‘I should have known you couldn’t be trusted,’ Sloane growled under her breath to Denton. She stepped forwards and drew her sword and Rhyn leapt to his feet alongside her. Sloane felt Rowe and Jack rise from their chairs as well, but she never took her eyes off Skinner, who had his pistol pointed directly at her.
‘Stop!’ Denton roared, rising to his feet and stretching out his hands in both directions, attempting to calm Rhyn and Sloane and the soldiers who were closing in on them. Skinner and his men didn’t listen to the order though and continued to approach. Rhyn, Sloane, Rowe and Jack were still firmly in their crosshairs.
Sloane felt anger starting to spread throughout her body at the thought of the soldiers’ guns targeting her sister. She gripped her sword tightly to keep herself composed and turned to face Rowe and Jack. Rowe’s hand was rising to the bow that was slung around her neck, and Jack’s fingers were hovering over the pistol at his side.
‘Don’t try anything,’ she mouthed at them, holding out a commanding hand.
‘Put your weapons down,’ Denton barked again, causing Sloane to whip back around. The captain had now turned to face Skinner and was pushing his chest out with authority as he delivered the order.
‘Do what he says,’ Dean added, as he came to stand in front of Sloane. The action surprised her. She had been confused about where his loyalty lay before, but now he wanted to defend her? She didn’t know what to make of the situation. Was Skinner rebelling Denton’s command, or was this all a ploy to ambush the Unfaih?
She grasped her sword tighter as she tried to decide what to do. It would take her one second to get her blade pressed up against Denton or Dean’s throat. But if Denton truly wanted peace, and Skinner was acting against them, that same movement could ruin everything.
‘What are they doing here?’ Skinner’s voice was slimy and filled with hatred as he nodded in Sloane and Rhyn’s direction.
‘They are here at my request. I told you to drop your weapons.’ Denton’s words were firm and his tone had turned icy calm. If he was feeling as tense as Sloane was, the captain’s voice didn’t betray one ounce of his emotions.
Skinner laughed, but there was no humour in the sound. ‘First you ask these aliens to help guard our camp, now you invite them into our home. I should have known you were too weak to fight them. But if you can’t protect us from these animals, then perhaps it’s time we elected a new captain who can get the job done.’
Sloane’s eyes widened a fraction as she realised that the guns weren’t only aiming at her and Rhyn, but they also pointed at Denton and the men he was with. A gunshot probably wouldn’t kill her or Rhyn, but it would unquestionably injure Jack and Rowe or the other humans around them.
‘Step away, Skinner,’ Dean said. ‘They are not our enemy.’
Skinner laughed in response and turned his gaze on Dean. ‘Not our enemy?’ he gasped. ‘They have our captain and his son held captive. They killed our men.’
‘The Captain betrayed us,’ Dean said, edging closer to Skinner, his hands held out in a calming gesture.
‘He is the one who has betrayed us,’ Skinner shot back, his gun shifting from Sloane to point at Denton. The captain barely flinched.
‘Get out of the way, Dean,’ Skinner continued. ‘Allow us to deal with them, and you don’t have to die. I may be able to make room for you in my army.’
Sloane stiffened as she heard the click of Skinner’s gun as he readied it to shoot. The barrel was aimed directly at the captain and Sloane knew that Denton would be shot if his next words weren’t of surrender. She was too far away to stop Skinner from firing, but she might be close enough to shield Denton before the gun went off. She readied herself to leap to his aid, but she paused as Denton suddenly let out a slow sigh and folded his arms.
‘This is your last chance, Skinner,’ he said. ‘Drop your gun.’
‘I give the orders now, Captain,’ he sneered.
‘No, I’m afraid you don’t,’ Denton replied.
Denton raised his arm to point at Skinner and whistled. As the sound pierced the silent air, a dozen soldiers rose from hiding places on the roofs of buildings and amongst the ruins of nearby tents. They all had rifles, which they pointed at Skinner and his group.
‘You will lower your weapons,’ Denton said, gesturing towards the men who had appeared. ‘Or you will pay with your lives. It is up to you.’
Skinner glanced up and frantically looked around at the guns now staring down at him. When he saw that he was surrounded, he immediately dropped his gun like the coward Sloane knew he was. The five soldiers who were with him quickly followed suit.
Denton closed the distance between them with two long strides, and without pausing, he swung his fist at Skinner and slammed it into his face. Skinner staggered back into the men behind him and collapsed into the dirt, spitting blood from his mouth as he raised a hand to touch his face gingerly.
‘Deal with them,’ Denton growled to Dean as he glared down at Skinner
‘Gladly,’ came Dean’s reply.
Sloane watched on as Dean ordered more of Denton’s men to detain Skinner and his group. Soldiers ran from their hiding places and closed in on the rebels, grabbing their hands, which were still raised above their heads in surrender, and tying them behind their backs.
‘What will you do with them?’ Sloane asked.
‘Lock them away, for now,’ Denton replied. ‘They’ve been making trouble since I arrived here, but this is treason. The punishments are severe.'
Sloane nodded at his response, not needing to hear any more, as she watched Skinner being dragged away. He was a pathetic letch of a man who had derived joy from torturing her. She’d wanted to hurt him for the things he had done to her, but she felt confident that he would finally meet the retribution he deserved at Denton’s hand.
Once Dean had led Skinner and his men away, Denton turned back towards Rhyn. ‘I apologise for that,’ he said.
Rhyn nodded but didn’t say anything. Sloane wasn’t surprised that he didn’t mention the snipers Denton had hidden away because the Unfaih had done a similar thing by hiding fighters in the woods. Denton’s actions against Skinner had only proven he was committed to working with Rhyn and his people.
‘However, that idiot Skinner did make an interesting point,’ Denton continued. ‘You do have Captain Avery and his son captive, don’t you?’
Sloane’s eyes narrowed, and she felt herself step forwards instinctively. If Denton was going to make a case for having her father and brother returned to the camp, she wanted to be involved.
‘Is that a problem?’ Rhyn asked. As his hulking figure towered over Denton, Sloane could see Rhyn’s fists clenching at his sides. Any mention of the Captain quickly angered the Unfaih prince.
‘As we have already discussed, Captain Avery betrayed us and put the entire camp in danger; not to mention your people as well. Perhaps it’s best that he is in your care. His daughters don’t seem to have a problem with it.’
Denton gestured towards Sloane and Rowe. Sloane wasn’t surprised to see a hint of guilt cross Rowe’s features, but she was glad to hear Denton wasn’t going to fight them over her father.
‘Look Rhyn; I am nothing like Captain Avery. I have no interest in your world,’ Denton said. ‘Aeris could be a perfect place for our people to start a new life, and I do not wish to fight against yours.’
The captain sighed and the confident way he constantly held himself seemed to crumble slightly. ‘All I want to do is find a way to keep my people safe,’ he continued. ‘I want to help you eradicate these Brakys once and for all so that we can live here in peace.’
Sloane watched Rhyn for any sign of what he was thinking, but he was silent as he assessed Denton. As Sloane had expected, there wasn’t much chance of the humans leaving, and she wasn’t sure how Rhyn would react.
‘I know it may be hard for you to trust us humans, especially after that display,’ Denton added. ‘But what if I told you that I could get mor
e fighters to help us defeat this common enemy?’
Rhyn’s back stiffened. ‘How?’ he asked, his voice remaining level despite the apprehension that was growing in his eyes.
‘Three more of our ships will be arriving soon,’ Denton replied. ‘One next week and another two in a month’s time.’
‘Three?’ Jack gasped, causing everyone to look at him as he stepped forwards. ‘What? That’s double the number of people that are here now,’ he said, shock still resonating in his voice.
‘You’ll have double the amount of fighters?’ Rhyn said, turning to look at Denton again.
The captain nodded. ‘And if you allow us to stay on Aeris, I will help you win this war against the Brakys.’
Chapter Twelve
The suns were beginning to dip low in the sky by the time they left the human camp. Rowe and Jack had both insisted on staying behind to help the humans rebuild their home. Sloane would have liked to help too, but she knew her place wasn’t in the settlement anymore.
It hurt Sloane to walk past the tree line and into the woods knowing that Rowe had remained in the camp. She still wasn't convinced she could trust Denton and his men, even after the hours of discussions they had gone through that day. Rowe didn’t share the same doubts though. She took Denton at his word and believed that he wanted peace with the Unfaih. Rowe understood why he wanted to stay on Aeris and make the human camp a safe place for their people, and she had insisted on helping him.
Sloane’s mood turned darker with each step she took. As much as she loved that her sister was becoming stronger, she was beginning to feel like she could do without her stubbornness. Rowe was becoming so much more independent than the quiet and scared girl she had always been. Sloane had spent so long protecting her that it was a real struggle to step back and allow her sister the freedom to make such big decisions for herself.
‘Rowe will be fine in the camp,’ Rhyn said, watching her closely. They had been walking silently for a while, trailing a little way behind Elyx and the other warriors who had accompanied them to the settlement. Sloane assumed that her concern for her sister must be blatantly written across her face.
‘There are still plenty of my warriors protecting the camp from the Brakys,’ Rhyn added. ‘She will not be harmed by the creatures.’
‘The Brakys aren’t the ones I’m worried about,’ Sloane muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.
She let out a breath and stared up at the leafy canopy overhead. Evening was descending, and the woods were slowly starting to darken. Sloane almost welcomed the night, for at least it would obscure the apprehension that was obviously displaying on her face.
‘So we have a truce,’ Sloane said, lowering her gaze to the path before them as she tried to change the conversation. Rowe was the last thing she wanted to talk about right now.
‘Yes, as long as the humans never set foot in Ellysia, we have a truce,’ Rhyn agreed. ‘We will work together to find a solution to the Brakys, and if it comes to a battle, the humans will join us to defeat them. It was a productive day.’
‘Do you think we can trust Denton?’
‘I believe we share a common interest at this point.’
‘And what about when he has three more ships full of soldiers to do his bidding?’ Sloane asked. ‘Do you think his interests will still align with yours then?’
‘We have to hope so,’ Rhyn replied. ‘I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that they do. We lost too many warriors in the battle against the humans, and I won’t let that happen again.’
Sloane watched him closely. Even in the deep shadows of the dim evening light, she could still see the pain rippling across Rhyn’s face at the memory of what they had been through.
‘Just be careful,’ Sloane said. ‘I don’t want a repeat of that day either.’
‘Until we are rid of the Brakys, the humans won’t consider crossing us,’ Rhyn reassured her. ‘They need us right now.’
‘And what if we defeat the Brakys and wipe them from your world? What about when the humans don’t need your warriors anymore?’
‘We will deal with that problem when we come to it,’ Rhyn replied. His voice was firm, but Sloane wasn’t convinced.
‘Good luck telling Vas that,’ she said. ‘He won’t be happy to hear that even more humans are landing on Aeris.’
‘Let me handle my father,’ Rhyn said, his tone leaving no more room for argument.
Sloane fell silent and kept her concerns to herself. Regardless of whether she thought they could trust Captain Denton, they didn’t seem to have much choice. Their best chance of defeating the Brakys was if they worked together—but at what cost? Rhyn had promised to allow the humans to remain on Aeris once the war was won. But with no way to close the rift, like they had a thousand years ago, the Unfaih would always be threatened by the humans’ presence there.
Night had fallen by the time they reached the rift, and even though it was dark, the world around them wasn’t cold. Sloane enjoyed the caress of the warm air against her skin, but ever since the Liftsal had started changing her body, she had begun to prefer the crispness of the frigid air in Ellysia. As they stepped through the rift, the cold air of Rhyn’s world embraced Sloane and she almost let out a sigh of pleasure as it touched her skin.
Rhyn glanced back at her with a curious look in his eyes as he studied her expression.
‘What?’ she asked, trying to resume her usual look of indifference.
He shook his head, the corner of his lips lifting in a smile.
‘What is it?’ she pressed, walking towards him and tapping a finger against his chest.
Before she could poke him again, he glanced down and whipped his hand out, grabbing hold of her accusing finger. As he took it in his firm grasp, he looked up again and grinned at her. ‘You looked happy,’ he said.
‘So?’
He shrugged and let go of her hand. ‘I like seeing you happy,’ he replied. ‘It usually only happens when you’ve just defeated an opponent in battle. You’re really very competitive.’
She rolled her eyes at him. She both hated and loved Rhyn’s cocky grin, and a part of her wished she could make him smile like that more often.
‘You’re one to talk,’ she grumbled, making his smirk grow wider. She shook her head at him and faced away, a small smile tugging at her lips. She liked it when he was happy too.
Sloane could feel his eyes on her as she started down the steps towards the castellum, and they didn’t stray from her the whole descent. Before she’d drunk the Liftsal, she hadn’t noticed how much he watched her. But now that she was different, she always seemed to sense when he was looking her way. It was far more often than she ever would have guessed, and she wondered if he knew how much she watched him too.
The soft glowing lights on the castellum walls were a welcome sight as Sloane approached the entrance. She was starting to think of the place as her home. Every day that passed, she felt a little less tied to the humans she had come to Aeris with and a little more like someone who belonged in the world of Ellysia.
Rhyn headed straight to his father’s throne room as soon as they entered the castellum. Sloane had barely seen Vas since she’d recovered, but she didn’t exactly mind that they didn’t cross paths too often. The king was not the biggest fan of humans, and even after everything she had done to help his people recently, she suspected he still wasn’t the biggest fan of her either.
The castellum felt colder and emptier as she walked through the corridors. It wasn’t the fact that the temperature had dropped though. She sensed she felt that way because her sister was so far away. An intense feeling of loneliness filled her heart when Rowe wasn’t close at hand, and Sloane struggled with it now more than ever. She’d grown used to having her nearby and hated when they were apart.
Her heart sank as she passed the door to Rowe’s bedroom and sadness descended on her as she realised that Rowe wouldn’t be returning anytime soon. For a brief moment, Sloane had felt happ
y to be back in Rhyn’s world, but it wasn’t the same without her sister there.
She continued past Rowe’s room and made her way to the one Allirie was recovering in. She had just reached the door when it opened inwards and Orelle stepped out, closing it gently behind her.
‘I was just coming to see Allirie. How is she?’ Sloane asked, keeping her voice quiet.
Orelle glanced back at the door behind her before she took Sloane’s arm and guided her several steps away from the room.
‘I had thought she was improving, but today she is much worse,’ Orelle said, shaking her head slowly. ‘She’s been unconscious all day.’
Sloane’s eyes darted back towards the door. ‘But she spoke with us just last night…’
‘I know she did,’ Orelle said, patting Sloane’s hand. ‘But she suffered a lot of injuries fighting the Brakys, and her body needs time to recover.’
Sloane frowned as she tried to comprehend that her friend's condition had gotten worse. The Unfaih were a strong and powerful people. They seemed to recover quickly from injuries, especially when they used the Liftsal, and she didn’t understand why Allirie’s body was getting worse rather than better.
‘Braky injuries can be difficult for our people to recover from,’ Orelle said, as if she sensed the question in Sloane’s mind. ‘The poison in their claws makes any healing process take much longer.’
‘But they do recover, right?’
Orelle nodded. ‘Most of the time, yes. Allirie’s wounds were severe though, and it is too early to say.’
Sloane swallowed and gritted her teeth to keep tears from welling in her eyes. It wasn’t like her to get emotional, but it worried her to know that Allirie was so sick.
‘Is it okay if I sit with her for a while?’ Sloane asked.
Orelle smiled at her warmly in response as she nodded. ‘You’re a good friend,’ she replied, patting Sloane on the shoulder.
Sloane wasn’t sure if she deserved the compliment; not when she couldn’t do anything to help Allirie recover. A good friend would be doing something to fix her, but instead, Sloane felt useless.
The Rift War Page 14