Page 81 of Princess

I nodded.

“How are you feeling?”he asked.

“Starving.”

“I’ll get you a plate.Find a seat.”

The humans who came with us were assigned cooking and camp cleanup detail.They knew this before they made their decision to join our team.I was incredibly grateful and I hoped they didn’t see battle.The loss of Alfred’s men hung over me like a dark cloud.

The Warriors were mostly sitting on tree branches with their food in their laps while they ate.I had no problem doing the same, and neither did Nokita.King joined us a few minutes later.

“You’re not eating?”I asked after he handed me a large serving on a paper plate.

“Had food an hour ago.”

“Did you sleep?”

“For about two hours.I feel rested.”

“Are you leading the strike teams?”

“Are you?”

I gave him my “don’t fuck with me” expression.

“I want to, but I also realize it will weaken me for the bigger fight,” he said.

“Same here.”

“Then we wait together.”

“Waiting sucks,” I replied.Nokita started to say something, and I stopped him.“You’re waiting too.Grab Eagle and bring him here.I haven’t seen him since we landed.”

“He’s been doing sniper shit,” Nokita said.

That made me smile.“I hope my plans for him won’t ruin his sniper shit.”

“My ears are burning,” Eagle said and squatted beside us.

“You’re leading a guerrilla style attack on the Federation camp.It will take two hours to get there, and the first strike will be at eleven tonight.”

King outlined what he’d seen at the camp.“Take Desmond with you,” he told Eagle.

“You don’t need to twist my arm,” Eagle replied.“I’ve seen him fight.He’s also a fast runner, and I can use him for communication if something goes wrong.”He thought about the task in front of him for a moment.“It’s eight.I want to leave as soon as possible and scout the area first.”

We went over the plan again, and then Eagle left to choose the strike teams.They left thirty minutes later.We would leave after midnight and find a halfway point to settle down in and wait.Between now and then, we would rest.Axel found us before we reached our tent.

“I have the med bay set up on Alpha 1.”

“You’ll be two hours from the action,” I told him.

“No, I’ll be with you.I have several men trained in emergency triage, and they will stay behind.”

“Are you asking my permission, or making a statement?”I asked.

“Which one makes you feel better?”he replied.

“King, put him in his place, please.”

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