Everyone’s attention, including the asshole soldier’s, turned that way, and I winced when I saw a young girl, a teenager, kneeling on the ground and picking up a bunch of dishes she’d obviously dropped.
Hiro murmured, “She did that on purpose.”
Oh. Oh wow. The girl had the same idea as me, and my heart pounded in my chest as I watched one of the soldiers backhand her so hard her body swung around, making her cry out and land on her hands and knees.
Even from here, I could tell she was in pain when she glanced up, moved her hair out of her face, and I got a good look at her. She was in pain, but she was also pissed and determined.
“Sorry,sir,” she spat out, sounding anything but respectful. “I’ll clean up my mess.”
“You better or I’ll show you exactly what happens to little girls who don’t know how to follow orders.”
“Yes,sir.” The sir was so sarcastic, I was afraid she’d be hit again.
Luckily, another soldier stepped in, blocking the first guy and trying to calm him down.
Oakley’s small whimper caught my attention, and I turned to them to find them holding back tears, one hand over their mouth, staring at the teenager. When I paid more attention, I could feel their turmoil. They were terrified, happy, sad, felt guilty, and about a million other things that were too overwhelming to examine when we were in the middle of hostile territory.
“Oak?” I whispered, but they ignored me, still staring at the little girl.
I looked at her again, back at Oak, and back at the girl. Something clicked in my head. All of the turmoil Oak felt, all of the pain.
The story they’d told me about their friend, Coral, about her being killed, about her younger siblings. That had happened when Oakley was sixteen—eleven years ago—and they’d said Coral’s younger siblings were three and four at the time.
I glanced at the girl again. She looked to be around fifteen, so she was the right age.
Finally, Oakley breathed out, “Isidore,” and I knew I was right.
Before I even registered what I was doing, I had my arms wrapped around Oakley from behind, holding them to my chest. They pulled against me, and my heart wrenched when they let out a sob.
“I have to get her. I have to save her. Please, Roman, let me go. I have to save her. Please… please.” They were full-on crying now, and I glanced around to make sure our soundproofing spells were still working. No one was reacting, so I figured they were.
“Shhh… it’s okay, Oak. It’s alright.” I kept my lips close to their ear, even as I tightened my hold on them, and they struggled forcefully. “We’re going to get her. We’ll save her, Oak. We will. We just have to be smart about it.”
“I can’t leave her. Not again. I can’t, I can’t… I can’t…”
“Babydoll, you’re not leaving her. We’d be killed if we tried to save her right now, okay? We need to get out, regroup, and come back.”
“Please, Roman, don’t make me leave her again… please.”
Basil stepped in front of us, blocking Oakley’s view, and they thrashed harder in my arms, trying to see the teenager.
“Move, Bas,” I growled out. I was having enough trouble holding onto a damn dragon as it was. I was pretty sure the only reason they hadn’t escaped was because they didn’t want to hurt me.
Bas said, “Listen to your comm. Listen, Oak. It’s gonna be okay.”
Oakley didn’t stop thrashing, but they did quiet down enough for me to hear my own comm.
“Oakley, listen to me,” a voice said. “We are going to get that girl and all the others out, okay? I promise you, we will save them.” The voice had softened so much, speaking in such a soothing tone, that it took me a moment to realize it was Ailin speaking. Normally, he was so gruff and almost angry-sounding, but not now. Now he sounded gentle and calm.
Bas remained in front of us with Hiro at his back, clearly guarding us all so we could focus on Oakley.
“Are you hearing me, Oak? I promise we’ll get them out,” Ailin said softly.
Oakley wasn’t happy about it, but they stopped thrashing and used their own magic, just a brief thought, to turn their mic on. “I have to save her. I can’t leave her alone. Not again.”
“And you won’t.” That sounded like Ailin’s typical gruffness. “We’re going to get her out.”
“I can’t leave—”
