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It was that fire inside of me, that lust for a life I always thought would be impossible for me, that made everything else fall away if it wasn’t the patient in front of me. I didn't fear for mortars raining from above. I didn't fear soldiers suddenly rushing us. I just kept my eyes on my goal.
I couldn't say how long it took us to get to the last explosion site, but I was pleased when Darla listened intently and couldn't pick up on any more distressed thoughts. I was shocked, as I’d expected more destruction, but Luci clicked her tongue next to me before she spoke.
“It looks like, since this was one of the last ones, people were able to get away from the parts of the city closer to the shoreline. Were there any other hit sites after this one?”
“I think one,” Umdala said dubiously between large chugs of water from her canteen. A horn sounded farther toward the docks—one that felt like it reverberated through the ground we were on and made my sensitive wolf hearing go static for a moment. Both Darla and I jolted, but everyone else's expressions simply turned grim.
“I'm guessing you all know what that means?” Darla asked.
“It means that enemy soldiers have touched foot on Verdanian soil.”
“I think I need to go to the frontlines,” I said, ready for someone to argue with me that it was too dangerous, or that I shouldn’t. But instead, our little group affixed me with a knowing look.
“Good luck,” Luci said, already toddling toward what I assumed was another explosion site.
“Be safe,” another of my team, Igrid, urged before following her.
There were no individual assurances after that, but Bartle did pat my shoulder as he left with the group, leaving Darla and me standing there.
“Ready to go kick some ass?” she asked. I could tell she was tired, but she put on a brave face.
Well, if my magic was buzzing so powerfully that it was keeping me energized, there was no reason I couldn’t try to share that with my best friend, right? So, I offered my hand and gave her a grin of my own.
“I would say I was born ready, but I think that’s overplayed at this point.”
She took my hand, and I could tell that a clever remark was on her tongue, but that clearly vanished as her eyes shot wide. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice full of wonder and surprise I wasn’t quite used to hearing from her. It was hard to surprise a psychic, especially one as insightful as Darla.
“Giving you a little recharge,” I said, holding her hand for a few more moments before letting her go. Darla looked down at her wiggling fingers as if they were glowing, but as far as I knew, my magical effect was entirely internal.
“Whoa, that’s trippy.”
“But good?”
Darla nodded, recovering as she got her game face on. “Good.”
Satisfied, both of us jogged back toward the docks. Part of me worried about what would happen if the Vekan forces decided to send people to attack the other side of the island, but from what I remembered of the maps I’d seen, the north and eastern sides of Blath were treacherous thanks to underwater volcanos, strange tides, and I believed kraken breeding grounds. While the massive creatures had once been quite prolific beasts that threatened all the coastlines of the civilized world, they’d been hunted to extinction, and only lived in specific areas of the tropical ocean.
We just had to hope Vekas assumed the tiny island of Blath would be an easy target.
But the real question, as we ran through the city, was why were Vekas attacking at all? Blath held nothing valuable for them compared to so many other locations, so that meant they were only there for one of two things.
Kai or me… or both, I supposed if we were especially unlucky.
Naturally, that just begged another question of how they’d found out. It was one thing that the palace knew, with King Nathaniel sending a secret delegation, but another that our greatest enemy had arrived.
Finally, Darla and I crested the lip of the more residential part of the city and were able to see clear down to the docks, and gods, even though I knew there were enemy soldiers present due to the horn, I still wasn’t quite prepared for the absolute mass of Vekan soldiers flooding the beach.
There were so many!
My brain had thought there’d be hundreds of soldiers on the beach, pouring out of their warships and armed to the teeth. But there weren't hundreds below—there were thousands, with more still piling out of their damned ships. My eyes widened, and my pulse quickened impossibly fast, heart pounding in my chest.
How could we overcome these odds? Blath didn't have a standing army as far as I knew. It was clear Vekas were expecting a massacre.
Well, I wouldn't let that happen. I couldn't let that happen. The only reason they were on the island was because of Kai and me, and I couldn't have that on my conscience.
Looking below, I took in the growing fray. While the Vekan soldiers were still charging onto the beach, they weren't alone. I saw Blath citizens all lined up in a semicircle like a final line of defense before the soldiers had straight access into the city. Some of them were half armored, some of them were wearing street clothes, and most had weapons but not all.
They were not odds I’d bet on if I had a choice. Too bad none of us really had one at all.
