Page 74 of The Last Dragon
In the crowd of soldiers rushing past, Alex peeks from behind a carriage. His arms crossed in a way only the Middlers do—his demeanor making him stick out like a sore thumb, completely unprepared. He has nothing. No bag, no bow. What does he think a dagger will do?
I roll my eyes, grab a bow, and stride toward Alex. He leans against the carriage, even after he notices my approach. It sickens me, knowing he and I wear the same leathers yet differ in so many ways. He shifts slightly, leaning back, his eyes warning me about coming closer.
“Here,” I say, throwing the bow his way, and he catches it, his eye pinned on me. “Make yourself useful.”
He smirks. “Are they really sending out inexperienced soldiers to patrol?” he asks, observing the bow like he’s disgusted by it. “That’s suicide.”
“Haven’t you read the form?” I raise a brow, and he looks at me, confused.
“What form?”
“The application form,” I say, turning on my heel and walking back to my unit. “Joining the Corpsissuicide.”
We get into our final formation. It’s a company consisting of three squads, and each squad is made of six units. Almost twohundred soldiers total. The other two hundred in the second army will follow later. It’s safer, but also less firepower.
The six units get into their position, and the formation looks like an arrow. Four units behind one another and two units beside the second. My unit is last in our squad, observing for any potential threats from the back and making sure everything is as organized as possible. On each side, there are two additional scouts that will be reporting to the second army. Lieutenant Wain has formed her own unit in the front, together with Vera.
There aren’t enough horses for everyone—nearly all of them are for the second company, in case we need backup. While I need soldiers who are mostly on foot. Nida stands beside me, clutching her bow as she adjusts her hair.
“You should cut it,” I say, scanning the front as Wain barks orders at the units beside her. “It’s in your way—obscures your vision.”
“I’ll just put it in a tail,” she whispers. “Or you could braid it for me again?”
I glance at the smile forming on her lips. “You’re just as good at weaving bracelets as me. If not better.” I remember as a kid, she said she would never grow out her hair. I wonder what made her change her mind about that.
“Yeah, but it’s more fun when you do it.”
Something twists in my stomach. I take a breath and shake my head. Ilian, Raumen, Sam, and Eryca get into their positions, with Hayden and Caspian reinforcing as Defender and Medic—two fifth-years. They’re both skilled, and I’m certain we will benefit from them. I’ve known Hayden—Sayna’s son—better than Caspian. Alex is behind me, since he doesn’t have a Tracker yet, so he takes up the role of reinforcement for either me or Ilian.
I observe the unit in front of us—fixing the supply carriage with two horses and putting in the last poles and arrows. Then they signal that they’re ready.
The outer gates begin to open, and my heart beats faster and faster. It feels like eternity, and I can’t stop thinking of all possible outcomes for this expedition, trying to weed out things I shouldn’t do as I lead. Raumen stands beside me, watching me. He gives me a warm smile and a thumbs up—his way of attempting to reassure me. But the only time that would feel reassuring is if he didn’t have to follow me—or in the worst case, die because of my mistake. I hope that doesn’t happen. I hope I can bring everyone home. The gates are now fully open, and we march to what I hope won’t be our doom.
CHAPTER 26
The trek to the village in the Eastern Terrain takes about eight hours on foot. For most of it, soldiers remain at ease, believing this to be the safest part of the expedition. But the Redsnout attacking the Stronghold put fear in their eyes. And it does the same to mine. If a dragon can ignore the villages that are there for bait and head straight to the Strongholds, our whole scouting system is thrown off, leading to a lot of doubt. Scouts become less accurate, too.
Hours pass, and the clatter of horses and carriage wheels on cobblestones fades as hooves meet dirt. We move farther from the Stronghold, out into the open fields beyond. Nida tiptoes beside me, though she should be several meters back, watching for danger.
“We’re not far,” she says, her amber eyes gleaming with a mixture of joy and sadness, a feeling that is contagious even to me.Pirlem. A frown tugs at the corners of my lips as weapproach a small field with only a little amount of grass peeking out through the dirt. Everything looks like the way I left it. It even smells the same.
Burned.
The field still blooms, forget-me-nots scattered through the grass, delicate patches of blue in a sea of green—clinging to life in defiance of the world burning beyond. As a kid, the colors seemed far more vibrant than they do now.
Nida slows down, her eyes tracing a rogue forget-me-not blooming on the side of the path. She leans forward, her hair falling across her shoulder and chest, and picks it up. Then she tracks back to my side.
“Do you remember these?” she says, tracing the sky-tinted petals with her fingers. “We used to pass these fields when we were kids in search of different herbs for brewing our made-up concoctions.” She laughs, twirling the flower in between her fingers, dimples appearing.
“I remember,” I say coldly. She needs to stay focused. More importantly,I need to stay focused.
But her smile never falters. “You used to pick these for me and leave them by the doorstep.” Her eyes gleam with memories.
Heat blooms across my cheeks, sudden and scorching like sunlight at midday, and I tear my attention from her. “That was ages ago,” I say, pursing my lips.
“Some things never change,” she murmurs.
I shift sideways, putting a sliver of distance between us, and promptly stumble over a rock that seems to materialize beneath my boot. I crash into Raumen. Nida’s eyes snap to mine. Confusion clouds her face, mirroring the chaos in my own. My heartbeat thunders against my ribs. I swallow hard, clear my throat, and tear my gaze from hers once more as I straighten my spine.
