Chapter 165- Holding the Line
Lexy
The forest was too quiet. Not the peaceful kind of quiet — this was the kind that felt like a predator’s breath against the back of your neck. Every warrior around me felt it too. Even the wind seemed to hesitate, as if it didn’t want to disturb the tension strung between us and the shadows ahead.
We had Adrian and his men boxed in. Hours of pursuit had forced them here, into a choke point between the ridge and the northern west marshes. Two routes out — both guarded. If we held until midnight, reinforcements from the alliance would close the last escape. But that meant enduring whatever Adrian had planned between now and then.
CJ stood a few paces away, sword in hand, his gaze fixed forward. The flicker of moonlight in his eyes reminded me of a storm building in the distance. I knew the thoughts going through his mind — the same ones pressing against mine. A trapped man like Adrian didn’t wait to be taken. He would strike first, fast and hard.
I moved down the line, my boots whispering against the packed earth. “Positions hold?” I asked a young archer near the front.
“Yes, my queen,” he replied, eyes never leaving the tree line. “No movement since the last shift.”
That was both a comfort and a warning. Stillness could mean they were going to settle in for the night… or that they were preparing something we couldn’t see.
When I returned to CJ’s side, his jaw was tight. “I don’t like this silence,” he muttered.
“Neither do I,” I said. “It’s too… intentional.”
He glanced sideways at me. “Reinforcements won’t be here until midnight. But if they’re smart, they’ll push through the north slope. That’s where Adrian will run if he gets the chance.”
“They know,” I said, though part of me wondered if midnight would be too late. “For now, we hold.”
The forest shifted. A faint rustle in the brush made my hand drop to my sword hilt. I lifted my other hand, signaling the line to stillness. My wolf stirred under my skin, the urge to chase and rip and end this growing sharper by the second. But my phoenix thought running headlong into the dark would be exactly what Adrian wanted.
The sound faded. The shadows stayed still.
“They’re testing us,” CJ murmured.
“They’ll find out we don’t break,” I replied.
The night wore on, every heartbeat an echo of waiting. I checked our flanks twice, spoke to every warrior in reach. They were disciplined, eyes bright, postures alert. But fatigue was the real enemy now. We had been in position for hours, and every muscle ached from stillness.
A faint whistle in the distance caught my ear — not the wind. I narrowed my eyes, searching in the dark. There — a glint, like moonlight on steel.
“Left flank,” I whispered sharply, gesturing with two fingers. The warriors adjusted, bows drawing back with soft creaks and swords quietly out their hilts. The forest stilled again, as if holding its breath.
CJ shifted slightly, his voice low. “I smell smoke.”
I inhaled and caught it too — faint, but there.
“They’re burning something,” I said. “Could be to flush us out. Could be cover for an escape.”
He gave a curt nod. “Either way, we don’t move until we know.”
I signaled for the line to tighten, narrowing the gap between units. Every step was deliberate. If Adrian thought smoke and darkness would blind us, he was about to be disappointed.
The air thickened, curling with gray threads from somewhere deeper in the trees. My eyes stung, but I didn’t blink.
“Hold,” I said firmly. “They want us charging in blind. We don’t give them that.”
Minutes later, shapes darted in the dark — too fast to be shadows. Every bow along the line lifted in unison.
Then a voice cut through the tension — smooth, mocking.
“Still waiting, Lexy? I’d almost think you were afraid.”
Adrian.
“Not afraid,” I called back evenly. “Just giving you the chance to surrender without spilling blood.”
His laugh was low and dark. “You know I’ll never surrender.”
“Then you know what comes next.”
No reply. Just motion.
A runner broke from the tree line, sprinting low and fast toward the far slope. Two arrows whistled. One found its mark. The figure fell, crying out.
“Intercept!” CJ barked. Half our warriors surged forward to block the path while the rest of us held the line.
I stayed still. That runner wasn’t the real escape attempt. I know what they are doing, and it isn’t going to work on us.
Sure enough, more movement stirred on the right flank — three figures, slipping low and wide. They never made it far. Our warriors cut them off, forcing them back toward the shadows.
The forest fell silent again, but it was different now. The air had teeth. Adrian had tested our edges and found no opening. Adrian doesn't understand the power of our warriors training and their dedication to our tribe.
The next 2 hour passed in a tense rhythm — bursts of movement, quick retreats, and long stretches of waiting. My muscles ached. My eyes burned from smoke. But I didn’t shift my stance once.
One hour left before reinforcement arrives and I hope all the training we all done can hold us for the last stretch of night.
I want to stop Adrian but not at the cost of the people. I do believe in my warriors and what they are capable of.
As the night continued, our muscles trembled from holding our position. I signal for one at a time to stretch their muscles while still holding down the line.
I hate seeing them like that, but I knew that they understood why we were doing it and that seems to give them strength to continue.
The calming rage in me is building up and the phoenix in me is ready to set them on fire once and for all.
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