ri-ing!” Aelin held up a yellow ring. “It’s got a point of Speed on it.” She grinned. “So which lucky lady are you proposing to next?”

  I sighed. I’d already given a ring to Ether, Oz, and Ren. The only other person I really cared about giving one to was Gesai, but this would be a major downgrade for her. Jovenna had expressed an interest in joining the harem, but she was back at the Cathedral and until we were going to be there on a consistent basis, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to put a target on her like that. I glanced over at Justia, who nodded.

  The green Healer walked over and took the yellow ring from Aelin.

  “Hey!” Aelin pouted. “That’s no fun—”

  Justia slipped the ring on Aelin’s hand, then gave the stunned woman a quick kiss.

  “Well…” Gesai laughed as she walked into the boss room. “Aelin at a loss for words. I could get used to this.”

  “But. He. You. WHAT!” Aelin blinked, then looked down at her hand.

  “You don’t want it?” Justia reached for Aelin’s hand.

  “You gave it to me, so no takesie-backsies!” Aelin snatched her hand away. She looked at us, her brown cheeks getting darker as she blushed. “I mean, I know we kind of made things official at the party last night, but…”

  “Then what better way to use a ring?” Justia smiled, then turned to Gesai. “I believe we’ve got one more boss, then we’re calling it for the day?”

  The teacher chuckled as Justia linked her arm around Aelin’s and led the still-stunned woman out of the boss room.

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