Page 69 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
Bailey shrugged. “Between the two military bases and the police and fire stations, it should be enough for all our human fighters in Oklahoma since the current count is a little over twelve hundred, including volunteers in the north. The coalition began heading this way two days ago, but they shouldn’t be too far yet.”
Her brows drew together. “When they check in next, I’ll suggest stopping by Ft. Campbell and any other bases along the way to grab masks for their people. The Faegud can tell their humans to grab their own since there are plenty of bases in Texas, and the same goes for the Vataran in Kansas.”
Aidan’s mind raced. “I’ll send messengers to the north and south to inform our allies so their humans can begin obtaining masks.”
He’d have to pull a couple of shifters from their duties to fly to the Shadowan and Vataran territories. If Bailey was correct, they should have enough for the humans in Northern Oklahoma, but they’d still need to coordinate with their contact to receive them. As for the Kansas area, a human leader was working with the dragons now, so that person could hopefullyacquire masks.
“The sooner everyone gets them, the better,” Bailey said, glancing at the tome page again. “We need to have them stored for easy accessibility before the Kandoran arrive, and I’d say we should get plenty of extras in case we need them. Going to Ft. Sill would be our best bet.”
He frowned. “I don’t like the idea of you going that far inside enemy territory again.”
She rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I know, but I have nothing better to do now anyway. I’m not scheduled to train atthe dome for another four days, and I don’t have the skills or magic to help with any projects around the fortress.”
He did occasionally have her assist with moving supplies, but other than that, she was right that there wasn’t much she could do at the moment. It still worried him to let her go into enemy territory after what happened last time.
“We’ll see what the others think and decide.”
“Okay,” she said with a shrug. “But I think it’s best if the team who is going to get them leaves early tomorrow.”
A knock sounded on the office door. Aidan reluctantly pulled away from Bailey as Kade moved to open it. Two elders’ council members stepped inside, giving him a nod of respect before taking their seats in the sitting area.
Lorcan entered the room, surprising Aidan. “What are you doing here?”
“The Kandoran attacked the Ghastanan yesterday. More than a thousand of them have fled to our border since early this morning, and more keep coming. They’ve lost much of their northern and western lands.”
It was as if Aidan’s headache knew of the trouble he’d encounter today and got an early start.
“Are they still attacking?” he asked.
Lorcan shook his head. “The ones who arrived directly before I came here said the Kandoran stopped their advance for now.”
Kade’s face was grim. “That was the last sign.” He flipped through the tome until he reached another page. “According tothis, we have ten days until the war begins. Hmm. Actually, make that nine since they began their assault yesterday.”
“We still haven’t received instructions on the orb,” Aidan argued.
“Let us hope we do before they attack.”
Chapter 20
Bailey
Aidan held me close. His head was buried in my hair as if he could draw my very essence into himself. I doubted it would ever be easy to let me go into danger when he couldn’t be there to watch my back. Those five years of separation would always haunt us, so I couldn’t blame him. I hated us being apart for very long, as well.
“I love you, misanna. Be careful,” he said, a hint of command in that last part.
Lifting my head, I captured his gaze. “I love you, too. We have a strong team going for this trip, so please try not to worry too much.”
After our meeting the day before, we’d assembled the best possible group to go into Kandoran territory and get the masks. It would have been nice to bring even more people, but we were already pulling too many from other obligations. Also, it would have created transportation issues.
“I know,” he said, working his jaw. “But I’ll still worry. You had a strong team last time you went in there and barely survived.”
He wasn’t wrong. We’d only just escaped with our lives on that mission, with most of us seriously injured by the end. I wouldn’t take it back since it gave me a chance to say goodbye to my father, and we learned some hard yet necessary lessons about the Kandoran in the process.
“Just have a little faith in me.” I cupped his face. “We need these masks to protect the people willing to fight with us, and we can’t afford for them to turn in the middle of a battle. Imagine the shock when the enemy realizes we came prepared for their little trickery.”
Aidan’s lips twitched. “That would be nice to see.”
While the Kandoran blocked our seers from learning their current activities and plans, Kade had seen it long before they began shielding themselves. We would have been in trouble otherwise. Our side couldn’t have prepared for many thingswithout those predictions.
