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With a sigh through her nose, Emily’s eyes opened again, and she looked up at me. The tears that had been there a minute ago were gone and were now replaced with a steely determination.
“What do you need me to do, then?”
We filled her in on our plan in full. We would be leaving in two days’ time as soon as the sun had said its goodnights and the moon had taken her place. The flight to Fire would be significantly shorter than if we were to travel by boat, and the thought of being cooped up in a ship for a week was enough for me to start feeling queasy, so an uncomfortable four-hour flight was the favourable option.
We had sent a scout to Fire last week, who had reportedback to us via letter that there were several underground tunnels leading into the center of Zalas city from the beaches. The tunnels would take days to navigate by ourselves, but they were big enough for Aepein to fit through without much hassle, so they were our best option of entering the city without being seen.
We would leave Aepein in the tunnels underneath the city and work our way to the castle under nightfall, and if we had any luck on our side, we would be on our way home with Kira within the week.
Emily listened to our plan with wide eyes and the occasional shake of her head.
“That is the stupidest plan I have ever heard, Maeteo.”
“If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to voice them.” I snapped; my tone harsher than I had intended. We were all stressed, and the thought of being so close to having Kira back in my sight made me antsy. Hollis looked at me with raised eyebrows and I deflated slightly, sighing, and rubbing a hand over my eyes.
“I don’t have anything better, sadly.” Emily sighed, shrugging her shoulders, and letting her hands fall to slap her thighs. “Do you have supplies?”
“We can’t take a lot on Aepein,” Tarian explained, out of the three of us, he had spent the most time with the two dragons. He was the only person Gavrun let ride him, and Aepein had accepted him now, too. “She isn’t as strong as Gavrun, and with three bodies on her… we don’t want tooverload her.”
Emily nodded, pursing her lips as she thought through our options.
“You will need food if you’re spending days in the tunnels.” she muttered, starting to list off things we would need and counting them off on her fingers. Tarian looked at her with his eyebrows raised, as if she had not heard a single thing he had said. “Oh, stop, Tarian, it is all things that will fit in a backpack.”
Tarian rolled his eyes, and Hollis laughed as she stood from her seat at the table, excusing herself to go and change out of her soaked clothing. I watched her as she left, my eyes glued to her retreating figure until the door closed and Tarian snapped his fingers at me. I jolted, looking up to meet his gaze, a single eyebrow raised as he glared at me.
Emily’s voice pulled my gaze from Tarian before the look he was giving me could set me on fire, and I sighed as I tried to tune myself back into what she was saying.
I could feel Tarian’s gaze on me for the rest of the evening.
~~~
My knuckles rapped on Hollis’s bedroom door hours later.
The barracks stood silent, the last of the soldiers havinggone to bed hours ago after we filled them in on our plans. They had called for a full-blown attack — for us to send our entire force into Fire and to let them rip the Kingdom to shreds, and as much as the thought of that had warmed my soul, I talked them down. The fact they were all still so loyal and protective of Kira despite the question of if she deserved it just showed how good they were.
I looked over my shoulder, down the dark hallway behind me to make sure no-one was lurking in the darkness.
The sound of the door unlocking pulled my attention back to Hollis. She had opened the door now, one hand rubbing her eyes and the other clinging to the door handle. Her hair was down, un-braided and wild, and her night shirt hung off her shoulder.
“Whats wrong?” She asked, mid-yawn and looking up at me through bleary eyes. I shook my head, smiling lightly as I stepped forward, my hand finding her waist.
“Nothing.” I said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She yawned again, her cheek resting on my chest as I closed my arms around her tightly.
“What time is it, Matty?” She closed her eyes as her fingers curled around my loose shirt. I smiled at the nickname, she had called me that since I had met her, and it was only hers. A few of the other soldiers had heard her calling me it and tried to make it into a joke, but they stopped after running twenty laps of the castle grounds.
“Late,” I mumbled into her head, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” She smiled up at me, “You can’t sleep?”
I shook my head, and she slipped her small hand into mine, leading me into her bedroom and closing the door behind us. I took off my boots, leaving them behind the door so I could slip them on as I left in the morning, and let her lead me towards her bed.
Her room was so different to the rest in the barracks. Where the other rooms were carpeted in blood stained, worn carpets, Hollis had ripped her carpet up to reveal the light wooden floorboards underneath. Her walls were painted the palest of lilacs, and her bed stood against the back wall, full of soft pillows and matching blankets.
Hollis let go of my hand long enough for me to slip my shirt off over my head. She crawled up onto the bed and pulled the duvet back for me, waiting until I had slid onto the soft cotton sheets before she lay down herself, pulling the duvet over us both as she rested her head on my chest. I wrapped one arm around her shoulders, holding her to me as if she were the only thing in the world keeping me sane.
“Sleep, Matty.” She yawned as she spoke, and I let my body relax as she ran her fingers in slow circles in the middle of my chest.
With one hand behind my head and the other clinging to the fabric of her sleep shirt, I let myself relax into a dreamless sleep for the first time in months.
