Page 77 of Of Daggers and Deceit

“I can’t wait,” I replied shakily, smiling up at him, which he returned.

He placed one last kiss against my lips before we turned to join the others as we marched up the stairs towards the arid expanse. My nerves were high, but I had to trust that we would make it.

We must make it.

We piled out near the compound, the air hot and dense tonight as Bodhi turned to face us, all softness in his expression gone.

“We give our all. Because of this, we never truly fail. Stay safe. Stay on guard.” His address was brief but needed, the energy different amidst our group tonight. Tired.

“Move out and take your positions.” We each turned and pivoted to walk towards our designated locations on the field before I heard him call my voice.

“Raya.” I turned to look back at Bodhi standing there in his tactical suit. I took him in again: the shaved pink hair, his tanned skin, bright amber eyes. He was so achingly handsome, and I would miss him even if it was just for a week.

“We are doing a swap. You’re with me tonight.” My gut plummeted.

Shit. How could this be happening tonight of all nights?

Tonight, we were trying a newer tactic, spreading out individually across the wasteland, though Bodhi, who was now going to be my partner, would still linger near. This night already felt like it was going to shit.

He smiled warmly and walked alongside me until we drew nearer to where we were situated. It felt like a thousand bugs were crawling beneath my skin with how anxious I felt in this moment. This was bad. So very bad.

I lay down in my position, tugging roughly on the neckline of my tactical suit that was beginning to choke me. No matter how much I pulled at it, the feeling of suffocation never left.

I needed to focus. Why was it so goddamn hard?

“Raya, you good?” Bodhi whispered, and I looked towards him with wide eyes and nodded.

Between the four daggers strapped to my body, the two cuffs on my wrist, and my gift, I would have to be enough.

I noted the positions of the others on the field, whistles sounding from various points to confirm everyone was in position, ready to go.

I waited, anticipation rising.

Nothing.

A single drop of sweat steered its way down my forehead into my brow and dropped just below my eye. I used my forearm to wipe the sweat off my face before focusing back on the doorway. We had anticipated the infiltrators would barrel through our barrier with ferocious speed, as they supposedly always had.

The crawling beneath my skin intensified.

I swiped at my eyes and enhanced my focus as I blinked a few times at what looked like red lights flashing on the field.

What the?

I blinked again and stared at the nine blinking red lights in different locations around the field, another rolling and locking into place twenty feet away from me. My head tilted reactively, confused about the device before me.

Confusion gave way to horror, the beeping sound of the devices increasing in speed as I screamed out across the field to alert the others. “Fall back!”

I pushed up to stand, pivoting and sprinting with all my might as far as possible, away from the offending object. The thread of my power continued to slip from my grip, my terror for Bohdi consuming me. Was he following me?

Ten, single-clicking noises sounded off in warning before vibrations drove through the ground and chaos descended.

Plumes of sand erupted up to the sky, settling into a grim red sea of harsh grains that rained down on us, seizing all oxygen from the air. The force of the explosion nearest to me threw me forward to face plant harshly in the sand, and my muscles pinched painfully in my neck from the impact.

Winded but not severely injured, I got to my hands and knees, quickly taking in deep gulps of air, only to choke on the sandy grit as it clawed and scratched its way down my throat to settle uncomfortably in my lungs.

Holding my breath and unable to open my eyes, I hid my face in the crook of my elbow and ran back aimlessly in the direction I thought held the city until I cleared the falling sand. Choking and spluttering, I spat and coughed, desperately trying to inhale clean air and wipe my eyes.

Gusts of air brushed over me, clearing some of the lingering sand as I whirled around, dagger in hand, to see Bohdi land on the ground, stalking towards me in his shifted form. He looked both terrifying and dangerous as his sharp gaze raked down my body, assessing for signs of injury.

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