Isla lifted her arm and poked a finger into her own flesh. It dented like normal skin would under pressure.
‘We need to change our plan,’ Aethan said. ‘How can we trust your men not to attack Izzy again?’
I pushed myself to my knees and up to my feet, brushing the dirt off my bottom as I did.
‘This was a civilian,’ Turos said. ‘None of my men are stupid enough to hold a grudge against her for what she did. And besides, she’s saved most of their lives a couple of times now. They owe her.’
The two men faced each other, their clenched fists causing their knuckles to whiten.
‘You need us,’ Turos said. ‘You know we have the advantage of speed, and we have the dragons. When whatever is going to happen, happens, you’re going to need us.’
They stared at each other for another few, tense seconds, then Aethan nodded once. ‘Fine. But if any of your men try anything, I’m holding you personally responsible.’
‘If any of my men try anything, I’m holding me personally responsible.’
Isla shook her head and whispered, ‘Men,’ under her breath. ‘Come on,’ she took my hand and started walking toward where the dragons were.
I poked her arm with my free hand and she smiled at me.
‘Did you know?’ I asked.
‘That that would happen? An arrow bounced off me in the Pass of Bones.’ She shrugged.
‘But you weren’t totally sure and you did it anyway.’
She gave me her widest grin. ‘I guess that makes me a hero.’
I nudged her. ‘It makes you something, that’s for sure.’
She laughed as she dropped my hand and danced off towards Arthur. His tongue hung out and he had his normal goofy smile on his face, but it intensified as she approached, and his whole body started to wiggle.
‘Is he…,’ a vision of Scruffy flashed into my head, ‘wagging his tail?’ I started to giggle. ‘Does he think he’s a dog?’
‘Of course not.’ Isla rubbed her hands up and down Arthur’s neck and he danced from side-to-side. ‘He thinks Scruffy is a dragon.’
I heard Emerald sigh in my mind.
‘What took you so long?’ Grams and Lionel stood by Emerald. ‘Athol wanted us airborne five minutes ago.’
I opened my mouth to make a smart arse comment about assassins but before I could, there was a shout from the front of the army.
We paused, all of us craning our heads to see what had happened. A thought bubble floated in the air. The afternoon light glinted off it and an oily layer swam on its surface. More bubbles floated into view, spreading out and heading in different directions.
Two broke off from the pack and descended towards Isla and me. I backed up till I was standing beside her.
‘This can’t be good,’ I muttered to her.
She raised one eyebrow and looked at me and then the bubbles broke over our heads.
‘Welcome Daughter. Tomorrow we will meet on the battlefield. Many will die. You know what you need to do to stop this. Come to me. Let us be the family we were meant to be. I would prefer not to have to kill my own blood.’
The bubble burst and I was left with a slimy residue on my face. I wiped an arm across it and looked over at Isla in time to see hers pop.
‘Santanas?’ I asked.
She grimaced as she wiped her face. ‘What did he say to you?’
‘Pretty much the same thing he did the last time we met. Join me or die. You?’
‘If we give you up, this will all go away.’
I pulled a face. ‘Divide and conquer.’
‘Something like that.’
I was silent while I thought about her words. ‘Do you believe him?’
‘Not for one pink second.’
The bubbles, which had been coming through in ones and twos, started thickening. They swirled in the afternoon breeze as they swooped down on the army.
I watched as a couple of soldiers’ bubbles burst. They both looked towards me before meeting each other’s eyes. I could just imagine what they were thinking.
‘Come on.’ I turned and walked back towards the front of the camp, searching for Aethan and Rako. They stood with their heads close together. Aethan was talking urgently, waving his arms around as he did. I could tell by the fact that the fur on the edges of their vests was damp that they had already had their bubble message.
They stopped talking as we approached. ‘You two ready to move out?’ Rako asked.
I glanced at the soldiers that were forming up nearby. Most had their eyes straight ahead but some watched me, thoughtful expressions on their faces.
‘Yep,’ I said. Their scrutiny was making the skin between my shoulder blades itch.
Turos marched towards me, a score of warriors following in his wake. His gaze scanned the surrounding soldiers. He stopped beside me while his warriors formed up on either side and behind. I realised he had just provided me with a guard.
Rako nodded once, and Aethan’s shoulders lowered a fraction as he relaxed. He shared a look with Turos before turning back to me.
‘Is it true?’ Ebony’s voice cut sharply through the relative quiet of the camp. ‘Will this all end if we give Isadora up?’
Her riding skirts swirled around her legs as she made her way towards us. Her long hair shone like midnight satin as she swept it behind her shoulder. I noted that this movement accomplished two things. Firstly, it gave us all an eyeful of her cleavage, and secondly, it left the sword, strapped to her left hip, exposed. She rested her handle lightly on the pommel.
‘Well? Is it?’ She pursed her lips as she looked up at Aethan.
Even the soldiers that had been keeping their eyes straight ahead were now watching. Turos and his men shifted their stances, closer to outright battle than they had been a second ago.
‘No,’ Aethan’s voice rang across the now totally still army. ‘It is not true. Do you really think he would stop now?’
She tapped her finger on her bottom lip and gave me a speculative look. ‘Probably not,’ she said. ‘But it might be worth a try.’
Several of the soldiers shifted their heads as if nodding in agreement.
‘This,’ Aethan waved his arm around, ‘is exactly what he is trying to gain. A break in our ranks. Are we all so naïve as to believe what a murdering, madman has to say?’ He turned to face the ranks of soldiers. ‘Are we all so quick to sacrifice one of our own? Someone who has dedicated her life to our safety? What will he ask for next? Me? You?’ He waved his hand at the men. ‘Are we here to give him what he wants, or are we here to stop him for good?’
A low rumble of voices broke out around us as men debated Aethan’s words.
‘Well,’ Ebony sniffed delicately, ‘I would give myself up if that’s what it took.’
‘Really?’ Isla let out a snort of laughter. ‘I wouldn’t speak too quickly Ebony. You never know what the next bubble may ask for. Your head on a stick, perhaps.’
Ebony blanched and stepped closer to Aethan, wrapping an arm around his waist.
‘I think it would be a good time to leave,’ Turos murmured. ‘While the going is good.’
‘What are we waiting for?’ Tamsonite’s voice boomed. ‘I said form up and march out and I meant it.’
The soldiers stiffened to attention, their formerly-lax lines, straightening to resemble the edge of a ruler. The eyes of those closest to us snapped to the front and I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I had been holding.
Aethan untangled himself from Ebony’s arms. ‘You had best take up your position near the rear,’ he said to her. ‘Your Father and people could arrive at any time.’
‘They said they were a day out.’ She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and entwined herself around him again. ‘I want to ride with you.’
‘You can never be too prepared.’ He unwound her arms again. ‘It’s where you are needed the most. And besides, I won’t be riding.’
Her mouth formed a pretty O. ‘You would fight on foot like
a lowly soldier?’
His eyes glinted with suppressed anger. ‘I would fight on foot with my men.’
‘Forward march,’ Tamsonite bellowed.
Ebony leant into Aethan but the immediate sound of several thousand boots striking the ground swamped what she said. I was pretty sure by the naughty curve to her lips that I hadn’t wanted to hear it anyway.
‘Come on.’ I turned toward the dragons and Turos’s warriors opened a path for me.
Isla’s hadn’t moved. Her head was tilted to the side and the corners of her eyes creased ever-so-slightly as she examined Ebony. She started as I touched her arm.
‘What is it?’ I whispered.
The shook her head. ‘Just wondering how she keeps her hair so clean.’
‘Really?’
‘You aren’t?’
The stare she levelled on me had an intensity that went way beyond the pay grade of personal hygiene. No doubt there was a hidden meaning there I wasn’t clever enough to understand. I sighed and shook my head. If she wanted me to get it, she was going to have to tell me.
She shrugged a shoulder and smiled, partly amused, partly frustrated. ‘Come on.’ She walked ahead, leading the way back to Emerald, Lance and Arthur.
‘So,’ Turos fell into step beside me, ‘I’m guessing that that, is the complication.’ He looked back over his shoulder towards Ebony and Aethan.
I let out a sigh. ‘They’re betrothed.’
‘And yet he loves you.’ He was silent for a few steps. ‘Remind me to send her a thank you card.’
I stopped walking and turned towards him. ‘Turos….’
I didn’t even get to start what I wanted to say. He clasped my forearms with his huge hands and bent down so that his head was only inches away. His ice-blue eyes bored into mine, turning me into helpless prey. ‘You can’t deny the attraction between us. You can’t deny that your blood boils whenever I touch you.’ He let the fingers of one hand trail over my collar bone and up my neck to my face.
As if he’d commanded it, my heart rate accelerated. I felt my breath hitch in my throat.
‘Why do you fight it?’ he whispered. ‘We are perfect together.’
He was right. We were perfect together. He was a match for me in every way possible. And when he was this close to me, I could imagine surrendering, and making the choice that would tie our lives together. And yet something stopped me from uttering the three little words that would make him mine.
I knew that that something was standing not too far away from me.
‘Izzy.’ Turos shook his head. ‘I know you love me.’
I pulled a face and shrank away from him, his words making the butterflies in my stomach turn into a nest of angry hornets. He tightened his grip and pulled me back.
‘You do. Admit it.’
My tongue cleaved to the roof of my mouth as I struggled to generate enough saliva to swallow. ‘And what if I do?’ A wave of giddiness swept over me.
His eyes lit with triumph. ‘Just say the words.’
I glanced sideways, my eyes searching for Aethan. He was frozen like a statue, staring at the two of us. Ebony, seemingly unaware of the drama playing out, looked up at him as she spoke.
I snatched my eyes away from Aethan. ‘I don’t think that now is the right time for declarations of….’ I couldn’t force the word love out of my mouth.
‘I think now is the perfect time.’ Turos rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip. ‘We’re about to risk our lives and go into battle. We’re about to fight together, melded as one through our bond.’
Emerald let out a low rumble in my mind and the hard, panicked knot that was stuck in my throat melted away. He was right. What better time to declare ourselves for each other than when we were about to fight side-by-side for our freedom. There was a magnificence to the idea.
I stared even deeper into his eyes and imagined our lives intertwined. Imagined having him as my mate. Forever.
A delicious excitement unfurled inside me. I could make this decision now. I could put all the hurt and confusion behind me. I could embrace a future with this amazing man.
My heart swelled in my chest. I smiled up at a him and opened my mouth to utter the words that would change me forever.
‘Izzy. Come on.’ Grams prodded me in the shoulder with a bony finger. ‘There’ll be plenty of time for this later. I hope.’ She muttered the last sentence under her breath.
As if she had poked a hole in the side of my dam, the emotion whooshed out of me. It drained away till all I was left with was my confusion. I pushed Turos’s hands away from me and stepped back. ‘Not now,’ I said. ‘Not yet.’
I looked around. The camp was a frenzy of activity, but Aethan was gone. Nausea rolled over me. What had he seen? Or more importantly, what had he thought he’d seen?
Grams tugged on my arm, ‘Come on.’
I let her lead me toward Emerald while I searched for him. I knew it was fruitless. He would have deployed to the front with his men. But I tried anyway. Suddenly, my urge to see him, to touch him one last time was overwhelming.
Panic fluttered under my ribs. What if something happened to him? I closed my eyes but the picture of him, his face contorted with anguish and betrayal, danced before me.
Turos matched my steps, quiet now that Grams was within hearing distance. He reached out and squeezed my hand and then shot me a grin before trotting off towards Lance. His men were already mounted.
I waited for Grams to climb up in front of Lionel before climbing up into my seat. All of the Guard were staying on the ground but Turos had put a few of his Millenium onto Emerald.
Let’s go.
Emerald didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she took a few hopping steps forwards and thrust her wings down. Another stepping hop and we were airborne, soaring up to where Arthur and Isla circled. A formation of dragons flew by, the black-garbed Millenium on their backs scanning the surrounding sky for danger.
We fell in on Lance’s left, flying at a pace that would not overly tax Arthur. Even then, it didn’t take us long to get to the front of the army. A smudge of black darkened the land ahead of us. I felt my heart rate accelerate. The goblins were coming.
I looked back at the army, at the Border Guard lining up to lead the defence. Then I looked at the dragons circling lazily in the sky. As exhilarating as it was, being up here in the sky, it felt wrong. I felt wrong. I’d fought with the Guard my whole life. I belonged with the Guard, and yet I was bonded to Emerald. I knew in the Milleniums’ eyes, my place was with her.
I looked back at the goblins. There were thousands of them. The Vulpines may or may not show, but if they did there were hundreds of dragons to deal with them, thousands of Millenium.
Emerald. I reached out tentatively.
You want me to land?
How did you know?
She let out a snort. I know you. You’re bonded to me, but your bond to them is just as strong.
My place is with you. I found myself quoting Turos.
She snorted again. We are not exactly a conventionally-bonded pair. I can fight those pesky chickens with or without you.
What about if one of them lands on you.
Are you the only fighter on board?
I let out a sigh, fighting the surge of guilt that was warring with my need to go to the Guard. I am not meant to leave you.
The Millenium have lived on an island the entire time they’ve been bonded to my kind.
And…?
They never had a need to separate. All their training was done over water.
I glanced back down at the Guard. They had split into two groups, one each side of the main army. They were going to chop into the goblins on either side, separating the front of the goblin horde from the rest so that the army could finish them. Then they would withdraw and do the same again. That sort of tactic could elicit heavy losses. So you’re saying?
She did the equivalent of a human sigh into my head. I didn’t blame her, I was only half
listening and she obviously had a point to make. I snapped my mind from the Guard back to her.
They have never been in a situation where separating might make them stronger. I am not a dumb horse that needs you to steer me.
I laughed out loud. Tactically it seems a sound plan for us to become two separate units. You can feed me information about what you can see up here.
The goblins had been getting ever closer. It was only a matter of minutes before they engaged the front line of our defence.
I’ll let Lance know.
A few seconds later she banked and flew around to find a clear space to land. I was going to have to hustle if I was to make it back to the front before the goblins got there.
‘What are you doing?’
I hadn’t noticed that Lance had followed us down. Turos stood next to him with his hands on his hips.
‘I’m needed down here.’
‘You’re needed up there.’ He pointed into the sky.
‘Emerald and I spoke about it. She doesn’t need me.’
His mouth pressed into a thin line and his eyes tightened.
‘Look.’ I took a few steps towards him and took his hand. ‘You’ve never practiced this type of warfare. All you’ve known is aerial fighting. And you’re all very good at it. But the heaviest fighting will be down here. I’m needed where the heaviest fighting will be.’
‘Who’s going to save the day if you go and get yourself killed?’ His face relaxed just the tiniest bit.
‘Oh please.’ I let out a laugh. Goblins had been slightly challenging before Turos taught me the mind trick. Now, they were chicken feed.
He cocked his head to the side and then looked over at Lance. ‘Lance thinks you have a valid point,’ he said.
‘He does?’
‘Our job is to stop the Vulpine from attacking the troops, but the main fight will be down here.’ He looked thoughtful.
‘I’ve really got to get to the front.’
‘We probably don’t need so many of us in the sky.’ He looked back at Lance and said, ‘Every second man off.’
Five Millenium slipped from Lance’s back.
‘Lance will spread the word. Let’s go.’
They took off so quickly that I realised they had already embraced their calm. I did the same and followed, racing to try and catch up with him and his men. We slipped around the side of the army, speeding towards the front.
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