Page 131 of Bound By Darkness

“I’m not owing you a favor.”

“Oh? Not even if I make you?—”

A man rushed beside us, his breathing labored and deep as he spoke over Ivan’s words. “There… you are,” he said between pauses.

My eyes narrowed at Ivan before they flickered to the man.

He held up a hand toward the middle of the camp, his eyes wide. “Iyanna needs you both in her tent.”

“She can wait,” Ivan scoffed. “I have plans tonight.”

“Please, you have to go. It’s urgent.”

“What’s so urgent it can’t wait?” Ivan snapped.

“The plans. Moria and Naexi succeeded in obtaining the Rebel’s next plan of attack, and it’s dreadful.” The man rattled his reply through shallow gulps of air.

“Let’s go,” I said after a pause. “If we aren’t there in the next five seconds, something tells me Iyanna will tug on the bond.”

As if she heard my statement, a slight wisp curled around the bond, making my skin shiver and pepper.

Ivan ran a hand through his hair. “Fine, but I don’t appreciate being interrupted.”

The man laughed nervously as he wound his fingers together. “Thank you. Thank you,” he said. “She’ll be waiting at her tent.”

The man hurried off into the night before we said a proper goodbye.

We walked through the camp, daylight lighting our backs with its final kiss.

“Is it serious?”

“We’ve been trying to obtain their plans for months until Moria and Naexi successfully brought them back. If Iyanna called for both of us personally, I don’t imagine it could be anything less.”

A puff of air left my lips. I was a coward living in the skin of divine blessing, but it didn’t matter now.

The plans were here and it was time to attack.

My head jerked to the side as a hand pressed against my lower back.

“Let’s go.”

“Right,” I said as we shifted forward to an inevitable fate.

“Nice of you both to finallyjoin us,” Iyanna barked, her lips thinning into a straight line.

“It’s a pleasure keeping you waiting,”Ivan said, his arms crossing his chest. “Let’s cut the bullshit. What did you uncover about the battle plans?”

Iyanna flicked her gaze to Moria, who raised her head from the parchment paper as she said, “It’s… it’s horrible.”

“I can handle bad.”

Moria shook her head. “No, you can’t. Not this time.” Moria looked at me, her voice wavering. “They found you.”

“What do you mean they found me?”

“They know where you have been hiding.”

Ivan’s face paled as he stumbled back. “But there’s no way they could have located us.”

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