“Easy there, little one,” Nus said.
I could have hugged her for rescuing me but striding up behind her was Fiath.
And he did not look pleased.
“I told you to stay back,” he said, voice harsh.
I raised my chin.
“And I told you I won’t obey your orders,” I said.
Our eyes met. His icy cold, mine fiery and hot.
Despite himself, he bit off a grin and shook his head. He took me in his arms.
“What am I going to do with you?” he said.
“I have a few ideas…” I said.
“I bet you do.”
“I saw the Changelings about to ambush you. What was I supposed to do?”
“We got them.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.
“Next time when I tell you to stay out of harm’s way, you’d better listen to me.”
He kissed me on the forehead.
“So long as you don’t put yourself in trouble, I will,” I said, reveling in his affections.
Due to the Changelings almost getting the drop on them, the Titans grew eyes in the back of their heads and kept a very close eye on the hills around us.
M’rar Thres ordered two large Titan soldiers to move a rock from the side of a small hill. When they did, it revealed a dark passageway that led into infinite darkness.
We were still a long way from the palace and I wasn’t convinced a passageway like this could reach it.
Fiath reached inside and withdrew a torch. A soldier lit it with a pair of flint rocks and led the way inside.
Despite the torchlight, the tunnel was dark. I felt along the floor with my feet and the walls with my hands. We walked in single file and Fiath took point.
He was much more surefooted. He must have come down this passageway many times. He ducked when there was nothing apparently there. I only saw the protrusion after he had passed it. When I ducked, the others followed suit behind me.
I held Fiath’s narrow waist as he led us into the darkness. The others dared not touch me the same way for fear of incurring Fiath’s anger.
Every so often, there was a thud as someone smacked their head, knee, or elbow and hissed through their teeth.
I began to wonder if the tunnel would ever come to an end. Then I recalled just how far away the palace was from the passageway entrance. It could take hours for us to reach the palace.
But it didn’t take hours. More like thirty or forty minutes.
I bumped into Fiath, who’d come to a stop. He turned to face me and the others. Even with the harsh flickering light of the torch, he was a devilishly handsome figure.
“Complete silence from here on out,” he said, pulling up the hood of his cloak. “We’re drawing near the exit. We don’t want the Changelings in the palace to hear us.”
Fiath crept silently the rest of the journey, taking one small step after another. He slowed and pressed his hands against an invisible wall. He leaned his ear against it, no doubt listening for Changelings on the other side.
Hearing nothing, he bent down and wrapped his hand around something that was also invisible to me. He yanked on it with a vicious tug. The entire wall slid to one side.
Fiath leaned forward and then stepped back.
Had he seen something?
He edged forward into the hallway and checked each direction.
“It’s clear,” he said.
He helped me out of the tunnel. The natural light blinded me. I squinted to protect myself from the glare.
The others spread out, eyes wary and watchful.
Fiath reached for the statue of a Titan warrior carved from stone and pressed a button on the creature’s shield. The statue slid back into place. He checked it to make sure there were no lines or marks that would reveal the secret entrance. Confident, he turned to us.
“This way,” he said.
We hurried down the palace’s long hallways. The plan was to visit the armory and collect advanced weapons we needed to overpower the Changelings and take control of the defensive turrets.
We edged down the hallways. The others held their swords and knives raised. I felt a little vulnerable without a weapon in my hand.
Nus nudged my shoulder and handed me a knife.
I nodded in thanks to her… then realized I had no idea if I could bring myself to stab someone. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to.
It was slow, steady work. We needed to be careful.
M’rar Thres came to a stop and peered out the window. His expression was frozen, ensnared by something outside.
“What is it?” I said.
I went up on tiptoe to peer outside and see what had arrested him.
The scene was terrifying.
In the distance, beyond the clutch of buildings of Okem town and its protective walls was a battle.
The battle.
The firepower of advanced weaponry was on one side. The Changelings attacked from the ground and air. The Titan army defended themselves as best they could with their shields, launching spears, axes, knives, and the occasional plasma bolt at the enemy, but it was clear who had superior firepower.
For every Changeling soldier they took down, three Titans fell in their place.
It was a massacre.
Our creeping through the palace to disable the defenses was being paid for with Titan blood.
Many of the injured were still alive, helped by their comrades, who dragged them through the mud to the rear ranks. From there, they were carried off on stretchers toward the impromptu field hospital.
Where I should have been.
“We must hurry,” Nus said. “They cannot fight much longer.”
“Sh!”
Fiath came to a stop and pressed his back to the wall. The others followed suit, with me hurrying behind them a moment later.
We didn’t move a single muscle as a pair of Changeling soldiers strode past at the end of the hall.
No one moved a muscle. They would have spotted us in an instant.
The soldiers continued with their conversation as they passed and headed down the hall.
Everyone waited a moment before sighing with relief.
We pushed on and hustled down the hall. We hung a left and came to an old door
