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GAR

He was trembling. Shaking with apprehension as he stormed after Tarkyn, shoving through the undergrowth and low-trees, heedless of the noise. Their enemies were closer than they thought, but not there with them yet. He wasn\'t wasting any time.

When he finally reached the Captain, along with the two exhausted scouts, Tarkyn had gathered a fist of Protectors already, and more were arriving. They were discussing the humans and what the scouts had learned so far.

"…half a night\'s travel, which means the sun will only be up a couple of hours before they get to the grasses. The river bends out that way, they\'ll be within reach of water."

Before Gar could say a word, Tarkyn turned to him. "We\'re climbing the rise," he said, holding a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the steep incline behind him. "While it\'s still dark they think we\'ll be able to see the lights when their shield fails. Then we can decide the best way to attack this."

"How long is that going to take?"

"If we shift, an hour, hopefully, less. It will only take us a few minutes to climb high enough, but we don\'t know how long it will take for them to show up."

Gar looked back over his shoulder towards Rika.

"She\'ll be completely safe, Gar," Tarkyn said gently. "I\'m leaving the guards here. We\'re all in on the Protectors infiltrating, so the guards can set up our base and keep watch over Rika and Reece while we figure out the rest."

Gar took a deep breath. He was reluctant to leave her so long, but she was preparing anyway… "Fine, but I\'m getting back here the second we know what we\'re dealing with."

Tarkyn gave him a flat look. "You\'re a War Chief now, Gar. Not just a mate. You understand that, right? Your first decisions have to be made for the people."

Gar gave him a level look. "I\'ve been making decisions for the people first for years and I didn\'t you to tell me to do it," he growled.

Tarkyn\'s lips thinned, but he nodded once, then turned and shifted, starting up the rise behind them. Gar shifted a breath later and pushed past the Captain.

If they were going to do this, he was going to do it as fast as he could. And yes, he\'d settle on the decision that was best for the people—but not the one that was easiest for them. If there was a way to protect his mate and the people, he\'d take it.

*****

Twenty minutes later, they were all sprawled on an outcropping of rock slightly higher than the tree canopy. Tarkyn with a spyglass held to his eye, slowly scanned the plains and the desert, off to the horizon. Their anima eyes would catch the lights if they came, but he wanted as much detail as he could. And in the dark and at such a distance, even his sight was going to struggle across miles.

"Still nothing," Tarkyn muttered.

"Just keep watching," one of the scouts murmured. "Trust me, they\'re there. You just need to wait for it to fail. There\'s usually a flicker, then they come into sight, but just for a breath before it closes around them again."

"Can you see anything with your younger eyes?" Tarkyn asked Gar, passing him the glass.

Gar looked through it, squinting to focus the sight. But all he saw was grasses, rolling land, small thickets of trees, boulders—sometimes scattered, some in piles that could be used for cover.

"We should be making a map of the places we can hide," Gar muttered. If they\'re far enough back we can place Anima in those pockets they can\'t see while it\'s still dark—"

He cut off as the barest impression of lights made him blink—a long glow punctuated by silhouettes and bright cones of light.

"Was that—"

Suddenly the horizon line was ablaze. Gar\'s mouth dropped open as an army was revealed. He had two seconds to stare before Tarkyn snatched the glass and put his eye to it, cursing and rattling off what he saw for his lieutenant to note down.

Gar continued to stare at the glowing horizon. Although it was too far away for him to see in detail, his mind held the images as if they were burned into his mind\'s eye.

A rolling, dusty frontline headed by strange, metal boxes on wheels with men sitting inside them. Humans in strange costumes walked behind the rolling boxes, some leading pack animals carrying large burdens covered in some kind of fabric and tied with ropes. Others carrying long weapons—knives at their hips, guns in their hands, or sheathed at their sides.

The ones that carried weapons wore clothing that blended into the night and had their faces painted. They walked upright, in possession of themselves and their weapons.

Gar knew soldiers when he saw them. And though they might be humans, some of those were the strongest humans he\'d ever seen.

The wind rushed over them then, bringing with it a whiff of the army, but the lights disappeared on the horizon, and a few seconds later the smell dissipated as well.

Gar lay there, stunned.

They were miles away, yet, but advancing. Determined. Focused.

Tarkyn and the Protectors huddled up. "Three hours, to reach the edge of the grasses, four at most." Tarkyn turned, looking at the sky. "They\'ll be at water an hour after dawn. And if they keep pressing, they\'ll be within reach of us by high sun. Fuck!"

Gar shuddered. Rika. They had to get her to the humans, he knew that. But his mind rolled, searching for any way that he could accompany her. He could at least carry her across the grasses—but what good would that do?

He had to make the call. He had to submit to the plan and go tell her that—let her go. But all he could see was her surrounded by males with weapons and no respect and it made him want to roar. His chest began to twist, right in the center, where the bond wanted to take.

"What are they doing?"

Gar snapped his head around. Were the humans visible again? But no, there was nothing. Just a dark plain and…

p And two figures, small from this distance and moving slowly by Anima standards.

"What the hell?" Gar muttered. Then his heart dove to his toes.

Reece loped through the grasses silvered by moonlight, looking more like an Anima than he had since he arrived. And at his side…

Rika. With a waterskin in her hand, but nothing else.

Gar sucked in a breath to scream her name, but he was tackled by Tarkyn and two of the Protectors.