Lᴏɴᴇʟʏ Fᴀʟʟs || Tʜᴇ Cʜᴏsᴇɴ Eɪɢʜᴛ Bᴏᴏᴋ Tᴡᴏ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ || ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ᴏʀ ғᴏᴇ?

Niko

"We've been walking for ages!" Someone— Sasha, I think, complained loudly.

Tyler turned and glared at him over my head. "And we're not even half way."

Sasha let out another groan.

"Hey, it's better then fighting Conquerors all the time." Tazi piped up from beside me.

I could practically feel the scathing look that Sasha sent him and suppressed a laugh.

"I'd rather be fighting." Sasha muttered. "That's fun!" He paused, then added in a snarky tone, "at least, it is for me."

"Sasha, enough." Tyler spoke again. He sounded like my mom used to, when she was tired of me and Aidan squabbling. The thought drove a pang of homesickness through my chest.

Sasha wisely shut up.

It was quiet for a while, aside from the sound of our laboured breaths and the crunching of our boots through the thick underbrush.

Finally, after Sabien tripped and almost took me out from behind, Ryan suggested softly to Tyler that maybe it was time to stop for a rest.

"Fine." The other guardian acquiesced brusquely. "But only for a few minutes. I'm going to go scout ahead." He disappeared into the forest, wearing a sour look.

"Who put Bile in his Nectar?" Tazi muttered to me. I suppressed a laugh and sat next to Sasha, who had taken the opportunity to flop onto the ground. I stretched out my legs and took a drink from the water that Ryan was passing around.

It was peaceful for about five minutes before a surprised cry that sounded like Tyler rang out of the forest.

We were all on our feet in an instant, weapons drawn and alert. Jesse, my ostrich, ruffled his feathers and looked around in alarm.

Ryan gripped her daggers, made a gesture for us to stay put, and hurried in the direction of the sound.

A long beat of silence followed. I wiped my sweaty hands on my shirt, my heart beating in my ears.

"Should we go after them?" Tazi whispered after a moment.

Lucia shushed him.

"I'll go." Zay breathed. She flipped one of her knives in her hand, the blade flashing when it caught the dappled sunlight.

"I'm coming." Sasha muttered.

Zay narrowed her eyes at him, but then gave a single nod. Together, the two crept forward. The forest swallowed them within seconds.

"What if they don't come back?" Sabien whispered suddenly, from somewhere off to my left. "What if it's a trap?"

"Then we'll get caught." Lucia answered lowly. "But they don't know we're out here, so shush."

Sabien clammed up, but I saw the way he shifted his dagger from one hand to the other.

The sound of approaching footsteps startled me. Jesse uttered low sound, pawing anxiously at the earth. I adjusted my grip on my staff, my breath quickening, and heard the others' doing the same.

But it was Ryan who burst forth from the trees, Zay, Tyler, and Sasha in tow. Tyler and Sasha were supporting a figure between them. Whoever it was was stumbling, clearly injured, and they were wearing Conqueror armour.

"Who is that? What happened?" Sabien asked, stowing away his dagger.

"Out of the way." Sasha grunted in return. His jaguar, Delar, curled as he followed his summoner.

"Someone get a bedroll!" Tyler ordered sharply, urging us into action. "Navia, grab your supplies."

The Arctican made no move to protest, instead digging through her pack. Tazi hurriedly set out one of the bedrolls, which Sasha and Tyler laid the figure down on.

Her face was visible now, as the two backed away. It was bloodied and bruised, her hair and clothes caked with dirt and who knows what else. But then her head lolled, her eyes cracking open, and I recognized her instantly.

"Lizzie." Lucia spat the name like it tasted foul. "What's she doing here?"

"What happened?" Tazi asked. He seemed unable to draw his gaze from Lizzie's prone figure.

Tyler sat down heavily. "We don't know." He answered finally, watching Lizzie almost as intently as Tazi.

"Why did you help her?" I asked after a moment, setting down my staff and taking a seat as well.

Ryan shot me an incredulous look. "Because she's human, and she's been beaten within an inch of her life!"

But Tyler sighed and waved her off. "When I found her, I found this with her." He reached into his pocket and tossed whatever he pulled out onto the ground in front of him.

I leaned closer, and so did the others. It was the Conquerors trademark— a golden pin in the shape of a C. Or, that's what it used to be. It was broken, snapped deliberately to pieces.

"Whoever did that meant to send a message." Tyler explained. "Breaking someone's pin like that— it means they're exiled and they're not coming back."

A million questions surged to my lips, but I was cut off before I could ask any of them.

"It was Zarlo." Lizzie rasped from where she was stretched out. She struggled, pushing herself up into a sitting position despite Navia insistence. "We were out, going to search for the Silver Wolf, when he suddenly turned on me. He said, 'Zerif knew you weren't loyal, and never will be, so he sent me to..." she swallowed before whispering, "to kill me..."

"Zarlo?" Zay echoed. "He did this?"

Lizzie winced as Navia dabbed at a cut on her cheek. "Yeah. He was my captain, back with the Conquerors."

Something like pride flashed over Zay's face when I glanced back to her. But it was gone so fast I wondered if I imagined it.

"What are you gonna do now?" Tazi asked Lizzie finally. "You have nowhere to go."

She frowned at his bluntness. "To be honest, I have no idea. Until twenty minutes ago I wasn't even sure if I'd survive."

Sasha crossed his arms somewhere in my periphery. "Well you'd better figure it out, because we have a talisman to go find. And we have to get there before your buddies do."

I half-expected her to bristle, but Lizzie just blinked at him and sighed. "I know."

"Actually," Ryan, who'd been having a whispered conversation with Tyler, spoke up. "You don't have to. We've decided that, since you're injured, you'll be tagging along with us. At least until we go to Greenhaven. Olvan will decide what to do with you there."

My heart skipped a beat.

"What?!" Lucia exclaimed. "But she's the enemy!"

Tyler shook his head and gestured to the destroyed pin again. "Not anymore."

Lizzie brightened considerably— which made Zay frown. "Really? Thank you!" She smiled.

"Yeah, don't mention it." Sasha grumbled. He palmed the hilt of his sword, wearing a dark expression.

I resisted the urge to reach for my own weapon. She's not a threat anymore, I reminded myself. She's injured, and it's one of her against the nine of us. What's the worst that could happen?

Hi again. Two updates in one day! Wow. POV requests are still open, as well as who you think I am. Hope you enjoyed!

edit 11/12/21
doing this instead of studying for my chemistry exam lol
anyway hoped you enjoyed!!
xx