Wylde Magic | Book 3

Forty Seven: Parting Words

Sweat beaded on the back of my neck as I looked through the crack of the door.

The Summer lands was truly hot, and I could see why Schula had such a disposition about it, being an ice fae. But now, the thought that we could be gone from here within a day was promising.

'How many are still out there?' Schula asked.

'It will not matter when I fly away,' Spaulder said. 'They can chase if they wish, but from what I hear they have far more pressing matters at their gates.'

'Strong words befitting a dragon,' I agreed. 'However, we face a real possibility of two armies after our throats, instead of just one.'

'Let them come,' Spaulder huffed. 'I feel much better now than I did in the  battle in the valley.'

I nodded, closing the cracked door and facing my trquetram with a grim expression. 'There are only a couple left that I can see from here. My bigger concern is the battleground below.'

Schula sighed, rubbing the back of her neck with a trickle of her icy magic. 'Let's get going then. It sounds like our people won't be safe no matter what we do. Stay and play Peyorla's games, and they're essentially used to pressure us into her stupid games. Leave and they're at her mercy, though right now anyone here could be in danger from the Winter army, not just the refugees.'

I secured my bag over my shoulder, looking up to Puko who was preening his feathers on top of Spaulder's horns.

'Do you think we should find Teyber first?' I asked. 'Surely Puko could lead the way.'

'And lead our charge into him, exposing their presence in the Wyldes? No, we have to do this one on our own,' Schula said. 'I want them dead.'

'I do too, but if Teyber knows the first wave is a lie somehow, what else does he know?' I wondered aloud. 'For that matter, we don't even know DuVarick or Bara Khalja are even here, we're just assuming.'

'The first wave is a lie,' Spaulder said. 'The sounds of battle are already fading. Whatever this first wave was, it has posed no challenge for the Summer court.'

'Which means, something else is going to happen,' Schula said.

I bit my lower lip, picking at the strap of my bag as I thought out loud. 'But something still doesn't sit right with me. Why did Teyber want me to meet him in the hawthorn grove? He left so little in the message, and it was a risk to tell us where he was in case Puko lost the note or was intercepted.'

Schula frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. 'Well... you're right. But what can we do about it? I don't want to put him in danger.'

'Then we distract them,' Spaulder added.

'How?' I asked. 'There's a battle wrapping up down there, alert eyes and ears are everywhere.'

'Precisely so,' Spaulder mused. 'Even if they were not initially looking, do you not think a large black dragon in the midday sky would draw their attention? Naturally they would assume all of us to be making an escape in the confusion.'

Schula gasped. 'But we could sneak off to the hawthorn grove and you could lead them on a chase!'

'I don't know, do we really want to split up?' I asked. 'But, I don't exactly have a better plan.'

Spaulder craned down his great neck, bringing his eye to me and nudging me with his nose. 'Little one, I will not be gone long. Teyber has information, and he has risked himself and likely others to get it to you. If your instincts tell you to seek him out, then we must do so.'