Chapter 161
Dron’s entire body ached.
It’s been a long time since he had to work this hard. Still, if it meant that he could help the people here keep their settlement in one piece, he would do all he could. He’d work until his hands bled.
"It’s stable. For now, at least." Verux called out from the other side of the small hut they had spent time reinforcing.
No one in his group was complaining. They simply went from one project to another.
By the time Dron looked up, he realized that it was well past dawn.
The people had seen him working side by side with them to save their settlement. Dron hoped that would be enough. It was time for them to make moves. Time for them to get out of there and on his way to Tempest.
He was so excited. Finally something that he could look forward to that was within his grasp.
Dron looked down at his wrist device. He pulled up Tempest’s location again. It hadn’t moved. She was still there waiting for him. She was far but the distance meant nothing to him. He would get to her.
"Dron!"
Dron disabled the device at the sound of his name being screamed from behind. He prayed that it wasn’t another attack.
The prisoner was still being tight lipped about how many were in his clan. They were getting bits and pieces of information out of the men. No matter how much they hurt him. He was resiliant.
Dron spun around to see Mikael running in his direction. He expected to see fear or anger on the young man’s face but instead there was joy.
"What is it? What’s going on?" Dron asked taking a few steps toward the boy.
"Tine. She’s woken. She’s weak but she’s asking for you."
It was a relief. Dron was truly worried that he would leave before she woke. He wanted to at least thank her for trying to help him. He felt bad that it had all ended the way it had.
"Take me to her."
The last time Dron had seen her she was being surrounded by the settlement’s doctors and medical team. Last night, it didn’t look as if she would survive. He was happy to have been wrong about that.
Dron shouted over his shoulder, "Keep doing what you can. Same for the rest."
Verux shrugged his shoulders in acceptance. Dron was already too far away for him to ask any questions.
Dron followed the boy back into the medical tent. All of the beds were occupied, some of the people in worse shape than others.
In the back of the room, Dron could see Tine. She was fussing with a man who seemed to be trying to get her to stay lying down while Tine wanted to sit up. It made Dron happy to see that she hadn’t lost that fighting spirit.
Dron walked up next to her, "It’s good to see you. You gave everyone quite the scare."
"Oh, they just caught me by surprise. It won’t happen again. I’ll have to get more guards trained."
Dron shuffled from one foot to the other. He hoped she wasn’t about to ask him to do that. She had hinted at it before. She wanted him to be responsible for training the people in the settlement. It was a big job and one that he wouldn’t be able to do.
Especially now that he knew his temptation was so close.
"They are capable. I watched them fight. They have the spirit."
"Spirit doesn’t always win wars. Skill does." Tine said strongly, that is until she started to cough and cringed in pain. She was a strong woman but she wasn’t immortal.
"You need to get your rest. My team and I have done all we can to repair what we could."
"I heard. You’ve made quite the impression, though I’m sure we will be without your building expertise soon." She narrowed her eyes on Dron.
He didn’t want to lie to the woman. She’d done too much for him already.
"Yes, my group and I will be leaving this morning."
"That’s not wise."
"I’m not really concerned with what you think is wise. My mate is here. I’ve finally been able to make contact with her. She’s only a few days distance away. I have to get to her." Dron needed Tine to understand. There were just too many things for him to do but none of it mattered more to him than his mate.
"A few distance on your own? Even with the men you have by your side, could prove to be impossible. You’re going to need a guide. You’re going to need back up."
"A guide? Krex is our guide."
"He doesn’t know these lands like we know them. You could be walking right into a trap. What purpose will it be for you to rush off to your mate only to never make it."
Dron crossed his arms over his chest. For some reason, he felt like he was being played. Like Tine, even from her bed, was trying to manipulate him.
He had to admit it was working.
Dron had no idea what he was about to walk into. He didn’t know the landscape as well as he would’ve wanted to. What made it even worse was he’d seen first hand the terror that some of the outside clans can rain down on their heads.
A few days walk could quickly turn into much more if they had to double back for whatever reason. Even Krex admitted that he wasn’t as knowledgeable about what was further inland. Soon even he wouldn’t be able to help Dron.
"You’re willing to let me take a guide from your settlement?" Dron questioned.
"A guide and some of the willing fighters. It’ll leave us short handed but..."
"But what woman? Speak plain." Dron was getting more and more frustrated.
"But it will give you more of a reason to come back. You’ll have your mate, and you can help us here."
That was doable.
As long as it quickened his pace toward Tempest, he didn’t care much about what they did on the return trip. More backup would be nice as well. He was grateful for the warriors who stood by him, but this land wasn’t made for just a few soldiers. In order to survive in one piece, he would need the help.
Dron sighed and dropped his arms to his side. "Why are you helping me? You don’t know me. You don’t owe Thraqe anything."
"I don’t, that’s the truth. I just want you to see exactly what you are fighting for. And who you should be fighting with." Tine reached out and grabbed hold of his arm. "Swear on it. You’ll find your mate. Keep her safe. Then you will come back and help me free these people of the fear. Together we can take down the high royals. We can push back the clans. We can make this place a paradise."
It all sounded far too big to Dron. Sounded like nothing he’d ever be expected to do back in Thraqe. Normally, he was just used to fight the beasts and enemies no one else wanted to go near. Here he was being asked to be a hero.
Dron didn’t know if he had it in him.
He wanted to believe in Tine’s vision. Wanted more than anything to rid this entire planet of the corruption and pain. It just all seemed like it was too much.
"I’ll do what I can. There are no promises." Dron shrugged his shoulders once.
"You can do more than anyone I’ve ever met. I have all the faith in the world." Tine spoke through another grimace. "Now, go. You’ve got a long journey ahead of you. I’ll let my people know that you will be looking for assistance. Give them until midday to prepare, and then I wish you well."
He would have to wait.
Dron groaned at that possibility. He didn’t want to put any more time or distance between him and Tempest. If he could fly, he’d be doing that.
Still, Dron knew even though Tine was giving him a choice, it wasn’t really one.
Tine wouldn’t let him leave without the promise of coming back, and even if he did make it out, he knew she was telling the truth about the dangers. There was a strong possibility that he’d die before he ever made it to Tempest.
So he had to wait.
Longer.
He had to gather up supplies from the settlement. Figure out which of them would be coming with him on the next leg of the journey.
He had to figure out what to do with the prisoner.
It was just added tasks to his already growing list.
Still, Dron knew the truth; it didn’t matter what he had to do as long as it was getting him closer to Tempest. He’d play Tine’s game. He’d do what she asked, but the minute anyone got in his way, all bets were off.
⌨
⏸ PAUSE■ STOP