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‘Shouldn’t we be heading back?’ she asked.

Kipp shook his head. ‘I’ve changed my mind…’

‘About what?’ Cal said sharply.

‘Taking action.’

Thea raised a brow. ‘Oh?’

‘Those are invading forces down there,’ he told them, chewing his lip. ‘I won’t leave them unchallenged and primed to attack Thezmarr or Harenth.’

A thrill shot through Thea. ‘So, what’s your plan?’

‘First, we’ll need a distraction.’ He gave Cal’s bow and quiver a meaningful look. ‘Perhaps it’s time the Flaming Arrow earnt his name…’

Cal gave a wolfish grin. ‘Just tell me the target.’

Kipp was all business as he laid out his rather brilliant strategy. The trio couldn’t take on the forces themselves, but that didn’t mean they were powerless, and the dark of night offered ample cover for inflicting damage.

‘We’ll wait until they’ve eaten and drunk their fill. Let’s hole up here at the foot of this ridge for an hour or so,’ Kipp said. ‘No fire. Just eat your share of the rations and get some rest. I’ll take the first watch.’

Thea accepted a piece of bread from Cal as Kipp returned to his post. ‘I’ve never seen him like this,’ she remarked, reaching to stroke Dax, who’d nestled beside her.

‘He’s always like that after a meeting with Esyllt. The two of them are always whispering away in his study… Thick as thieves.’

‘You don’t ask what they talk about?’

‘Oh, I ask,’ Cal said. ‘But he never says a word. For all his messing around, Kipp takes his role very seriously.’

‘I can see that.’

Cal studied her for a moment, his lips moving as though he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. Instead, he sighed. ‘Get some rest,’ he told her. ‘You’re still looking a bit off.’

‘Gee, thanks.’

‘Don’t mention it.’

Thea curled up on her side as night fell around them. In the distance, thunder rumbled once more, and that ever-present magic inside her sparked to life again, utterly unnerving. Even Dax’s presence by her feet did little to calm the storm within.

She pulled her cloak tight under her chin. Seeking what little comfort she could amid the power she didn’t understand, she pictured Wilder Hawthorne’s face.

* * *

Thea woke with a start to Cal shaking her gently by the shoulder.

‘It’s time,’ he murmured. He jutted his chin towards Kipp, who waited at the top of the ridge, a small pack strapped to his back.

Thea wasn’t sure how she’d managed to sleep, but with her friends spurring her into action, she was alert within moments. ‘We’re really doing this? Going against orders?’

‘Absolutely,’ Kipp said, not taking his eyes off the camp below. ‘They’re well on their way to being drunk now,’ he told her as she came to stand beside him.

‘I’ll need fifteen minutes to get down to the camp and find a position,’ Cal said, shouldering his quiver of arrows and testing the string of his bow.

‘You can do it in ten,’ Kipp challenged.

Cal clicked his tongue in frustration, shaking his head before he crested the ridge, disappearing into the night.

Kipp’s face broke into a wide smile. ‘Now, we wait.’