“But boring,” Ashley accused.
“Why would they hide the knowledge from society, though?” Jaden asked curiously.
“Well, people usually don’t show off their weaknesses,” Malakai chuckled. “If the military admitted to their lack of knowledge about the demons, they’d seem pretty stupid, wouldn’t they?”
“So why are they so stupid?” Ashley asked. “Why not kill the demons?”
“Because the Ashen Corps used to think killing the mage that let the demon through killed the demon as well,” Malakai explained calmly. “And if they focused on the demons, the mages would simply bring more.”
“I think people are thinking too much and not killing enough demons,” Nate muttered. “More for me, I guess.” He cracked his knuckles with a grin
“The only action you’ll be seeing is a pillow against your face,” Ashley hissed. “Get that shoulder healed before you talk big.”
The banter helped. It made the Demon Lands feel less like teeth waiting to close around us.
We crested a low ridge, and there it was. A cluster of worn rooftops half-buried in mold, grey sand, and blackened earth.
Darkshire.
Nate squinted. “Looks… charming.”
Ashley bumped his hip gently, so he wouldn’t topple. “Charming like a crypt.”
Jaden rubbed his hands together. “Do crypts have traps? I bet yes.”
Faelin shivered. “The air feels colder… it feels… sad. Like something happened there, and it’s still echoing.”
“Because that’s not creepy at all, Faelin,” Jaden grunted.
Her eyes snapped to him, and it was the first time I’d ever seen anger rising in her eyes.
Lionel stopped as he used his sniper’s scope, scanning windows and doorways.
The wind whistled through empty frames, carrying the smell of old ash.
“We go slow, quiet, and together,” Lionel said low.
Eve used her own sniper to scout the surroundings of the village. “It looks awfully still.”
Malakai looked down at me with that steady heat in his eyes. “If anything moves,” he murmured, “I’ll burn it before you can.”
“Is that a challenge?” I sneered at him. “You’ll have to race me.” Flames began sparking between my fingers already.
Nate wobbled, and Ashley tightened her hold, grumbling, “Don’t you dare faint now.”
He leaned his head on her shoulder. “Wouldn’t dream of it. You’d yell at me.”
“You bet I would.”
Our mismatched, bruised, exhausted squad began the descent towards the village; united, wary, and oddly alive.
We were still here.
Still together, fighting onwards, and for now, that was everything.
CHAPTER
23
