Page 26 of Spellbound and Gagged

"Thanks," he said quietly as the wall vanished a moment later.

Juno nodded, not trusting herself to speak. What was she doing? This was a competition, not a cooperative exercise. She should be focused on winning, not on helping her rival.

And yet, as they progressed through the rest of the obstacles, Juno was continually aware of Thaddeus's position, ready to lend a hand if needed. To her surprise, he was doing the same for her. They never spoke, never acknowledged what they were doing, but there was a new undercurrent of teamwork beneath their competitive facades.

As the obstacle course challenge concluded, Juno noticed how they had naturally established a rhythm—his defensive spells protecting them both while her intuitive knowledge of plant reactions guided them through the trickier parts. His strength and her adaptability. His structure and her creativity. Like two halves of a whole.

By the time they reached the end of the course, presenting their completed potions for judging, Juno was thoroughly confused. She'd entered this competition determined to prove herself better than Thaddeus. Instead, she was starting to wonder if they might be better together.

"Extraordinary teamwork, though I suppose neither of you would admit to it," Principal Malachai commented as he inspected their potions. "Curious how the most effective solutions often come from unexpected collaborations."

His eyes twinkled knowingly as he moved on to the next contestant, leaving Juno and Thaddeus to exchange puzzled glances.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of increasingly outrageous challenges. There was Herbological Charades, where Juno had to describe a carnivorous vine using only interpretive dance, much to the amusement of the gathered students. Then came Speed Repotting, which resulted in Thaddeus sporting a spectacular purple bruise where a particularly feisty shrub had punched him.

Throughout each challenge, Juno became increasingly aware of how her approaches and Thaddeus's naturally complemented each other. Where she excelled at communication and nurturing, he provided structure and protection. When his methods were too rigid for a particular task, her flexibility created new possibilities. Together, they consistently outperformed the other contestants, even while technically competing against each other.

The faculty was beginning to notice too. During a brief break between challenges, Juno overheard snippets of conversation.

"Have you noticed how Shadowspire and Runeheart keep ending up working together?" Professor Moonshaper whispered to Professor Silvergaze.

"Never seen two people compete so cooperatively," Silvergaze replied with a chuckle. "Makes you wonder if Malachai might consider—"

"Shh!" Moonshaper hushed him. "Here they come."

Finally, Principal Malachai's voice rang out across the grounds. "It's time for our last herbology challenge of themorning—the Botanical Bake-Off. You'll be creating edible treats using only magical plants and herbs. You have one hour. Begin."

This was her chance to really shine. After all, what was cooking if not nurturing in its purest form? She set to work, carefully selecting her ingredients. Stevia for natural sugar, fizzing flowers for a fun texture, a touch of calming chamomile. As she mixed and measured, Juno fell into a comfortable rhythm, humming to herself.

She was so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice anything amiss until a loud bang from the other side of the arena made her jump. She looked up to see a cloud of purple smoke rising from one of the other contestant's stations.

"Oh dear," Malachai's voice came floating through the haze. "It seems Professor Figwort's attempt at a Bouncing Bulb Souffle has taken that name a bit too literally. Do try to keep your creations from becoming sentient, everyone."

She turned back to her own creation—a delicate tart filled with shimmering, color-changing custard—only to find that in her moment of distraction, something had gone wrong. The custard, which should have been gently swirling with pastel hues, was now an angry, bubbling mess of neon colors.

"No, no, no," Juno muttered, frantically trying to salvage the filling. But nothing she did helped. If anything, her efforts only made it worse, the colors swirling faster and faster until the whole tart looked like it might explode.

Just as Juno was considering abandoning the whole thing and starting over, a hand reached past her, sprinkling a fine powder over the custard. To her amazement, the violent swirling immediately calmed, the colors settling into the gentle pastel she'd originally intended.

She looked up to find Thaddeus standing beside her, a small smile playing at his lips. "Powdered bergamot," he explainedquietly. "Counteracts the effects of overstimulated magical plants. Thought you could use a hand."

Juno opened her mouth, then closed it again, at a loss for words. This went beyond their earlier subtle assistance. This was Thaddeus openly helping her, potentially at the cost of his own success in the competition.

"Why?" she finally managed to ask.

Thaddeus's smile softened, his eyes meeting hers. "Because your methods have merit, Juno. And because..." He trailed off, seeming to struggle with what to say next.

"Time's up," Malachai's voice boomed, making them both jump. "Wands down, everyone. It's time for judging."

Thaddeus stepped back, the moment broken. But as they presented their creations to the judges—Juno's now-perfect color-changing tart and Thaddeus's impressively sculpted defensive chocolate fortress—Juno couldn't stop thinking about that unfinished sentence. Because what?

As the morning's competition wound down and everyone broke for lunch, an undercurrent of unease began to spread through the crowd. Juno noticed professors huddled in small groups, whispering urgently. Students were pointing at various competition stations, looks of confusion on their faces.

"Juno," Thaddeus's voice came from behind her, making her jump. She turned to find him looking uncharacteristically worried. "Have you noticed anything odd about the challenges this morning?"

Juno frowned, thinking back over the events. Now that he mentioned it, there had been a few things that seemed off. The plant in the wrestling challenge had been far more aggressive than it should have been. Several contestants had experienced unexpected reactions in their potions during the obstacle course. And hadn't there been an unusually high number of accidentsduring the bake-off? She shouldn't have had to help Thaddeus as much as she had and vice versa.

"You think someone's been tampering with the competition," she said, realization dawning.

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