Page 47 of Renegade Queen
“Okay, let’s break down the problem and look at it more strategically,” Maddox suggested, coming in as the voice of reason. “To get to the prisoners, we need to get through these Endless guys. Fighting puts us at a disadvantage, so distraction is our best option. Could we draw them away if they sensed magic nearby?” he asked.
Was it weird that his level-headed planning was kind of sexy?
Watching Maddox fall into problem-solving mode was hot. Not to mention impressive. I knew this was essentially their job. But I hadn’t considered that they could be an asset on this side of the portal. Granted, I hadn’t thought we’d be walking into a fight. I genuinely had believed we’d be retrieving a body and leaving again.
We hadn’t had the chance to consider why Damon had been taken. But we should. Because something about it didn’t add up. Why Damon? Was it a really big fucking coincidence that the one human to survive was the one we were coming to retrieve? Not to mention, what did the mad bastard want with a human in the first place?
“I believe they would investigate, yes. The king collects power unquestioningly. They wouldn’t miss the opportunity to seize a potential new recruit for his army… especially if it was strong.” Fizzle eyed me at that, and it didn’t take a genius to see what he was getting at.
Walking further into Nymeria, no matter how carefully, was madness. It was only a matter of time before I had a target on my back. I could already feel my magic buzzing along my skin. It wouldn’t be long before it started to draw attention. But the longer we could delay that, the better. Especially if we were going to try and break into the Winter Court, the one place I shouldn’t go. Not while he was sitting on the throne.
Looking around the group, I could tell the others were waiting for me to say something. I was the only one with any experience of magic, apart from Fizzle. But he was a creature of Nymeria, and I doubted the king would care for his brand of magic. No, he was collecting fae, and only a fae could create the distraction we needed.
“You realise this is the exact same plan I just suggested, and you all shot down?” I pointed out, feeling a bit pissed about the whole thing. Of course, it was a better plan when a guy suggested it. Typical.
“No, you were talking about walking in there and getting yourself killed; we’re suggesting a distraction from a distance to draw them away. One you will quickly move away from so they don’t actually get eyes on you, let alone have a chance to grab you too,” Dean snapped.
Honestly, with the amount of whispering going on, I was surprised we hadn’t already been discovered.
“Actually, I didn’t say anything of the sort,” I huffed.
“So, that wasn’t what you were going to do?” Dean snarked. “You weren’t just going to walk into that clearing, make a big scene and then pull your sword and hope for the best?”
I hated that he could read me so easily when he didn’t even know me yet.
“I’d have pulled my sword much earlier than that.” I was sulking now, and I didn’t care. My arms were crossed, and there was definitely some pouting going on.
“Oh, well, that makes all the difference.” His soft smile and the way he playfully shoved me, were unlike the grumpy arsehole calling me out on my crap, and I couldn’t help but forgive him immediately.
Maybe I was trying to prove something. What exactly? I had no idea. Even so, I was pretty sure I could do this.
“So, adapting Alyssa’s awesome death plan…” Ryder started, grinning playfully at me. “We need a long-range distraction. Do you think you can do that?” he asked.
I ran through the options available and had a few ideas for what would be more successful.
“Something in keeping with your heritage,” Fizzle cryptically pointed out, even though I knew exactly what he was trying to say.
Stick to what you’re supposed to be able to do, and don’t pull from the extra bag of tricks I had at my disposal.
I hadn’t even been here a full day, and I was already back to the old habits of keeping secrets and lying about who I was. Was life ever going to get any easier?
“I can do that.” I nodded, looking around the group, realising I’d have to leave them to fight alone. No matter what we did, I wouldn’t be able to draw all of them away, and I was starting to see that this plan left the rest of them in more danger than I was comfortable with.
“I’ll shift,” Tank told us, nodding as he did. “I’m stronger shifted, and my bear can do more damage than I can with this thing.” He poked the sword distastefully.
Maddox frowned, and I knew he was thinking about the rest of them shifting.
“Give it time,” I told him in what I hoped was a reassuring way. For all I knew, he dreaded the idea of turning into something else. “Fizzle, stay with them and assist as much as you can. Remember, you’re not aiming to kill. You only need to incapacitate them enough to take them out of the fight and escape with the prisoners. I’m guessing none of you has fought against someone in armour before.”
The more I thought about it, the more disastrous this idea was starting to get. These guys couldn’t fight armoured soldiers, that even Fizzle was scared of.
I saw the questioning looks in their eyes. Worryingly they didn’t look nervous at all, but that was probably because they were falling into work mode.
This wasn’t going to work. We couldn’t do this without at least one of them being injured. And I had a feeling these Endless wouldn’t be pulling any punches.
My gaze met Fizzle’s, and I saw him open his beak to say something, realising what was going through my mind. But slowly, he closed it and gently nodded at me. I didn’t need his permission to do this. It was happening either way. But knowing he at least had the confidence that I could, did wonders for the doubts spiralling through my mind.
Hopefully, if this went terribly wrong, Fizzle could persuade the guys to return to the portal. He should be able to open it for them to get them back home.