Against all odds (The Pack)

Chapter 42

Warnings: None

~Preston's P.O.V.~

    I hold my breath in anticipation as the distance between us and the two strangers closes rapidly. I find myself having to fight more than ever to keep my heat down. And this time, it's not because of the fact that I'm sitting in the middle of a massive body of water. As Rob rows us closer and closer, the other four tailing closely behind, I crane my neck to look over his shoulder. Now we're close enough that I can see the features of the strangers. And apparently Rob can too, because he gasps quietly, his muscles tensing. One of them has jet black hair that creates a fringe that sweep over his emerald green eyes. He also has two small, black, ring-like lip piercings on one side of his mouth. The other has blond hair, similar to Lachlan's, but a little shorter. His eyes are a rich brown. Both wear no armour, and both have a small black tattoo that looks like an evoker under their right eyes.

    "It's Jasper and Xenos..." Rob whispers in alarm, eyes widening.
     "It's who?"
     "Jasper and Xenos." He repeats "They're two of the only six mages in our kingdom, and even the entire world as far as anyone knows. Seto is the strongest of the six, and he's the ruler. The other five lead our fleets into battle, and they're all super strong and cunning. Jasper and Xenos are two of those five."
"Of course it is. Because it couldn't just be two random people crossing the ocean. It just had to be two of the most dangerous people in your kingdom." I comment sarcastically.
"Shh, here they come." Rob hushes.
"Robert! Long time no see." The black haired dude greets, waving his hand in greeting.

Jasper and Xenos come to a stop about seven blocks away from the six of us, boats rising and falling steadily on the small waves. I subconsciously reach for my bow, lying beside me in the boat. But Xenos catches me almost instantly.

"We mean you no harm." He speaks, seemingly addressing everyone but letting his gaze flick over to me. "Seto, ruler of the Spell kingdom, has sent us to escort you to him, under orders we bring no harm to you, of course."
"Ha as if-"
"Let me do the talking, Lachlan." Rob cuts in, silencing him with a stare before turning back to the blond one-Xenos I think. "Prove it. How do we know you're not just going to turn on us and kill us out here-when no one is around to watch you?"

He believes the part about this Seto guy sending them to escort us? I trust Rob's judgment, but if he knew we were coming to try and take his kingdom from him, you'd think he'd try to stop us... Not bring us right in.

"If we wanted to attack you, we would have already done it." Jasper states without skipping a beat. "We're at an advantage here, even if were outnumbered three to one. We have magic, you don't. And our magic surpasses and old bow or other long range weapons you could hope to use."
"And not to mention you couldn't risk fighting and maneuvering around because of him." Xenos points out, nodding towards me.
Anger swells up inside me as Xenos smirks. "Hey-"
"Calm down Preston." Vikk murmurs from beside me, "He's trying to agitate you on purpose."
"Aren't you a smart one?" Xenos chuckles, staring at Vikk. "Aren't you that famous assassin? Vikk was it?"
"Ex-assassin." Vikk corrects with a frown.
"Sure. Anyways, enough chit chat. Seto is waiting, so follow us." Xenos announces.

And with that they turn, and start paddling away back in the direction they came. Rob hesitates for a moment, before quickly following them. Behind us I can hear the splash of oars to water as Jerome, Mitch, Vikk, and Lachlan follow. I frown, watching Jasper and Xenos carefully as they proceed without a glance back.

"I don't trust them." I mumble.
Rob shifts slightly, "Neither do I. But Seto is pretty chill, and I don't have trouble believing he actually wants to see us. So because of that, we might as well do what they say."