Page 124 of Revenge of the Forgotten

“Then I guess we’re hitching a ride with Khort and his band of misfits in the morning since he’s meeting with Urban.” They only had one motorized boat.

Fuck.

Vega threw her hands in the air. “He already shut the idea down.”

Arlet’s smile was slow, troublesome. “Since when have you ever listened to Khort ‘I’m the Boss’ Fera?”

49

Getting on the boat with Khort went about as smoothly as Vega and Arlet had anticipated. He argued for nearly half an hour, causing them to approach the docks after sunrise.

“I swear to the gods—” Vega started.

“We are the gods. You can’t swear on us anymore,” Khort fired back.

Vega whacked him on the shoulder, coaxing a genuine smile from him for the first time since she boarded the boat. “Okay, I swear to the dead ones if I can’t get to Littera because we’re late, I’ll fry you.”

Arlet strode up beside them. “And I’ll help, but don’t worry, I’ll make you see a pretty field of flowers while it happens.”

“Wow, I need new best friends,” he jeered.

Vega eyed the land in the distance, hoping to make out Urban’s figure on the horizon.

Arlet scoffed, “Good luck with that. No one likes grumpy dragons.”

Anxiously, Vega tapped her foot against the boat’s deck.

“Don’t worry, Vega. He’s gonna be there.” Arlet wrapped her arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

The journey from Imber to Solum was half the distance of the one to Fraus, but this time Vega found herself counting every second sneaking by.

The docks came into view, and Vega scanned everyone bustling around the ships and market square. Urban’s red hair stood out, rustling in the breeze.

Vega let out a sigh of relief.

He lifted his arm, fingers fluttering in a hello. Vega smiled big as Arlet squeezed her shoulder before pulling away to help throw ropes to the merchants on the dock.

Khort stood at attention, eyes scrutinizing the people buzzing around Urban. He had no guards near him, only a small blonde with a white cloak wrapped around her shoulders for warmth.

Urban spoke loudly. “I almost thought you weren’t coming.”

Vega disembarked, her footsteps echoing against the wooden planks. She pulled Urban into a hug, and despite his shock, he wrapped his arms around her too. “Thank you.”

She could hear the smile in his voice when he answered. “No need for thanks. I told you that I’m in this. Reaching out to Colette is the least I could do to prove it.”

Vega extended her hand to Colette. The blonde grabbed it and shook lightly. “It’s nice to meet you,” Vega said.

The young woman nodded her head. “I have been dying to meet the infamous Vega who has our world up in arms.”

“You have no guards,” Khort noted as he came up behind Vega, interrupting their conversation.

“There is no need for guards when the people in my territory are all on the same page,” Urban replied with certainty. “The people in Solum are ready to fight.” As he said it, the men and women working the docks put down their crates and shifted their attention to their praefectus, placing a balled fist over their hearts in unison.

We are one.

Urban threw his hands up in a sweeping motion. “My people are with this rebellion. My people are with you, Khort. I understand your unease, but it is misplaced here. My people are your people.”

Solum-born controlled plant life—some at a slow pace, great for farming year-round, while others could make a tree root system their weapon of choice—bonded with animals, and were the reason everyone in Tolevarre ate. No one would be alive if it weren’t for the food they brought to everyone’s tables—especially those in power.

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