“Hangry orcs.” Twobble shook his head. “Is it too late for me to sit this one out?”
I smiled and patted his head while he sat atop the bramblemule.
Keegan glanced at me. “You still think you’re the right one to do this? I don’t mind going to talk to them.”
I hesitated, then nodded. “I feel like it should come from me.”
Lady Limora smiled faintly. “You speak like someone who understands how monsters are made.”
“Monsters,” Stella muttered, “are usually just people who weren’t listened to soon enough.”
“Ouch,” Skonk said, shaking his head. “That hits home.”
Caleb’s jaw tightened, bringing the discussion back to logistics. “If they’re already marching, stopping them will feel like asking them to step off a cliff.”
“Then we don’t ask them to stop,” I said. “We ask them to pause.”
“We can shorten the distance,” she said. “Not by bending the path, but by aligning with it. We should be able to warp the Priestess’ distortion.”
I blinked. “Explain that in a way that doesn’t make my head hurt.”
She smiled faintly. “We should split up and move as swiftly as possible, but reconvene right before we hit the orcs.”
Caleb nodded immediately. “Packs know how to travel unseen.”
Lady Limora inclined her head. “And vampires know how to move quickly without drawing attention.”
Keegan exhaled slowly. “Splitting up.”
“Temporarily,” I said quickly. “We converge before the final approach.”
There was a beat of silence as everyone weighed the risks.
“If she’s watching,” Stella said, “she’ll notice the change.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “But she’ll have to guess which thread matters most.”
Lady Limora’s eyes gleamed. “I like it.”
Caleb glanced toward the north, where the trees thickened into darker shapes. “We can send scouts ahead to confirm the orcs’ exact position. If they’re slowing near the Luminary, we’ll have a window before they make it to the Hollows.”
“And if they aren’t receptive?” Keegan asked.
“Then we run,” Caleb said simply.
A few vampires laughed, which was needed.
I swallowed, nodding. “We don’t engage unless we have to. The goal isn’t to fight them. It’s to reach them intact.”
Nova tilted her head. “And if the Priestess accelerates?”
“Then she’s reacting,” I said. “And reaction is slower than intent.”
Lady Limora stepped closer, her voice lowering.
“You should know,” she said, “that if this fails, she will not retreat.”
“I know,” I replied. “But if we succeed, she loses leverage.”
