“Okay,” I answered.
Fen walked over, still reeling while we waited for the rest of the rebels to meet us.
“They say they’re rebels,” the one Fen attacked said.
Stag horn guy must have been the leader.
“Do you have proof?” he asked.
Everyone but Lichen and I showed their tattoos. He nodded. “What are you doing near The Mists?”
“I could ask you the same question,” I answered. “Wait a minute. I’ve seen you before.” I pulled out my sword, and instantly my group, aside from Kai who struggled to stand, did the same. “You’re one of Autus’ collected wielders.”
Fen tilted his head to the side. “You’ve let your horns grow.”
“I belong to no one. The king thinks he owns me. He does not.”
“How did you escape him?” Lichen asked. I was surprised he didn’t get his notebook out.
“I remain on his council as a spy for the rebellion.”
I dropped my sword again. “Why should we believe you?”
“It’s true,” Aibell said, appearing seconds before she spoke. “And you will not waste time with this now. The king’s soldiers are nearly to Volos, and if you’re to save even a single person, you will make friends and play nice.”
“Do you enjoy this game you play, old female?” the male asked.
“This is not a game,” Aibell warned. “Fates and flames are coming soon.”
“Use care when you speak to her,” he told me. “She is odd, this one.”
“Trust me, I know,” I answered, pursing my lips.
“Temir, heal this one,” Aibell said, pointing at Kai. “Then get on with it.”
He took a step forward, but I blocked his path. “You hurt him, and I’ll have you mounted on the wall of my future home.”
He pushed past me and laid a hand on Kai, who moaned. I tried to walk forward, but Fen grabbed my arm. “You must listen to Aibell. She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. We have to help them.”
“Oh, so you’re talking to me and not yelling anymore?”
“Later,” he answered as we watched the stag heal our friend.
“Time to go,” Temir said, turning back to us. “We’ve got only the seven of us.”
“Do you have a plan?” Fen asked.
“The entire village is made up of only fourteen homes. We’ve evacuated everyone to a cave just there.” Temir pointed toward the mountains.
“We need someone to stand guard to make sure they are safe. Aside from that, we’ll arm ourselves and enter the homes of the fae, pretending like we are the villagers. When the soldiers come in, and we don’t know how many there are, we will surprise them. We will still have a fight on our hands. I imagine the six of you plus the eight of us would give us a better chance.”
“Unless the females would prefer to wait in the cave,” a rebel said from behind Temir.
“You don’t know our females,” Fen said. “You’d be better off caging a grendel.”
“We must leave now, then,” Temir said.
“Finally,” Aibell grumbled and disappeared.
