Chapter Eleven #2
The four of us stood on the main deck as we navigated through the water away from the Thaician Empire.
Ships, lit with blazing flames, were being pushed out to sea, and the panic of the guards in the harbor filled the air.
The inferno glowing behind us felt like a victory despite the war being far from over.
After a long moment, Kyella spoke softly, “Let’s gather everyone. We need to talk about what to do next. With how many moving parts there are, I want every leader to be part of the discussion. Can we arrange that?”
“Of course,” I said as Dakath nodded, striding toward one of the other crew members to give the order while Kolvar moved in Tristan’s direction.
I pressed my nose against Kyella’s hair as she melted against me, allowing myself to savor the feeling of having her in my arms. I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to hold her like this again soon—possibly not until this damn war was over.
A short time later, once we joined the fleet and the other captains and leaders had been brought onto our ship, we gathered over a table once more, using only a few torches to illuminate the map spread before us.
“We need to figure this out as quickly as possible,” Kyella said in a commanding tone, standing with her shoulders squared as she considered the group studying the map.
“I don’t want to risk having the torches lit longer than necessary, especially because we have managed to come this far without detection. ”
“Absolutely,” Tristan voiced his agreement.
At the earlier meeting, I’d been impressed by Tristan and it was clear that he was a natural leader.
I wasn’t positive what his position or rank was under Malakai’s rule, but I could tell that he was suited to leadership.
It could only fare well for us in this war, with him leading the main forces into battle.
“Tonight was nothing but a taste of the upcoming battle we face,” Kyella began, her finger pointing at the docks that we had hopefully managed to clear.
“Tomorrow begins the true war. Tristan, you will be leading our main force in the land attack, ideally drawing Malakai’s attention and military forces there. ”
I added, “I think you’ll find that your efforts to draw everyone there, even soldiers from the outskirts of the city, will work well. Tonight’s fire seemed to gain a vast amount of attention, so that alone may have done half of the job for us.”
At least that was the hope.
“That would be ideal,” Kolvar pointed out.
“What about our stealth group?” Dakath questioned, and my stomach tightened with the thought of Kyella joining us. I knew I couldn’t always protect her, but that didn’t mean I was happy about her insistence of putting herself in harm’s way.
“We will travel along the coastline, bypassing the sea wall.” She traced the coastline on the map before coming to an unmarked beige patch, “Then we’ll dock here. Hopefully, this will allow us to rescue those who aren’t part of this war before surrounding Malakai from all sides.”
It was a brilliant plan, but there were other factors to consider.
“Assuming we take a number of ships down the coastline,” I started. “What other factors should we consider?”
“My main concern is the guards that are posted overlooking the sea, so you will need to try to stay as close as possible to the sea wall.”
“The guards aren’t your biggest concern then,” a voice drew out, pulling my gaze to the captain of our own ship, his eyes darkened on the map.
“I didn’t see the cliffs in detail today since it was already dark, but from my experience, we’ll be dealing with waves that could easily turn deadly if we aren’t careful.
The last thing we want is to sail too close and end up being smashed against the rocks. ”
Shit. He was absolutely right.
Kyella nodded in understanding. “Do you think we will be able to do it without detection? Of course, I look to all of you to make the right decision while sailing in such dangerous conditions, but our element of surprise will be taken away if they see us sailing in that direction.”
The captain studied the map further, pointing toward the middle of the sea wall, where it seemed to dip in just slightly.
“Our biggest struggle will come in this middle section where the force of the waves will grow, but I think we can do it. At least, we are going to damn well try. We want to get these people out of there, and with the dock being attacked, there will be no other way.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Kyella said with a sharp nod before looking back down at the map. “I am still concerned about the guards, however. Tristan, do we know exactly where they’re posted?”
“I do not,” Tristan admitted. “To an extent, I can assume they’re laid out fairly evenly, but I was never put on duty there. If I had to guess, there aren’t many. Malakai didn’t see a need in the first place, claiming that no one would ever attack us.”
Look how fucking wrong he was.
“Plus, the current and seas are known to be rough, so it isn’t an ideal post,” he added.
“I hope that won’t scare people away from wanting to get onto the ship to escape,” Kyella pointed out.
“I think you will find most people immediately jumping at the opportunity to flee onto the ships no matter what, as terrifying as the ocean is—a war between two vast empires is far more intimidating,” Dakath said quietly, his frame still and tense.
“Plus,” I drew out, “the ships will stay docked there as we invade from that direction, so they may never need to go out to sea. Unless we aren’t successful in our endeavor and need to ensure they truly escape, they may be able to get right off the boat following all of this and return to their homes. ”
Kyella spoke softly but with a hard tone, “We won’t allow him to use his people as pawns in such a dangerous war.” Exactly. Pride filled my chest at the sight of Kyella’s words inspiring those gathered around us to nod in agreement.
I looked up at the sky. “We have a few hours before dawn. If you agree, Empress, I think it would be good to have the stealth group prepared to leave before first light. We shouldn’t risk the potential of anyone seeing us.”
“Agreed.” Kyella’s voice was filled with fire, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
“By that point the boats should have drifted out to sea and burnt, so the frontal attack will be able to move in as well. Tristan, we will be taking this ship, so we must ensure that everything you need is transferred to a different one.”
“Will do,” he said, nodding sharply.
“Everyone should try to get a few hours of rest,” I added. “We have a long day ahead of us.”
As people began to talk in smaller groups, Kyella looked at the three of us and exhaled, “Everyone should get some rest, I’m just not sure I can sleep after something like this.”
I understood that very well. “How about we sit on the deck, and if you fall asleep, we can rest while still keeping an eye on everything?”
After a long moment of thought, she agreed and our much smaller group found our way on the front of the ship, our eyes focused on the blazing glory of the Thaician shores.
Wrapping a blanket around Kyella for comfort, she laid her head against my shoulder, and I met the gaze of both Dakath and Kolvar who had been watching her.
I was glad she was resting because come dawn, we would be fully submerged in a war that only had one end: Malakai’s death.