They didn’t move for the rest of the night.
The moment dawnbroke over the horizon, their camp was a bustle of activity. An air of grimness hovered around them as they tore down the tents and prepared to journey the last few hours to begin their rescue.
“Do you remember what we talked about?” Quinn asked, approaching Ava as she readied her horse.
“Yes.”
They had spent the last several days reviewing their plans, memorizing each step. There were three goals: rescue Casimir, retrieve the book needed to defeat the daemon queen, and rescue Isolde, Jorrar and Kai’s daughter. She was a healer trapped at the camp, who had been captured and forced to healthe prisoners Deidamia and Andras tortured. She had also been the one to help Ava escape, saving her and Remy’s life.
But she had refused to leave with them, mentioning something about her own plans, though Ava had tried to convince her to come. The guilt of not trying harder still sat in her gut like a shameful lead weight.
The group was to split into teams, utilizing the animal companions to create multiple distractions, while Jorrar searched for Isolde and Quinn located the book. That left Ava and Raine to free Casimir.
The distraction would have to last long enough for them to get in and out with as little casualties as possible. Ava couldn’t bear losing another loved one. They planned on setting fire to the far side of camp using Maeryn’s lava magic, and creating golems—animated beings made from mud or clay—to fight the daemon soldiers, keeping them focused on the chaos while the others snuck in for their rescues and retrievals.
Then they would meet at a pre-designated spot and make their trek home.
“Focus on your role and your role only,” ordered Quinn. “Don’t let yourself get distracted by anything else going on in the camp.”
“I know.”
The group rode in silence most of the way. Ava’s hands tightened on the leather reins as she worried her lip through her teeth, trying to suppress the memories hovering at the back of her mind of her own experience at the enemy camp. Where her whole journey had started when she’d gone through the portal on her farm and entered the realm of Eorhan.
And now she was going back.
Ignoring her fear, she focused on her task. It would do no good to get distracted by her anxiety. She’d get Casimir killed if she gave into panic.
After several hours of riding, they split up and proceededthe rest of the way on foot, leaving the horses at their rendezvous point with a small team to guard them. Ava walked through the forest with Raine, stepping over moss-covered logs and ducking beneath low branches. The sounds and smells of camp grew stronger. A bark of laughter from a daemon soldier, the clang of a blacksmith hammering, the smell of meat roasting over a fire, the scent of iron…of blood.
They were close.
Luna hid nearby in the woods, making herself available for communication in between the teams while Raine’s wolf, Sabriel, had joined one of the groups creating a distraction.
After another ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the edge of the enemy base, hiding behind a group of moss-covered boulders in the forest to observe the daemon army and wait for their signal to enter. Ava scanned the scene before her, searching for the tent where she’d been held during her own imprisonment.
“There.” She pointed when she spotted it. “That’s where they kept me.”
Nausea swirled in her stomach as she was brought back to her time spent inside the daemon stronghold. Where she’d been tortured, starved and lost all hope. She’d almost given up, had begged for death. A scream echoed from somewhere within their base, and suddenly Ava was back there, tripping over her feet as she was led through the camp with shackled hands. She had to get away, had to escape, had torun.
“Ava,” a voice called in the distance.
No. No. No. Please.
She couldn’t do it. Couldn’t survive the torture.
“Ava.” The voice was gentle. A hand on her cheek. “Ava, listen to me.”
Raine. She blinked, face to face with gray-blue eyes full of worry. Inhaling a shaky breath, she forced herself to focus onher friend. Real. He was real. She wasn’t being tortured, she wasn’t a prisoner. That was in the past.
“Take a deep breath,” he urged. “In through your nose and out through your mouth.” She did as he instructed. “Good. One more.”
Inhaling, she closed her eyes, urging herself to stay in the present as she felt the grass beneath her hand, focusing on the soft blades to ground herself. With one last deep breath she met Raine’s gaze again.
“Are you alright?”
She nodded, pushing past the flashback. “Yes. I wasn’t expecting…that.”
“It’s okay. It’s hard not to get pulled back into memories sometimes. Now listen to me carefully. Remember…you are not the one trapped right now. Focus on your task. Cas needs us.” Raine’s expression hardened. “Be angry they took your soulbond. Be angry they hurt you. Let that fury fuel your mission.”
