Chapter 57
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
SOFIA
The next two days were spent attempting to turn the shapeshifters from five different tribes across Wueco into a single unit that could fight together.
While most of those who had come were ready to fight, there were a few children scattered among the group that Ielo took under his wing.
They made camp nearby Quelia’s Womb, along with any others unable to fight.
There were nearly fifty new recruits, many of whom were hunters who had faced off against wolfshifters and faeries before. Still, they weren’t trained in war—not that any of the resistance was themselves. They were bred to be spies, sneaking into the city to plant their black powder and leave.
And they’d definitely never learned to fight with dragons.
The first day, they’d spent hours practicing flying, the shifters struggling not to accidentally slip into their animal forms out of stress or anxiety.
By the afternoon, Sofia had had too many moments of panic seeing a small rabbit or fox flying off the back of a dragon before being caught in their talons and brought back to the ground to safety.
After that, the plan changed, letting any of the shifters that hadn’t intuitively taken to riding the dragons make arrows to attack from the trees. The goal was to try to fight from a distance as much as possible, to avoid casualties. Even with that in mind, Sofia was worried.
Javi’s voice broke through her thoughts, and she felt him coming up behind her. “We’re going to win.”
She couldn’t help the small huff of laughter. “Where are you getting your confidence from? I could use some.”
He shrugged, his shoulder brushing against hers. “There’s no other option. We’re going to win because we don’t have another choice. We win or we die.”
“Harlow’s probably giving the same speech to his men right now.”
It was Javi’s turn to laugh, a dry, humorless thing.
“I doubt it. They think they’ll win because they believe it’s inevitable.
We’re the obstacle in their way to be brushed aside.
But that’s the exact reason they won’t win.
They won’t be fighting for their lives. They aren’t willing to sacrifice everything. ”
Sofia wrapped her arms around herself. “And we are? Am I supposed to just ask everyone to sacrifice themselves?”
Javi pulled her into his chest. “You aren’t the one asking us to sacrifice it all.
You’ve always carried the world on your shoulders, but this is a question we’ve asked ourselves.
And yes, I’m willing to sacrifice everything.
My heart-mother is. Micael is. I think many of the shapeshifters are.
They’ll be fighting for loyalty to the crown.
We’ll be fighting for the survival of our people. ”
Sofia pressed her face into his chest, the scent of his musk and sweat as familiar as her own.
“I hope you’re right.”
Sofia was beginning to understand that perhaps a willingness to sacrifice everything didn’t need to be a death wish. She was allowed to want to survive—to want a future.
How prepared she was to watch others sacrifice it all, she wasn’t sure. But looking into Javi’s determined gaze, she was thinking she might not have a choice.
“I’m always right,” he said, and she shoved him away. “Micael needs to talk. The shifters are back from the army’s camp, and he thought you’d want to be there when they give their reports.”
Sofia felt her stomach drop, her thoughts already spinning. “Okay.”
They hiked up the slope toward the main cavern, a thin stream of smoke curling into the air from the fire outside. The sight of it made Sofia’s fingers ache, and she realized how cold she was after hours standing in the snow, helping the shifters train.
The air within the cave was nearly stifling when they entered, and Sofia paused to take a slow breath, adjusting to the change in temperature. The tips of her fingers tingled with the sensation.
The hawkshifter and condorshifter they’d sent to spy on the army’s camp were already sitting, cups of tea steaming in their hands. Micael was talking softly to Clarita, stopping the moment she and Javi walked in.
“How are the flights going?” Clarita asked.
Javi gave a thumbs-up even as Sofia’s lips pulled down into a frown.
“They’re staying on the mounts without shifting,” Javi said. “That’s progress.”
Clarita nodded. “I know you want our attack to be mostly airborne, but my people are used to fighting. We are willing to act as support on the ground and let the dragons take the sky.”
The idea of it twisted Sofia’s stomach. But Clarita was right. It was safer for them to attack in a way that was familiar.
“There will be a few that we’ll want to fight on the dragons,” Sofia said. “Samuel and Jadia learned quickly and are practicing tricks with their dragons already.”
Clarita smiled at this. “I had no doubt with those two.”
“So, give us the lay of the land,” Micael said, cutting through any more small talk. “Where are things in the camp?” The shifter he was staring at, Bria, swallowed her tea, choking slightly. Micael seemed to realize he was glaring and softened his face, leaning back. “When you’re ready.”
Franco answered instead, slapping Bria on the back twice.
“It was how you described with the wolfshifters at the north of the camp and the humans at the south. It doesn’t look like they’ve moved anything otherwise.
There’s a small fence separating the camps, and there is a slice of no-man’s-land between them.
They have their prisoner at the center of the human camp, in the open.
Bria looked at Sofia as Franco said this, and she knew she’d clearly been clued in as to who that prisoner was. Sofia felt her head swimming, but tried to keep her face neutral. She’d guessed—hoped—Harlow would keep Fox alive.
“It looks like a trap,” Bria said. “Like the chief commander is looking to lure us in with him.”
Sofia gave a stiff nod, and Javi reached out to place a warm hand on her knee. She expected nothing less. This was no less personal for Harlow than it was for her at this point. She was starting to think he wanted her dead just as much as he wanted the rest of the dragons.
“And the wolfshifter side of camp, what kind of access do we have?”
“They’re a bit more scattered than the humans.
There is no strict border to their camp, since they don’t use tents or fortifications and they tend to move as individuals, wandering out of the camp alone.
We should be able to stage a conversation easily enough for them to overhear—they’ll hopefully spread any rumor we need them to.
You’ll need humans for that part though, since they’ll be able to smell any shifter. ”
Sofia nodded. She’d guessed as much.
“I still have the uniform we stole,” Javi said.
“Juan has already volunteered to go, as well,” Micael said. “He doesn’t have a uniform, but if it’s dark, they won’t know otherwise.”
“It won’t take much,” Bria said, setting her empty cup down and staring at them across the fire. “Even in the short time we were flying above, a fight broke out between two humans and a shifter over something to do with food. I don’t think the humans are getting enough to eat.”
Sofia pursed her lips. “I’m not surprised. The city functions on farming and domesticated animals. The army is trained to hunt, but they have no experience with the mountains or the faeries. Without the shifters and dragons, we’d be living off rabbits and nuts.”
“The point is tensions are already high,” Micael said. “We just need to push it over the edge.”
He paused, watching as Bria’s face broke into a nearly painful-looking yawn.
“We’ll work out the details over dinner. You can both rest before then. You’ve had a long night. Meet back here at sunset.”
They scattered, Javi and Sofia both moving back into the cave they’d claimed.
It was empty. Jacinta had left that morning to help the dragons with fortifying Quelia’s Womb from further attacks, and her father had volunteered to help.
He’d been a carpenter back in the day, though Sofia didn’t know if he’d still been working when Harlow had captured him.
They’d only spoken briefly of those things.
Just enough to know that Harlow had found him and her mom within hours of her escaping the city.
Probably before Fox had even had a moment to recover and consider looking for them.
They’d been locked in the same cavern as Eha. The one Sofia had been in—just a few walls separating them.
“Are you okay?”
The sound of Javi’s voice made her flinch. She saw his lips tighten as he watched her.
“I’m fine.” She said the words even as she knew he wouldn’t believe her. She sighed, sitting down on her furs and waiting for him to follow. He sat beside her, their shoulders pressed together.
“Tell me,” he said. He leaned his head on her shoulder, his curls brushing against her cheek.
“I hate him.” She let the words out as a breath, and they filled the cavern, pressing in around her.
“I knew that,” Javi said, his voice light.
“He’s taken so much from me.” Her eyes were focused on the furs where Fox had slept, where her father now slept.
“He keeps taking and taking. I joined the resistance because I wanted to take everything from him. I wanted to burn down everything he and the king had created. And all I’ve done is find more things for him to take from me. More people.”
Javi pulled her into him, wrapping his arm around her. “I remember when you first found me and slipped that note into my hand,” he said. “I thought you were the stupidest creature I’d ever met. What were you thinking? I could have been a spy or a random Dragonborn.”
“You weren’t. I’d been watching you for a week at that point. I knew exactly who you worked for.”
“That’s…terrifying.” He pulled back to shake his head at her. “But despite Micael warning me away from you, I knew you needed to join. You needed the resistance. I could see the raw hunger on your face. You needed your revenge, or your helplessness was going to eat you alive.”
“You gave me a chance at that revenge. You gave me a chance to actually kill Harlow. And my goal hasn’t changed. I want to kill him. I want to watch as the life drains from his eyes.”
“But…?” Javi said, starting the sentence she hadn’t said out loud.
“I’m afraid I don’t know who I am outside my rage,” she said. “I think a part of me never expected to live through this. But now—”
“Now you have a reason to survive.”
Sofia’s eyes burned. “It’s not like I didn’t have a reason to survive before. I’ve always loved you and Flor.”
“It’s different.”
“I don’t know why,” she said.
“You know I love you,” Javi said, his voice turning serious.
“I will love you no matter what. But I have to say, I’ve loved seeing you happy.
” He reached out, tracing the line between her eyes.
“The way the lines around your eyes soften and disappear when you’re with Fox.
I don’t get it. I still think he’s an idiot, but I like the way you look when you’re with him.
I think he woke up something inside you that had been asleep for a very long time. ”
“If I admit I’m happy, doesn’t that just mean I have more to lose?”
“Then you’ll fight harder. You’ll fight for him and you’ll fight to hold on to that happiness.
You’ve been fighting with your rage for so long, perhaps it’s time to try something new.
You’re not giving up your rage, you’re only adding more reasons to survive this.
And what did I say out there? Our need to survive will be the reason we win. ”
Tears burned in her eyes, and she shoved Javi. “Why did you go and make me cry?”
He laughed, and she pressed her face into his shoulder, letting the hot tears fall.
“I wish Flor were here.”
“I’m sure she’s being an absolute terror in Suvi right now. She’s probably perfectly content.”
Sofia laughed. She didn’t pull away. She and Javi sat together, her face pressed against him until her tears finally dried.
Resolve beat in her chest.