Wylde Magic | Book 3

Sixty: Ready

Noise stirred me from a deep sleep. Disoriented as I was, I could at least feel my triquetram around me which was an instant comfort. Then my eyes flew open as I remembered everything.

Sitting up, the cold of the night rushed over my back and shoulders where the furs fell away from my skin. The noises that woke me up were mostly of fae and scouts running around in some kind of alert preparations.

I turned my head to see Spaulder sleeping peacefully. Schula was asleep as well, so deep in comfort against Spaulder's warm scales that her mouth hung open as her breath came slow and steady.

Moving gently out of my furs, I slipped over to Spaulder's neck to check on the wound. Thank the Mother, it looked to be healing well.

Looking down at my hands, I flexed my fingers. My magic had somewhat recovered. Then I looked down at the grass where I had sat working on Spaulder. It was brown and dead. I grimaced, sorry that my witching magic was all I could pull from to heal him, but thankful for the nature around me to use.

Liana strode by, glancing my way with an armful of gathered wood. She stopped and tilted her head to the side. "You're awake."

"What's going on?" I asked.

She huffed, shifting her weight onto her left foot as she held the wood in her arms. "Two groups approaching, we're getting ready."

My heart nearly stopped. "Two? Who is it? Bara Khalja?"

Her eyebrows snapped together. "Look, I've got to get these for the Captain. Don't worry yet, it's not the warlock."

Liana began walking again at a brisk pace.

"Wait, but who?" I asked again.

She eyed me for a moment, then whistled toward the woods where I couldn't see because of Spaulder. "Blue! She's up!"

Then, Liana slipped away to finish her task.

I rolled my eyes. Some people just aren't easy to be around.

A moment later, Thain was rounding Spaulder's huge frame. My lips parted for a moment, registering that Liana had just summoned Thainalan the Ravager with a whistle.

And she called him Blue.

I pulled my lips inward, biting my teeth on them gently and trying to keep from smiling at what Liana just did. Thain was by my side in a moment, placing a warm hand on my back.

"You're awake, how do you feel?" He asked, gently.

I cleared my throat, standing to walk a few steps away. "I'm fine. Let's not wake them yet." I gestured to Schula and Spaulder.

Thain nodded and he directed me to walk with him. Following Thain, we made our way to a place in the trees where the Autumn fae had been camped. I could now see that whatever merging of the two groups that had happened in our absence was more significant than I had originally thought.

The fae had little more than firepits and makeshift groundcover to sleep on when Thain had arrived with them days ago. Now, what was in the trees was comfortable. I could see where Teyber's scouts had assisted in making small versions of their platforms high in the trees. Furs and food were distributed, and more was brought to this place for cooking and distributing. Whoever was sent to watch the trees would be taken care of.

I was impressed. The platforms were very spaced out just close enough to see the next one down, but spread out enough that you'd never know exactly how many fae were surrounding the spacious clearing.

Teyber was under one of these places, his arms bunching as he drew back his ax and sliced through a log cleanly. Liana was there, sorting the wood into piles by size. Two fae were working nearby, skewering selections of foraged food and cooking it over a small fire. Everyone was working to supply the forces that were here, and clearly stockpile more.