Wilde's Army by Krystal Wade

Author:Krystal Wade [Wade, Krystal]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: YA, paranormal romance, urban fantasy
ISBN: 9781620070642
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Chapter Sixteen

Arland points at my sword, a silent command for me to draw my weapon, then turns toward the soldiers. “Gavin, wake the others. They are under the cover of the bushes to my right.”

“Yes, sir.” Gavin pushes through the leaves, shouting all the while at everyone to wake up.

“Could he be any more conspicuous?” Ogilvie asks, staring after his friend.

“Never mind him.” Arland shakes his head. “Katriona and I will untie the horses.”

“Shall I scout the path to the river?”

“Yes. Do you remember where we passed the coscarthas?”

“More coscarthas?” I ask.

They glance at me but ignore my question. Arland hadn’t mentioned passing coscarthas. We’ve been resting for a little over an hour. No one has eaten, too many of us have not slept, and already we’re on the run again.

“Yes, sir.” Ogilvie removes his sword from its sheath, staring at the shiny metal blade with a wild-eyed look.

“We will have to pass them to get back down to the river. If you come upon too many for us to get by, we will need to find another way down; however, if there are only a few, kill them.”

“With pleasure.” Ogilvie smiles at his weapon like a madman, tips his head in my direction, then trots down the trail.

Arland grabs my hand then leads me to my horse. “I want you to ride Mirain.”

“But how will we all stay connected if I’m on her?”

“I am not sure, but how else will we hide her—or the other two for that matter? They will be lost again if we allow them to ride off by themselves.”

“So we potentially risk lives either way? We don’t ride the horses, they get killed by daemons? If we do ride the horses, we get killed by daemons?”

Mirain nudges my cheek with her warm muzzle.

“What is it, girl? Should I leave you or ride you?”

“Unless her answer comes in the form of a yes or no, I believe you are going to need to trust me.” I hear his frustration and recognize the meaning of Arland’s words. My lesson to everyone has been trust; of all people, I should trust him.

“I’m sorry.”

He cups my cheek in his palm. “I have not been strong enough for you since Lann died. Your doubts in my plan are reasonable, but please—”

“Stop, you have been more than strong enough for me, and I do trust you. It’s me I don’t trust.”

Leaning forward, Arland sighs, clasps his hands and offers them to me as a stool.

Staying here and arguing about who’s strong and trustworthy and who isn’t is not an option, so I climb onto Mirain’s bare back, then he mounts Bowen.

She turns, facing the soldiers and children who have left the hideout and gathered around us.

The children rub their eyes, and adults share looks of fatigue.

A nagging sense of responsibility forces me to speak. “We have to move again. There is no food to be caught in the forest—at least not enough to feed all of us—and Darkness and his daemons have found us.

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