Page 61 of Conflicted Fate
Something was very not right. There was absolutely no reason Clive should be out that way. We’d left him and Andi back in Arcadia in charge of the city while we headed north. So, why wouldhehave come north? It could be a trap, of course, and in fact, it was highly likely that it was, which is why we were taking such care in following.
After all, why would he be all the way up there?
The scent grew stronger, meaning we were outpacing Clive. I slowed, not wanting to come upon him except onmyterms, until I could be sure it wasn’t a trap.
Another mile through the forest, and I paused as asecondscent merged with Clive’s and kept going. Andi. She was there, too. Why wouldbothof them have come north? The acrid scent of smoke was mixing in heavily with theirs as well. Had they stopped to light a fire? That was dangerous and much more careless than I’d expect from the two of them. The odds of it being a trap were growing by the minute.
I glanced at Kiel. He nodded, pawing silently at the air before throwing his muzzle in the direction of the scent of our friends. He knew what we were after now, and the slight pulling back of his lips in a snarl showed he also understood it was probably a trap.
But he wanted to continue.
So, we did. Another mile. The scent grew stronger. I slowed. But it didn’t weaken. We wereclose. Carefully, we crept through the forest, approaching a dip in the land. Looking around, trying to spot any signs of a trap, I picked my way to the edge of the hill.
At the bottom, hunched over, hands on his head, head on his knees, was Clive. Next to him was Andi. She was staring straight ahead into nothingness, unmoving. I watched for a solid minute before witnessing any motion. They weren’t dead, then. So, what was wrong?
I looked at Kiel, who’d joined me. He gave the wolf equivalent of a shrug. Whatever was going on, he didn’t have a clue, either.
Stifling the urge to throw caution to the wind and head down the slope to see what was wrong with my friend, I circled the small ravine to search for anyone else who might be waiting downwind to try to grab us. It took twenty minutes, but I picked up nothing.
Then, and only then, did I shift back and head down the slope, making enough noise that both of them heard me coming. Only Clive looked up. Andi just continued to stare ahead into empty space, seeing something only she could see.
“Clive,” I said, dropping to my knees at his side. “Clive, what is it? What happened? Are you okay?”
His response was a groan, low and filled with unspeakable agony. For a moment, I thought he would fall over dead. Was there a wound somewhere I hadn’t notice? A cursory inspection showed nothing.
“Come on,” I said, shaking him a little. “Snap out of it. Tell me, what happened?”
“I’m sorry.”
I frowned, then whipped my head around, expecting the trap to finally spring itself. But nothing happened.
“Sorry forwhat?” I pushed. “Clive, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
“Arcadia,” Andi said in a ghostly whisper, the voice of someone unattached to the there and then. She was lost in a memory.
“WhataboutArcadia?” I pushed, my heart beating a little faster. What the hell had happened while we were gone?
“Gone.”
I stiffened at the single blunt word from Clive.
“What do you meangone?” Kiel barked, his tone hard and commanding, stirring something in the desolate shifters. “Explain. Now.”
“We were getting ready to leave,” Clive said. “That was the plan, as you know. If the army didn’t disintegrate, we leave, let them have the city without a fight. Make it as easy on the populace as possible.”
I nodded, glancing up at Kiel. That was what we’d discussed. Being a port city on Lake Arcadia, it would be easy for our troops to sail out without being attacked, just as we’d done to strike at Nycitus and his stone with our team. The army hadn’t brought any ships to close the port. Mainly because an armed fleet didn’t exist on the lake. There had never been any need. It should have worked.
“So, what went wrong?” I pushed.
“Before we could open the gates to let them know the city was surrendering …” Clive shook his head, falling back into morose shock.
“They fired it,” Andi said, a sliver of anger coloring her words, the first real emotion either of them had displayed. “A rain of arrows touched with fire. We tried to get as many people onto boats as we could. Lots escaped into the water, swimming through the shallows.”
“But many didn’t,” Clive finished. “It was night. By the time they awoke, the fires had spread. The very stone itself was melting.”
“The screams,” Andi whispered, clamping a hand over her ears as if to drown out the memories she would never truly be able to forget.
I collapsed onto the ground, my legs unwilling to support me.
