“That’s insane.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
I don’t. And he knows it.
“Fine.” I draw my blades, feeling their familiar heft settle my nerves. “Walk me through the plan. What do you need me to do?”
SIXTEEN
XELA
The plan is simple, which means it will probably go horribly wrong.
Tharos will use the thornpaths to approach the siege engine from below, coming up through the root system to get close enough to touch the machine’s base. Once he’s in position, he’ll feed the Binding Breaker a surge of concentrated power—raw forest magic, unfiltered and overwhelming. The runes will overload. The machine will fail. And in the chaos that follows, the Consortium hunters will scatter.
My job is distraction.
“You want me to attack an army by myself.” I say it flatly, not quite a question.
“I want you to get their attention.” He’s moving through the forest ahead of me. “You don’t need to kill them all. Just make enough noise that they focus on you instead of what’s happening beneath their feet.”
“And if they focus on me with crossbows and fire weapons?”
“Then move fast and don’t get hit.”
“Brilliant tactical advice.”
His shoulders shift—might be a shrug, might be suppressed laughter. It’s hard to tell with him.
“I know your plan. Let’s move.”
This time he does laugh—a low, rough sound that does strange things to my stomach. “Too late to back out now.”
The forest thickens around us as we travel, the trees growing closer, the air growing heavier with the smell of decay and sap. I’ve been in Briargrave long enough now that the smell doesn’t bother me anymore. It’s become background—part of the forest’s character, like the constant creaking of living wood or the subtle movement of vines when I’m not looking directly at them.
“The Consortium will have sentries.” I keep my voice low, though I’m not sure the hunters could hear us even if I shouted. “Standard formation—outer ring watching the perimeter, inner ring protecting the siege engine. If I’m going to get their attention, I need to hit the outer ring hard enough that the inner ring responds.”
“Agreed.” He pauses at a gap in the undergrowth, scanning the space beyond. “There’s a ridge ahead, overlooking the Consortium’s position. You’ll be able to see the whole formation from there.”
“And you?”
“I’ll be underground.” He turns to face me, and his expression makes warmth spread through my belly. Not quite concern. Not quite affection. An emotion in between that I’m not ready to name. “If the sabotage fails, the Binding Breaker activates. The King breaks free. And when that happens, nothing I can do will protect you from what comes next.”
“Then make sure the sabotage doesn’t fail.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.” I reach out before I can think better of it and close my fingers around his forearm, over the bark-ridged scars where the binding lives under his skin. His pulse beats there, slower than a human’s but just as steady.
“You’ve survived this forest longer than I’ve been alive. You’ve contained an entity that wants to eat the world. You can handle one siege engine.”
His free hand covers mine, pressing it harder against his arm. The contact sends heat racing up my arm, pooling low in places I’m trying very hard to ignore.
“You have more faith in me than I deserve.”
“Maybe.” I don’t pull away. Don’t want to. “Or maybe I’m just good at reading people. And everything I’ve read about you says you don’t know how to quit.”
He’s quiet for a long moment, his hand warm over mine, holding me in place. The forest seems to hold its breath around us, waiting.
