Page 35 of Rhaz's Redemption
The next thing I knew we were plummeting toward the ground until he expanded his wings, catching the wind and then we were soaring.
Tree tops zipped by as we flew past and the other dekes looked pleasantly small from all the way up here. It was a bit overwhelming, but also nice.
Dameron and his men had made much better time than anticipated and I could hear Zander's growls over the wind when he realized that too.
He flapped his wings to help us gain some speed and it wasn’t long after that we were landing in the clearing outside the entrance to my home.
Tarak, who’d been outside, rushed to our side with wide eyes filled with disbelief.
“I…what? How?” he stumbled over his words not knowing what question to ask first.
“I’ll tell you later,” Zander informed him in a commanding tone. “Right now you need to get ready for battle. Dameron is coming this way with a pack of hunters and they’re looking for a fight.”
A low growl ripped from Tarak’s throat and he bared his teeth as he looked to the forest.
“What do they want?” the Savrix asked.
“I’m not sure. They have Rhaz tied up. He saw us hiding in the brush and announced that they didn’t have to fight you in your own home. That’s how we know they’re coming this way.”
“Mot,” Tarak cursed. “Let’s go.”
He turned and headed inside and we followed him.
Conversations came to a halt when we entered the room. Everyone was staring at Zander and myself with questioning eyes and I wondered how much of a stir my disappearance caused.
“Beatrice!” I could hear Fatima’s voice before I saw her pushing her way past Drovo and Sozu. She ran toward me and nearly tackled me with a hug.
“I can’t believe you’d do that! You’re not allowed to just up and leave me!” She scolded in her familiar eldest daughter tone that I’d come to love.
“I’m sorry,” I chuckled. “I promise not to do it again.” I wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace.
“You better not,” she pouted. I’m sure she had a myriad of questions to ask but Tarak’s voice boomed through the cavern first.
“Dameron is coming with a group of hunters. From what Zander tells me, they’re coming here to fight, and we must be ready.”
Our Savrix looked at his mate and their daughter in her arms, and his gaze softened. “I want you and all the other females hiding on the ledge. That way you can hear what ishappening and make quick decisions about whether to hide or run.”
He shifted his gaze to Sozu and Jax and said, “I want you to go with them. You will be our last resort if the rest of us should fail to keep them safe.”
“Yes, Savrix,” both of the young men bowed their heads and placed their fists over their hearts. “We will fight to our dying breath,” Sozu added and Jax nodded with a fierce expression on his face.
“I know,” Tarak frowned. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Everyone fill your packs with food rations, and blankets and meet me on the ledge,” Gabby instructed the other females.
It was as if time had suddenly become unfrozen and all at once, everyone started moving again. The hunters shifted and headed outside, the elders gathered their spears, the women made their way to our shared cave, but I stayed where I was. My bag was still packed from my secret trip that had been cut short. So I stood in the main cavern and waited for the other women to start heading up to the ledge.
Drondia was the first to come back into the cavern. She squeezed her mate’s hand and said, “I’ll see you soon.”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about, my kira-si,” Karo assured her. “We’ve survived worse things and come out on the other side.”
“I know,” she tried and failed to smile, and Karo cupped her cheek and placed a heartfelt kiss on her forehead. “All will be well. You’ll see.”
The other mated couples poured out from their private caves and gave each other similar encouraging words.
“Don’t do anything reckless,” Tarak commanded Gabby.
“I’m not a reckless person,” Gabby chuckled as she held Tabby in her arms.
