But the animals part around us, streaming past like a shoal of fish darting around boats at sea. One of the wolfish animals passes by us so close I see the texture of his fur and smell the hot meat smell of his breath. Still, none of the creatures pay us any attention as they bound after the Temple soldiers, plunging into the battle in a storm of teeth and claws.
“Didyoucall them?” Tira shouts to the dryads when the herd starts to thin.
One of them turns, breaking their prayer to answer. “We simply sent a message explaining that Caledon’s army wished to tear apart the forest. The animals came of their own free will. They’re eager to defend their home. Now please, we must attend to the trees next.”
An excited yip sounds near our feet as the dryad turns back to her colleagues. I look down to see a mass of red fur and four flicking tails.
“Dots!” I shout.
My korigos friend jumps up to place its front paws on my horse—I can only assume Dots’s magic is what stops the animal from startling—and allows me to scritch between his ears. Then he bounds over to Tira for the same.
“Do you think he’ll lead us through this mess?” Leon asks, nodding toward the heart of the battle, which has gotten only more chaotic now the animals have joined. “We could use an all-seeing guide right now.”
“I think that’s exactly what he’s come for,” I say as Dots leaps forward, pointing his nose north—toward where we think Caledon will be. Then he looks over his shoulder, tongue lolling at us. I have no doubt he’s waiting for us to follow.
However, I can’t ignore the skeptical faces of my Trovian guard.
“Trust me, Dots knows what he’s doing. He’s no regular fox,” I say.
Will shakes his head and smiles. “You were always good at making friends,” he says.
“What do you mean?” I ask as my guards give in, and we direct our horses after the korigos.
He chuckles. “I knew very well that Tira wasn’t the only village kid you hung out with. Her mother wouldn’t have let her teach youallthose curse words.”
I gape at him. “You knew I was sneaking out of Gallawing?”
“Let’s just say I strongly suspected it, though I never tried to find out for certain. Then I’d have to have put a stop to it,” he says with a wink.
With the Temple occupied by the forest animals, we follow our own Miravow guide, his four red tails wagging as he darts this way and that. By the time we’ve set off with him, the trees aren’t nearly as agitated. There’s still the occasional branch or root that tries to trip us up, but Tira deals with it, and it’s clear the dryads’ hard work is paying off.
Dots leads us on a strange, roundabout path, thicker with foliage than the other parts of the forest we’ve been fighting in. It forces us to dismount at times and push our way through the dense undergrowth. More than once, Drisha asks for assurance that we won’t get lost, and I promise him Dots knows what he’s doing.
I’m proven right when we hear the sounds of battle again. We’ve gone around rather than through, avoiding the worst of the fighting, but it sounds like some of our forces have pushed forward in the meantime. We burst out onto a long stretch where the trees are spread further apart, creating a kind of avenue.
Dots yips and tilts his head at me.
“Thank you!” I call to the animal. “But you should get out of here now. Go, be safe.” I don’t want him to become a casualty.
The animal bows his head, jumps up briefly to lick Tira’s hand, then disappears back into the forest.
When he’s gone, I take stock of our position. We’re on the east side of the avenue, and to the southern end, several units of fae and Trovian soldiers are trying to gain ground. There are more Temple forces here, however, working to push them back, so I guess we’ve reached the heart of their army.
And that means Caledon must be nearby.
I scan the avenue for him, thinking I can perhaps make out a flash of white toward the northern end.
“Let’s go that way,” I point, just as I feel the fizz of powerful magic light up a few feet away.
It happens so quickly I think my brain has tricked me at first. One moment we’re starting to breach the edge of the fighting, the next a wall of flame is blazing toward our left flank.
“No!” One of my guards pulls his horse around, casting a whistling gust of air that swirls the flames away from me. It’s Will, I realize, just as a second blaze comes, this time too fast for him to blow it away.
The flames die before they reach me but hit Will square on.
“Will!” I shout as his horse rears, screaming in pain, sending my friend plummeting to the ground. I look up and see a figure in a purple sash, his long dark hair falling beside his sallow face.
Tributin, the bearer from the high temple, stares at me with pure loathing. But the hate I feel for him in that moment outstrips it by miles. I snatch out at his inner flame, squeezing it. Tributin’s eyes widen, and he makes a choking noise as his flame fights me. It doesn’t matter—Leon has already charged at him, seizing the bearer by his neck and pressing his blade to the soft flesh there.
