Silence fills the tower as something calls out softly - the renegade scout worming beneath the door, mouth drawn. The scouts below report sightings of Blackfang scouts in the eastern ridge. The first light they're going to move out on the reconnoiter. The scout's voice is low but frantic.
Kael sits up, teeth gritted, weight shifted off his ribs. I pull myself down off the cot and help hoist him up, my arm pressed against his back. "Stay down," I whisper and lower him back. Mara echoes our shift, as she looks at the door. "We're going to have to use strategy—go to work on them before they pick up their game.
Kael nods, his voice small: "Let me stay." I'll join at first light. I don't want to slow you."
My heart sinks. I'm not going to leave you," I tell him, but I know his fear of protecting me is going to have him arguing. "I need you at my side."
JACE leads on, his expression serious. "We'll handle this. You rest. "When the dust settles, we'll see you at the western wall."
