But what's going on in front of the fortress makes my heart drop into my stomach. It was weird that we ran into no one on our way here, but now I know why. It's almost as if the entire city is standing in front of the building. It's funny because the house is bigger than the others, but nothing super grand from out here. The only notable thing is a huge balcony on the top floor that seems to be coming off of two other rooms. There are a few chairs and a table that overlook the ocean.
My eyes find Tide, who is on the ground out front, handing out guns.
Holy shit. It looks like we're going to be attacked by a mob. My chest tightens when I recognize some of the people in the crowd. They were people I hung around with in the market. How could they turn on me like this?
"Well, it looks like we'll be fighting a whole realm here." His jaw twitches, and he taps his fingers on his side.
That doesn't seem to be an understatement. "They even have guns." What the hell is going on? They try to appear peaceful, but this shows otherwise. "We better head back before someone sees us."
"Yeah, we're going to have to do a surprise attack with all that." He groans and turns back in the direction of the ocean. "We need to get a good game plan in place."
The last thing I want to do is go up against them, but they have Charlie. There is no other choice. I'll do whatever it takes to save him. I can't lose him.
As soon as we get some distance from the fortress, my breathing begins to level. We should be safe for now since everyone is over there.
Of course, that's when the sound of footsteps comes from behind us.
Dax grabs a knife from his belt and spins around. He rushes toward the person who is just now stepping out from behind a building.
No, it can't be. "Stop. Don't hurt her." I sure hope she's not here to hurt us.
Dax drops his arm right before the knife would have entered her chest.
Melody's eyes are wide, and she trembles in fear. "I'm not... I'm not here to hurt you." She throws her hands up in the air and stumbles as she takes a step behind her.
"Why the hell were you sneaking up on us?" Dax's tone is hard, and his breathing is ragged.
Shit, it seems as if we all scared one another. I don't blame Dax for being angry. He almost killed her, for God's sake.
"I'm sorry." She flattens down her shirt against her belly and licks her lips. "I didn't know whether I should call out or not. You guys seemed to be on a mission." She glances at the ground and takes a deep breath. "What are you doing?"
"We had to scope out the fortress." For some reason, I trust her, so I'm going with my intuition.
"Chris..." Dax hisses at me and steps in between her and me. "We might not be able to trust her."
"No, you can." She takes a few steps toward me, but Dax blocks her again. She bites her lip. "She saved me. I owe her.”
"Leave her alone." He's trying to be protective, but damn. The past few weeks, she and I have become friends. "I trust her."
"We can't be too careful." Dax tenses up and glares at her.
"I swear on the artifact itself you can trust me." She stays put and taps her foot.
This is ridiculous. I trust her, and that's all that matters. I step around Dax and frown. "Ria took Charlie. She told me I had to leave the island in order for her to release him."
"No." She closes her eyes, and her small fingers pinch the bridge of her nose. "This isn't good."
"I can't..." Tears fill my eyes, and my heart feels as if it's going to shatter. "I can't lose him."
"You're not going to." Dax places his hand on my arm and squeezes. "We're going to get him back and kick their asses."
"I hope you're right." Her voice is low, almost a whisper, and she glances back toward where all of the people are congregated. "You both have to understand that even though Tide acts like it, he's not the one who runs the show."
Wait... What does that mean? "He's the one who greeted us here and came to your aid that night with the ogre."
"It's because they knew you were there." Melody takes a deep breath and looks at her hands. She's quiet for a moment as if she's trying to decide whether to continue.
"Just come out with it." Dax's tone is so low it almost sounds like a growl. "You've already started."
She frowns at him but nods. "You're right." She focuses back on me. "It's all for appearances’ sake. They work together, but Ria, she's the powerful one. To outsiders, they want them to think it's Tide who is in charge so they underestimate what's going on."
Once again, I fell for the illusion. I could have sworn she worked for Tide. "So how powerful is she?"
"Before you, she was the only one who could really connect with the Water Artifact, and she's practiced and harnessed that gift since she was a young child. She is very strong and has protected these lands since she was a teenager." She rubs her chin and purses her lips.
"Well, she may have, but I have the power of three artifacts on my side." I should be able to take her.
"But you care about people and try to do the right thing." She runs her hand through
