Chapter 201
Dron watched as all the color drained from Tempest’s face.
She didn’t have to tell him what she was thinking. He could feel it.
The guilt.
"No, don’t do that." Dron placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I’m not doing anything besides facing reality."
"No, what you’re doing is blaming yourself for something that isn’t your fault. You didn’t do this, Tempest."
She sighed and dropped her head, "I may not have lit the place on fire but they are here for me."
"You don’t know that for sure. And even if they are here for you, what you did, you did to preserve your life. If it was the other way around they wouldn’t have hesitated to kill you. You can’t blame yourself for surviving."
Tempest looked up at him and nodded. She was trying to be strong for him but Dron could see that she was having a hard time. She shouldn’t be around this. Shouldn’t have to deal with any of this.
He sucked in a breath and reached for her hand.
There was more that he had to do.
First things first, Dron had to figure out exactly who in his group was still alive.
He did his very best to be respectful of the fallen bodies on the ground. He left the people who were grieving and trying to get to safety on their own. There was no way they wanted to be anywhere near him. Not after what had just happened.
"Dron..." A soft voice called out and he turned to figure out where it was coming from. Someone was hiding behind a fallen piece of wood. It wasn’t the best hiding spot but it must have worked for whoever it was since they were still alive.
Dron walked closer and pulled the wood off only to find Mikael cowered down on the ground. His entire body shaking.
The small kid looked up at Dron, his eyes wide and water brimming on the rims of his lower lashes.
"Mikael! Are you hurt." Dron quickly reached down to grab the kid.
The small boy got up shakily. "I changed my mind. I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to be a soldier. I don’t ever want to have to do this again." His voice was shaking.
Dron didn’t have any words to say to the small boy. Nothing that would take the fear away. All he could do is a gesture Tempest had showed him.
He pulled the small kid into his arms and wrapped them around his shaking body.
"You’re going to be alright. It’s all over now."
At first Mikael was stiff, almost as if he didn’t know what he should be doing. Dron could almost feel the uneasiness drifting out of Mikael’s body with every moment that passed.
Soon the kid wrapped his arms around Dron and hugged him back.
Dron could feel the boy’s heart hammering in his chest as they stood there holding on to eachother. It took Mikael a second to calm down but when he did, he leaned back and looked up at Dron. There was a small smirk on the kids face.
"What should I do now? How can I help?" Mikael asked.
Dron looked around. There wasn’t much that he could do, at least not without adding to the trauma that he’d already gone through.
"You are to go to the cave and make sure the people hiding in there are safe."
"No, I can help you comb through the wreckage. You can’t do this all on your own."
"Mikael, I’m not asking you. It’s an order." Dron stared at the kid sternly.
"Fine." He grumbled and walked in the direction that Dron had just come from.
"That was incredibly sweet." Tempest spoke softly once Mikael was far enough out of earshot.
"I didn’t know what else to do. He shouldn’t have to see this. I don’t even want to see this."
"But we have to." Tempest replied, saying the words that Dron hadn’t.
He nodded, and they continued on the way. Everywhere he looked, Dron found someone who needed help. Most of the humans scurried away from him the second he came closer. He wouldn’t chase after them. If they wanted space, he would give it to them.
Just looking around the space, Dron knew there was no way that the people who once stayed here in the human settlement would be able to remain. Sure, they could rebuild, but it would take time.
He would have to talk to Crillium about letting them come to stay in the stronghold. But then if the savages had made their way to the human settlement, there was no knowing for sure if they hadn’t already torn through the strong hold.
It would be exactly what Dron would do. He’d take out both places at once.
Right now, all Dron could think about was the fact that the little mission he was on had caused nothing but grief to everyone he’d come across. He was really starting to think he was being shunned by the moon gods or maybe he had angered them in some way.
It was a ridiculous thought, but it was all he could think of in the moment.
"What are we going to do? How can we fix this?" Tempest asked breaking him out of his own thoughts.
Dron reached down again and squeezed Tempest’s hand. "We help them get stronger."
"The same way we are going to help the ones in Tine’s settlement?"
"If they will allow us. What Mexyn said last night was true. Together we are much stronger. It’s time we break down all these settlements and become one." Dron nodded.
Before he could take another step, he looked forward and saw Hen with a dangerous look on her face. She was snarling.
Blood marred her clothing; there were scraps and bruises on her exposed skin. None of that stopped her. She stormed in their direction.
For a second, Dron thought she was coming for him, but it took him only a second to realize that wasn’t the case.
Hen wasn’t coming for him. She was coming for his mate.