Chapter 62 Dae
Dae
Never before had I pushed this hard for so long in my shifted form.
Without The Order members to clear the veins of the Black Pool through Witches Pass, we needed to hug the mountain. The constant change in incline and jagged declines strained my joints. My body was desperate for sustenance, but only meager scraps remained from our packed bag.
Still, I ran at a steady pace with Ro clutching my back.
Days had passed since we’d last slept for more than a couple hours at a time, since we were the ones on patrol two nights ago. Something about a behemoth dragon nearly roasting us to death made it difficult to sleep soundly on the mountainside on our way back through the Pass.
Not only did my animal senses beg me to turn back as we again neared the Black Pool, but so did my common sense. Fleeing the outpost had been one thing, but reentering The Order’s settlement after that was quite another.
We faced a difficult task: enter the settlement unnoticed, free her friends undetected, and leave without being followed.
Ro would make it out, and so would her friends.
I would ensure it, no matter the cost. It was that resolve that pushed me as pebbles and uneven stone dug into my paws with every bound.
Our best chances lay with capitalizing on the fanfare that bringing in two magic wielders would stir.
What had once been a steady flow of magically blessed had diminished over several months to a pathetic trickle.
Greedy members would fight for their shot at infusing themselves with secondary and tertiary magic.
If what Ro told me was true, that the woman, Melody, wielded light, something unknown to the magically blessed in our time, she would ignite a frenzy. Her friend, Tio, would make an adequate sacrifice as well.
Exhaustion began weighing me down, each jump less graceful than the last. The sun was halfway to setting. Maneuvering the mountain greatly hindered our travel time, even in my shifted form.
My paw slipped on loose shale, sending pebbles and stones careening down the steep decline to my left. For the first time since the morning, I paused.
“What’s wrong?” Ro asked. She wouldn’t say it, but I knew she was exhausted, too. Her body must have ached straddling me for so long. And not in the way I wanted her to.
“Nothing,” I lied, continuing with less fervor than before, disguising my fatigue as decisive consideration on the slippery terrain.
“Dae,” she spoke into my mind, her celestial voice entrapping my heart, just like when she held that mad glimmer in her eye the day she stood above me, aiming her arrow.
“I love your voice, do you know that?” Maybe it was the tiredness gnawing at my awareness, or a hopeful distraction from the soreness wrapping my muscles. Or maybe it was simply a truth that I wanted her to know.
“What?” she asked, confusion clear in her mind’s voice.
“Your voice. When I hear it, it’s like a birdsong in a lush forest. Meant to be there. It sounds the same in your mind, you know.”
My feline lips curved at her silence. “And your hair. When the light hits it, it almost glows, like the gleam of a roaring fire.”
More silence.
“And your eyes. Warm brown like the hue of fresh soil, but tinted green like life blooms from within them.” Filling my mind with thoughts of her distracted from the pain.
“You’re welcome to compliment me anytime, you know,” I teased.
“I’m scared,” was all she said when she finally replied.
Maybe some would have been offended that she didn’t reciprocate, sharing flattering words in return. But those two words she offered held more value, and my heart swelled at the same time that it ached.
Vulnerability. A part of her she so rarely shared with anyone, something she buried deep beneath capable skills and quick retorts. It was more intimate than cheap flirtation and praising words.
“When we get them out, where will we go? Straight to your camp?” All I could offer was distraction.
My elbow cracked as I prowled over a fallen log in the sparse trees, physical evidence of the wear on my body.
“We should go to your brothers.”
I was shocked by the suggestion, considering it briefly. “They’re deep in Windguard, Ro. You shouldn’t risk it, not if the king’s soldiers are expecting you back soon. They’ll spot you before we make it south.”
“I have a feeling we’re running out of time, Dae. You’re helping me retrieve my loved ones. The least I can do is return the favor.”
“You owe me nothing,” I said.
“I owe you everything.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
My heart had never weighed so heavy. She couldn’t know what she’d done for me, to restore my life to something worth having, yet she thought she had reason to be grateful.
“You have given me everything, Ro. I’ve been so lost in this hellscape for so long, I’d killed almost every part of myself. You’ve taught me how to live again. Don’t you ever think for one second that you owe me a single thing.”
On my next step, my body faltered.
“That’s it,” Ro said, sliding off my back. “You need a break.”
“We’re already behind.”
“It won’t do us any good to show up and collapse. When we get there, we need to be ready to fight our way out.”
“Time is limited, Ro.”
“I know that!” she snapped, her anger echoing off the rock and trees.
Shame ricocheted through me. I didn’t need to reiterate something she already knew, something she knowingly weighed when it came to my well being. “I know you do. I’m sorry.”
She folded to the ground. “My body is so stiff. I’m going in under prepared and outnumbered. Tio needs me. Yet I know if it comes down to it, he’ll ask me to save Melody over him. And I…I don’t know if I’ll be able to make that call.” She buried her face in her hands.
I curled around her, accepting the moment of rest that we both needed.
“He’s my best friend. I can’t lose him.”
Braxius fluttered around her head, scratching at her hair. She loosed a soft chuckle. “You’re my best friend, too,” she said to the little complainer.
“Stretch and relax. We won’t take long. I think we can make it before nightfall.”
We didn’t.
Which meant we probably didn’t beat Carmin here, either.
“This complicates things,” I said.
“What do you think we should do? Maybe with everything that happened, they forgot to mention us slipping away?” Ro said.
“If they didn’t, patrols will be higher.”
“How many to the front gate?” Ro asked.
“Increased patrol would mean four to six to the front gate. Usually there’s only two at night, three in the day.”
We sat in the unnaturally silent woods, tucked into the brush along the outskirts of camp. Ro unbound and re-braided her long hair, pulling back any loose strands.
I sensed the incoming messenger before his shadow took form. Braxius fluttered around Ro before landing on her shoulder.
“He says there’s two at the gate,” Ro whispered with optimistic delight.
I wished that meant I felt better about this. I shifted into my human form, ready to attempt our plan. Soreness pummeled my body like a ton of bricks, the strain of travel stronger in this body. I stretched my neck and my shoulders, counteracting the tension that seared my muscles.
“Are you okay?” Ro asked, the gentle touch of her warm hand on my arm soothing the pain in that spot.
Instead of using words, I cupped her face and lowered my lips to hers.
Gods, I’d wanted to do that for days. Our tongues lazily grazed one another’s with no hurry.
Sweet appreciation. When I finally pulled away, her eyes glistened under the sliver of moonlight that broke through the leaves above.
I used the pad of my thumb to caress her cheek before placing a kiss upon her forehead. “Let’s go.”
We eventually emerged onto the main road leading to the camp, effectively bypassing the stationed sentinels down the lane. The two guards leaned against wooden posts, engaged in casual conversation when they spotted our approach and stiffened.
Ro played it perfectly, walking with all the unbothered confidence of someone who belonged here. I fought against the aches in my body to portray the same. Our approach did its job. The men didn’t react as if we were intruders, which was more confirmation our desertion hadn’t been announced.
When one of them looked like they might be considering stopping us, I threw my arm around Ro’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.
She smiled brazenly up at me, and the smile I bore was genuine as I took in all that she was.
Glancing at one of the men, I tossed a wink in his direction.
Quickly the man found something on the ground more interesting, the public display of affection off-putting to most. If his partner didn’t buy it, he didn’t say anything. As long as he didn’t raise the alarm, I didn’t care.
We strode past without a single word, strutting into the sleeping camp. The fact that it was so quiet was unconventional. Had the group to Devera even returned yet? Two magic wielders brought in would most certainly cause a flurry of activity.
Yet, with sparsely lit torches, the camp appeared as docile as any other night. Without letting my arm fall from Ro, I guided her toward the tent I knew would host her friends. No screams tainted the air, which meant the torture hadn’t begun.
Or we’d missed it entirely.
We cleared the corner that gave me full view of the tent to see an extra set of guards had been called in.
“They’re here,” I whispered, wasting no time to hide us by walking behind another tent.
“The fact that no one seems to be aware tells me they’re keeping them a secret. ” Which might complicate things.
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? We can take down those guards and get in and out without notice.” Ro tensed, a restless energy taking hold.
I released a deliberating sigh. “It means I’m not sure exactly what they’re planning. The fact that it’s quiet could very well mean your friends are sedated.” A quiet draining, one that camp members would be none the wiser about. “Follow my lead,” I said, heading straight for the fighting ring.
I made a grand display of wrapping my knuckles, taking my time to prolong the act. Ro fiddled through the arrows on the weapons rack, passing time.
“I’m not letting that opportunity slide by,” I said, too loudly to be normal for this time of night.
“You’ll have to beat me for it,” Ro said with equal exaggeration.
A couple people sat around their fires, glancing in our direction every so often. One man passing by didn’t fail to notice a fight’s preparation. “What’s this then?” he asked.
I didn’t offer him a perceived ounce of energy as I continued wrapping. “What’s it look like?”
The man grumbled.
“He thinks he can prove himself worthy of the new magics. But I’m not letting power like that go to someone already so pompous.
” Ro dropped her hand from the arrows and stalked closer to the ring, crossing her arms before her, throwing daggers at me with her stunning hazel eyes that twinkled from the nearby torches.
Using the word ‘power’ was genius on her part.
Luckily I could smile, acting like it was in response to her thinking she could take me down when really it was because of beaming pride.
My one-sided grin added to my arrogant persona.
“Your first fight was luck, not skill.” I flexed and balled my hand, testing the wrap.
“Before I lay you on your ass, I need to take a piss. Be a good girl and don’t go anywhere. ”
I tossed a winning smile at the man before striding off toward the forest’s edge. When I’d been eclipsed by shadow, I stole a glance back at the ring. The man stood there reeling, contemplation striking his features before he took off.
Gods I wanted to take Ro right here in the shadows.
She’d played that to fucking perfection.
I’d never had anyone to play off of like that, someone on my side, who stepped in perfect rhythm to me like a dance.
We were partners. No, more than that. She moved through the world like a piece of my soul that had been missing.
Protecting my brothers had been my focus, but Ro…
She was my salvation.
The man returned with a few of his comrades. Just as we’d planned. I lingered a final look at that goddess before striding to my next destination.