Our People (the Third Book of the Her Weakness series)

Chapter 114

Lexa's POV

Later that night, we are gathered in the house Luna has been letting Octavia, Raven, Clarke, and I stay in. Aside from us and the guards, Nakai and Luna are here as well.

We are having a difficult time deciding what to do.

Raven wants us to sneak in and then unleash Boomy while she hides in a place where she can see what she is doing. Octavia thinks that is a terrible idea since we do not know anything about the inside of the cove. She points out that Raven may not be able to find anywhere to hide, but Raven still likes her plan. 

Nakai thinks we should just rush them and use the element of surprise. Which I quickly shoot down because surprise wears off quickly, especially with highly trained warriors. That would mean we would have high casualties, and I do not want anyone to die, let alone a few people.

Others throw out a few half-formed plans but none of them stick out as a good idea we could use. Finally, I give up and sigh.

"Raven, go into more detail about your plan."

"Yes!" She pumps her fist in the air. "Alright, so I go in first carrying Boomy and find somewhere close to the nearby guards but not close enough where I'm in too much danger. Then I set down Boomy and have him walk up to the guards. They'll notice him eventually and be confused, and that's when I'll have Boomy shoot them with his awesome laser eyes. Once they're down, you guys come up to me. We take a minute to regroup, look around, take in our surroundings. Then we formulate a plan and wing it!"

"That is not a great plan," I say and Raven's face falls. "But it is the best we have."

Raven whoops excitedly. "Awesome! You won't regret this, Lexa!"

"I hope not," I say drily. "All of you, go to bed and rest. We have a big day tomorrow and being tired is dangerous. Think about the plan and let me know tomorrow if you think of any improvements. We will meet back here and talk in the morning. Lincoln can make breakfast for us."

Everyone nods and we all stand. We say goodnight to each other and then Clarke and I head upstairs.

"Do you think it'll work?" Clarke asks as she closes the door behind us.

"I do not know," I sigh. "I hope it will, but there is no use worrying about what we cannot change. Let us relax and go to sleep, ai hodnes (my love)."

Clarke nods and kisses me gently. It is soft and sweet and we both know it will not lead to more. We pull apart and slowly take off each other's clothes. I fold them up and place them on a table in the corner of the room. We will not be needing it tomorrow, we will however have to get out our armor.

We climb in bed on opposite sides, naked except for our undergarments and meet in the middle. Clarke lays her head on my chest and curls up against my side, her arm across my stomach. I sigh contently and kiss the top of her head.

The next morning is hectic, with us scrambling to put on our armor when we hear muffled voices coming from downstairs. We slept in later than I wanted, but we should be fine. We head downstairs and discuss our options while Lincoln cooks.

Breakfast is quickly over and is a silent, somber affair. We are all worried about the pirates, and have good reason to. Many have been in the Floukru's military, which is among the best trained and skilled of the clans despite the peaceful nature of the clan itself.

We head out to the docks together. We all pretend we are less concerned than we are as we stride down the street. As Raven puts it, we this is called 'faking it until we make it'. Luna and I are mainly the one who greet the people who come up to us.

Our shoulders slump slightly from their at attention position when we reach the docks. Nakai and Luna lead us to a much smaller ship than the one we were on yesterday. It will easily fit us and will hopefully seem small enough that it can be mistaken as a fishing boat or something non-threatening.

We get on and Luna takes command of the ship, looking more than comfortable as she steers us out of the port and into rougher waters. I can feel the waves hitting the side of the ship and the boat rocks.

"Why did Luna take command?" Raven asks Nakai, breaking the uneasy silence.

Before she spoke, the only sounds were the groaning of the wood beneath our feet, the water lapping at the sides of the boat, and the sound of screeching seagulls.

"She is better at maneuvering small ships." Nakai responds. "Plus, this is personal to me. My emotions could cloud my judgement, so having her steer is safer for us all."

We go quiet again after that, but it feels less suffocating. The sound of Raven tinkering with Boomy and his controller is familiar and helps me relax and get into the right mindset.

Slowly but surely, my shoulders straighten up and my fingers itch to pull out my swords, if only to make sure they are as sharp as they always are.

We get close to land again and the ship stops. Luna and Nakai move in sync, grabbing an anchor and throwing it overboard first at the front, then at the back to keep the boat from drifting.

"This is as close as we can get safely," Luna says. "The water here, since it is low tide, is waist deep. The current is weaker but still strong. If it carried you away, do not fight the current, you will only tire yourself out and drown."

"My stuff can't get wet," Raven frowns.

Octavia lowers herself into the water by the side of the boat. She gestures for Raven to follow her.

"Come on, get on my shoulders. I'll carry you."

"Of all the things I thought I would sit on today, your shoulders wasn't on the list." Raven jokes as she climbs down.

Next chapter, Boomy and the gang vs. pirates! Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!