Chapter 38: Mess with the Best
Kael’thus stood at the edge of the battlefield, seemingly calm—but his eyes betrayed him.
They tracked every twitch, every flicker of movement from the opposing side. Quietly, he issued a string of coded instructions to his companions through subtle hand gestures and a low, almost inaudible murmur. But that calm cracked the moment he noticed Queen Elarya’s gaze shift.
She wasn’t looking at them anymore.
Her piercing emerald eyes now locked onto something behind them—toward the looming mountain shadowed by volcanic mist. Her pupils glowed faintly, the telltale sign of an activated observational skill. A frown etched across Kael’thus’s face.
"Bad news," he muttered, voice tight. "The Queen’s spotted Eyistha."
His own eyes began to shimmer with the same glow as he activated his tracking technique. Sure enough, in the far-off distance, riding a pale white wyvern across the volcanic ridges of Mount Erupta, was their hidden ace.
"Forget what I just said," he barked, urgency cutting through his voice like a blade. "Formation Six. Now!"
"On it. The others responded in unison and broke apart with surgical precision, each moving toward their designated position.
Formation Six wasn’t about winning. It was about stalling—buying Eyistha the time she needed to complete her mission. To unseal the chains on Vulkris, the sleeping terror above the fiery mountains.
Queen Elarya had already anticipated it.
"Not on my watch!" she declared, her voice ringing out like a thunderclap.