Page 19 of Surrendering Her Heart

I let out a shaky breath and lower my fists, forcing my hands to relax. I shake my head, rub my eyes, then look around. There are a lot of people milling around, apparently aimless, but there is a line that is making its way out the main door. Blinking to clear my sight, I see that that line is being armed.

“Time?” I ask, looking back to Zamis.

“Yes,” he says. “The Order is inbound.”

“How many?” I ask, trying to detangle my hair with my fingers.

I don’t remember falling asleep. This transition to being wide awake and under imminent threat makes me feel completely out of sorts. My fingers hit a particularly tough knot. I pull thestrand around to see what I’m doing, but a moment later, I realize he didn’t answer.

I stop working the knot and look at him. His frown says everything I could ever need to know and everything that I don’t want to. My stomach drops, hitting the floor and leaving a sick feeling in its wake.

“How many Zamis?” I repeat.

He shakes his head.

“We will do our best,” he says.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and drop the strand of hair. The last thing in the world that’s going to matter is if I have a knot in my hair or not.

“Right,” I say, gritting my teeth, rolling my neck and shoulders, then meeting his eyes with all the determination that I can muster. “Let’s do this.”

Zamis nods once, his expression unreadable, and turns toward the exit. I follow, shoving away the lingering haze of sleep. My pulse pounds in my ears as we step into the main tunnel, where chaos has sharpened into grim purpose.

Weapons are distributed with quiet efficiency. Zmaj and humans alike murmur in hushed voices, checking gear, fastening makeshift armor, preparing for what’s coming. Nyanna strides over, her face set like stone.

“You’re up. Good. We need every able body we’ve got.”

She hands me one of the very few rifles we have. I take it automatically, the familiar weight settling against my palms. Ilift and check the charge, the safety, and its readiness before slinging the strap and settling it on my back.

“How long?” I ask.

“They’ll be here before sunrise.” Her gaze flicks toward Zamis, unreadable. “Scouts confirmed it an hour ago. This is it.”

I nod, inhaling slowly. There’s no time to second-guess, no room for hesitation. Zamis steps closer, his presence a steady heat at my side.

“You stay near me,” he rumbles.

It’s not a request. I lift a brow.

“You worried about me?” His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t deny it. I huff out a breath, forcing a smirk to cover the nerves crawling up my spine. “I can take care of myself.”

His golden eyes lock onto mine, something unreadable flickering in their depths. I don’t look away. For a moment, I swear I can hear his hearts beating. Steady, unshakable, but I know it’s impossible There’s way too much noise, but more than hearing them, I feel them and their steady rhythm.

“I know,” he says quietly. “But I am taking care of you anyway.”

Damn him. I swallow against the sudden tightness in my throat and look away.

Nyanna clears her throat, dragging us both back to reality. “Positions. Now.”

The command ripples through the cavern, sending bodies into motion. I tighten my grip on the rifle, fall into step with the others, and force my breath to steady. The Order is coming.

And this time, we stand and fight.

I grip my rifle tighter as I jog toward the outer defenses, Zamis close beside me. The entrance to the outpost is open, people pouring through. The closer we get, the louder a low thrumming sound that sets my teeth on edge.

“What is that sound?” I ask Zamis.

“Defensive turrets,” he says. “It is doubtful those will last long, but they’ll use them while they can.”

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