Glass Magic REWRITTEN

Chapter 32

         "Honestly, I was kinda expecting this to be harder," I admitted with furrowed brows, the most recent of the rescues around a fire I had told them wasn't a good idea. Did they listen? No. Was I going to fight with them? Also no. I would get in trouble for that. I had already reached max 'mean' for the week apparently. Alex was very quick to remove me from the other groups if I made one too many comments. Regardless, this was our twenty-third batch of strays. So far, those we've helped, haven't caused too much trouble, only a few getting snatched up.

      "Don't jinx us," Alex warned, pointing an accusatory finger up at me while he leaned against the tree I was sitting in.

        "Our hunter should have caught up to us yesterday, Alex, even with our attempts to throw them off our trail, a professional wouldn't fall for all of it. They're distractions, really-" I rolled my eyes with a shrug- "If they're not watching us at this very moment then they're setting up a trap, it's as easy as that-" Blinking I let out a loud and long sigh.

       "Setting up a trap then?" Adrain snickered, in the same tree as me, just a few branches above me relaxing. With a bitter look, I looked around. They had to have found us by now. There's no doubt in my mind that whoever we got, has found us, which leaves me with why haven't they attacked? Waiting until nightfall? Setting a trap? Both? It's more than possible.

      Glancing back at the baggage I frowned, this would be harder to get away from with them here. "Ah ah ah, no insulting people for no reason," Alex called narrowing his eyes while I glanced down at him. Blinking I jumped from the branch I was sitting in, landing with a crouch.

      "No idea what you're talking about," I hummed, gathering why perceptive people were annoying.

        "Uh huh, surrreee," Adrain called with a chuckle, rolling off his branch, easily catching a lower one as his foot found the tree's base before dropping himself back to the forest floor.

        "Don't help him," I shot Adrain a sharp look making the both of them smirk, clearly knowing they were right making me scowl. "Just watch your backs, okay? You don't know when-" A very familiar explosion went off not even two hundred meters away, the ground shaking at the force while I quickly steadied myself. Alex quickly quieted the rescues and put out the fire that would have already given away our location.

        "Did you set up any traps?" Adrain asked hushed, Alex grabbing the obsidian sword I had made.

        "Not any that explode," I shook my head cautiously looking around us for my dragon, who had left to find more strays.

        "Tree, now," Alex told the bitter leads who did as told with rather unappreciative looks. Another explosion went off closer, inching around a large tree I strained to see anything other than the flames that were growing not far from us. I need my dragon. With the thought alone, a large bright blue glow covered the ground. The dragon I needed, growling with plenty of broken pieces.

       Blinking at the beast I all but shot to its side, my hands grabbing onto its cracked body, its back leg and left-wing shattered and ridged. They wanted to get rid of the biggest threat first. And I just called it to us. Grinding my teeth at the sight of my dragon beat and broken I could feel my shoulders trembling, warmth rapidly spreading within my body as I desperately poured my mana into the beast that was not repairing fast enough. "Cover me! They're headed this way!" I breathed, sweat gathering on my forehead as my body continued to heat up.

         I can't fix it in time. We'll get caught. We'll fail. I'll fail. They'll break my dragon. My breathing picked up as my eyes rapidly moved over the cracks and splitter covering the beast who was growling. What do I do? Can I even do anything? I had potions but those are more likely to catch my team in the crossfire. I can't use them, even if I could they weren't good enough to stop an unarmed pro, let alone one with the same potions. I didn't know alchemy, my blood magic wasn't going to do much of anything.