Say the Word #2
There was a collective intake of breath from the crowd, followed by complete silence. Drayce slowly turned his face back to me, and I wasn’t sure what I saw in the look. It wasn’t anger, but his pride was definitely hurt.
I didn’t move, save for my heaving chest.
“Class dismissed,” was all he said, deadly calm.
Shit.
He didn’t take his eyes off me as the group, including a satisfied-looking Torin, dissipated, leaving us alone.
I opened my mouth to speak, but he said, “You lost your composure, Naci.”
“You were being a dick!”
He stepped close, but I held my ground.
“You let your emotions win,” he said with a sweep of my legs with his foot, sending me to the ground on my side, knocking the breath from me.
I looked up at him, gritting my teeth against the pain as I tried to regain my breath.
I got to my knees and saw my opportunity. Under the guise of getting to my feet, I lunged from my stance on the ground and wrapped him around his knees, taking us both to the ground.
He grunted on impact as I climbed on top of him.
Before I could even consider whether I’d continue the fight and punch him, he thrust his hips up, sending me forward and over him.
I caught my weight with my hands on the ground, but at the expense of Drayce wrapping an arm around my middle and flipping me onto my back with ease.
He was between my legs, his free arm pinning one of mine to the ground as I struggled to get free and pounded his back with my unbound hand. He slid his other arm out from under my back to pin my second wrist, my entire torso exposed and rendering me unable to move.
“I will not fight you in an unfair fight, Naci. You’re already hurt.”
I stopped struggling, and his grip on me loosened. With every heaving breath, my chest met his as his gaze searched mine. His face was inches away, close enough to see every hue of brown and gold in his eyes.
My shadows had gone mysteriously quiet.
The seconds felt like hours underneath him, just staring into each other’s eyes. Something was happening here, and I didn’t know what.
His gaze dropped to my lips, making my stomach flutter.
“Dray! New intel,” Bramick gasped as he ran into the ring, as if he’d sprinted all the way from Fallorian.
Drayce finally took his eyes off me. I felt as if a bucket of water had been thrown over my head, dousing the heat that had built between us.
Bramick was ignoring the fact that Drayce was on top of me.
“What is it, Bram?” he asked, releasing my pinned arms and getting to his feet, offering me a hand in the process.
“Caedryn is moving half of his army into Vydran.”
Drayce stilled. “The purge.”
My heart dropped. We knew if Vydran was purged, Ashenholt wouldn’t be far behind.
We were out of time.
Bramick nodded, handing Drayce the missive he’d taken from a messenger bird.
Drayce read through it twice before crumpling the small scroll in his hand. “We need to move fast. Gather the captains. Meet us in the war room in ten.”
Bramick nodded and left with haste, leaving Drayce and me alone once more.
But now, in the span of just a few seconds, everything had changed, our moment all but forgotten.
“We need a plan fast. To get to Ashenholt and into Ashthorn Castle,” Drayce said, as I fell into step next to him and we headed toward the main building. “None of this stops so long as Caedryn is breathing. I don’t want to put you in danger, but I want to offer—”
“Shut up. Count me in.” My heart was pounding for an entirely different reason now.
He stared at me in awe for the briefest moment before he smiled and said, “Okay then, let’s go make a godsdamned plan.”
* * *
We walked into the familiar, cramped, and messy council room, with a large round table that comfortably seated ten, to find it full, save for two seats reserved for Drayce and me.
Aerie and Bramick were here as the army’s air and ground battalion captains, respectively, plus Sevrin representing the Arcanums, Kellan as the Pathfinder leader and mortal forces commander, Brennor as the Guild leader, and the Hearth and Vanguard leaders.
A few other junior commanders that I’d seen but didn’t know the names of were standing, lining the wall.
“We knew this day was coming,” Drayce said. “It just came sooner than anyone could anticipate. We need to leave for Ashenholt within the week.”
Discussion erupted, too many voices to pick out anyone specifically.
Drayce and I glanced at each other before he yelled, “One at a time! This is the time for organization and precision, not chaos and emotion. Everyone in this room is a leader. I expect everyone to act like it.”
The room went silent, all eyes on him.
Gods, it wasn’t the time, but it was so hot when he commanded attention and respect and received it.
Maybe our moment wasn’t completely forgotten.
“We can’t use the underground tunnel to access the castle anymore. We collapsed that after our last mission there, and we’ve heard Caedryn has extended the wards underground. We’ll have to find a new way in.”
“I can have a scout team ready to fly tomorrow and provide real-time aerial intel,” Aerie said. “If we bring Noxie, we can communicate back to base through Naci.”
All eyes turned on me.
“We’ve never tested that distance with our bond, but if it can stretch that far, then I consent, if Noxie does.”
“Thanks for signing me up...”
“Sorry, Noxie, but…it’s go-time.”
“It doesn’t have to be the entire distance,” Aerie refuted. “I propose we take a ship into the Elyssar Sea, positioned far enough off Ashenholt’s coast that it can’t be seen but close enough Noxie can be stationed and communicate with me, and Naci can relay to command on the ship.”
This was the beginning of a solid plan, setting my heart racing with excitement.
“Alright, we propose to have one ship stationed for the communication of aerial updates. I need more justification for sending a ship into enemy waters,” Drayce challenged, rolling up his sleeves and placing his hands on the table.
“I’ll take the ship too,” Bramick said with a swallow. “Some of the aerial scout unit can…carry me to the wards. So I can feel out the weaknesses in the magic’s vibrations where we can exploit and break through.” His distaste for being carried in the claws of the avian vey was very apparent.
“Denied. I need you with the ground unit to guide our team from the ship to the Ashthorn entry point,” Drayce said.
Bramick wasn’t convinced. “So then, how do we find our entry point from just the aerial scouts?”
Drayce looked at me, followed by everyone else.
I cleared my throat. “I can, um, fly in with the aerial unit. They can carry me in, and I’ll check the wards for weak points. I’ll relay what I find to Noxie on the ship, who can then pass it along to Aerie to share with the rest of the team. Then you guys can make a plan from the ship.”
Drayce’s stare bored into mine, wanting to protest but clearly holding back.
After several tense moments, he broke the stare and said to the room, “Okay, so we know then where the weak points in Ashthorn’s wards are. Assuming we find a safe way in, we have the infiltration team stationed on the ship ready to deploy. What’s the move?”
It never ceased to amaze me how much Drayce trusted the others in this room and took their input to heart in his grand plans.
“I volunteer myself for the infiltration team,” Sevrin offered quietly. “The rumors say Umbrathrens surround the crown royals. I can help there once we’re inside.”
There was a collective intake of breath from the room. Umbra magic made everyone uneasy, and their unease made me feel dirty and contaminated.
“And I volunteer my best healer, Elene, to accompany the group, in case of…emergencies,” said the leader of the Hearth order.
“And I volunteer my best smiths, here, in the coming days, to construct any weapons and armor that the team may require. I can accompany the infiltration team should a smith be needed on the ground in battle,” Brennor said.
At least over the last few weeks of strategy meetings, he’d stopped openly glaring at me.
“I’ll go too as part of the ground unit. The mortals deserve Caedryn’s blood.” This was Kellan. Magic and abilities like light bending and storm commanding were critical in battle, but I’d seen Kellan wield every weapon imaginable. He was at no disadvantage whatsoever being mortal.
“All of your contributions are necessary and appreciated,” Drayce said. “But we need a plan for once we’re in. Naci…none of us know Ashthorn like you.”
My stomach flipped—not because he was right, that I knew a shit place like Ashthorn like the back of my hand—but because it meant I needed to relive my time there.
I took two deep breaths with my eyes closed before I addressed the silently staring room.
“If I can find a weak point that we can exploit in the wards, I can get our team from there to the servants’ corridors, where we can navigate to any part of the castle.
We would likely run into servants along the way. No guards or royals, though.”
“And we should believe what she tells us? She lived there as one of them!” It was Brennor that spoke up, just as I thought he was coming around to me.
All eyes shot to him. I could feel the anger pulsating off Drayce next to me, but it was Bramick who spoke.
“I’d believe Naci if she told me the sky had turned green and that left was now right.
She’s one of us, and if you don’t believe it, then you’re not one of us.
She’s the damned daughter of the best leader this rebellion has ever seen…
no offense, Dray.” He had the decency to look abashed when he looked over at our fearless leader, to which Drayce simply smiled and nodded.
“So if you have a problem with her, you have a problem with me. I’ll gladly take this outside if you don’t shut the fuck up and get in line.
And that goes for anyone else who doesn’t trust Naci implicitly.
If I do, and Dray does, everyone else should too. ”