It’s time. They’ve started to move.
Ice settles in my veins as we fly back to deliver the message. I dismount as soon as her feet hit the sand and then I’m running. Thankfully, the leaders of both sides meet every single morning for strategy; and I know exactly where that is. My feet pound the walkway as I make my way through the trees. I run past the guards on duty; they don’t stop me because they know I give a report every single morning. I throw open the door to where the leaders are meeting. Kaldar and Rysden are on their feet the moment I step into the room. All the eyes in the room are on me, and I forget the message I’d practiced. Instead, I steal Redara’s words. “It’s time. They’ve started to move.”
There’s a flurry of movement and voices, but I slip back outside. I need to get to Farrah and Kinsley and warn them too. I make my way across the walkway over the water as quickly as Idare. Reika is on guard outside the house. She takes one look at my face and knows. “They’re coming, aren’t they?”
I nod. She curses, but I don’t wait to hear what else she has to say. I slip into the house. Kinsley turns to me with wide eyes, her fork halfway to her mouth. She puts the fork down and stands to her feet. “It’s time,” I tell her.
“Kaldar?” she asks.
“He’s still in the meeting, or at least he was when I left him.”
“Okay,” she says in a shaky exhale.
“Farrah?” I ask.
She grimaces again. “I think she’s throwing up again.”
“Again?” I ask in distaste. “She’s going to have to stay behind.”
“I’m not staying behind,” Farrah says, coming from the hallway. I spin to look at her. Her face is pale, and she has dark circles under her eyes. But when she hoists her quiver and her bow over her shoulder, she looks every bit the girl she was in the Spirit Trials.
“Okay. We’ve got to move,” I tell them. Neither of them waste a moment arguing. We each know our position and job. Kinsley will head to the main gathering room with the others. She fought Kaldar a long time, but finally took on the responsibility of being in charge of those left behind. Farrah will join Rysden and his soldiers. She’s a crack shot with her bow, and Rysden knows that. As much as he wanted her to stay behind, he knows they could use her. He finally gave up fighting her on it. All three of us hear the alarm and lock eyes. Kinsley looks the most panicked among us. “It’s going to be okay,” I tell them. “We’re going tofight and finish this thing and end them, so they are no longer a threat.”
“Yes, we are,” Farrah echoes. She still looks pale, and I really hope she’s up to this.
“Are you having a tea party in there? Let’s go!” Reika bellows from the door.
“I always did like her; she’s so sweet,” I say in a deadpan voice.
Kinsley grabs her bag that she’s had packed, and we all three head out. “Finally!” Reika says. “Kinsley, you’re with me.”
Kinsley, used to her giving orders, doesn’t argue with her. Farrah and I move ahead of them. When we get to the sand, Redara is waiting for me. “Be safe,” I tell Farrah.
Her solemn eyes meet mine. “You too.” Before I realize it, she’s hugging me so tight it feels like a chokehold. And then she’s off and moving into the trees. Kinsley and Reika step off the wooden walkway and onto the sand.
Kinsley hugs me next and steps back to look into my eyes. “Don’t be a hero out there, Harper. Be safe. Please.” Her last word is almost a whisper.
I just nod, and she and Reika move into the trees as well. I turn around, doing a mental check to make sure I have all my weapons. Then I approach Redara. I put my hand on her leg.You ready for this?
Of course.
I pause a moment trying to think of what to say and then just go for it.I’m sorry Noxlyn’s not here.We haven’t talked about it since they left. As frustrated as I feel, I’m sure that’s nothing towhat she feels.
Are we flying or not?She asks, and I get her message loud and clear. There will be no talking about it.
Yes.I’m on her back seconds later. I’ve barely settled before she starts running and then launches into the air. I don’t bother checking in with Kaldar, Rysden, or any of the leaders of their armies. I know my job. Stick to the skies and take out as many guivres from above as I can. They'll take care of the ones on the ground; the skies are ours. We do a sweep over the area. When we don’t see anything, we fly further. We don’t get too far before Redara turns back.
She lands in an open field, further south of where the homes all lie.I’m going to conserve energy and wait.
I agree with her.It’s a good idea.If we engage now, we’ll be worn out by the time they even get close. Then we won’t be a help in the sky when they attack our soldiers on the ground. It doesn’t take long for Kaldar’s and Rysden’s armies to join us. They spread out, looking fierce and deadly. The two armies stretch as far as my eye can see, but I wonder if even it will be enough. We don’t really know how many guivres we’re facing. From Redara’s reports, we gathered they boast maybe a hundred, maybe two hundred? We really don’t know. But when it’s fire-breathing guivres against soldiers and spirit animals on the ground, it’s still an unfair fight. It doesn’t help that it usually takes a team of four to five soldiers to bring one of those things down. It also changes everything that they can see now. Before, Redara could take them by surprise and incinerate them with dragon fire. Now, they’ll know we’re there and be able to defendagainst it, making it a much harder fight.
I hear Kaldar’s voice and turn to listen in. “Thank you for standing here today, both my own soldiers and the soldiers from the Wolf Kingdom. I want you to remember something today when you face what’s coming. They may be in the sky, and they may have dragon fire. There could even be more of them than us.”
Wow, he’s super motivating,Redara sends me.
Hush,I send back and continue to listen to Kaldar.
“But they don’t have something that we have. They don’t have homes. They don’t have mates and children. They don’t have a life built on love and community and giving. They only have greed and the desire to destroy. We will be victorious against them today. We will stand strong and true, a united front of two kingdoms. We will not let them destroy the lives we have. Our children and our descendants are counting on us today. One day, it will be written in our history of the day we stood against the guivres and won and wiped them from the face of the earth.” Thunderous applause and cheering nearly rocks the ground beneath Redara’s feet. “Our children’s children won’t even know what a guivre is except from the tales of history. They won’t know what it’s like to live in fear of them. They won’t know what it’s like to have their home burned to the ground because of them. They won’t know the pain of losing someone to a guivre. They will only know peace and a future of hope because of the stand we took today.” More applause thunders across the open field. “Today, we take our stand to rewrite history and write a better one for our children and their children. Down with the guivres!” Heroars. “Not one of them will be left standing after today to terrorize our homes, our children, and our loved ones.” The applause and cheering is so strong, my hair blows back. “For the Jaguar Kingdom!” Kaldar shouts, and all the people echo him.
