Chapter 166- The Waiting Game
Adrian
The moon sat low, bleeding silver light across the ridge, and every shadow felt like an opportunity. The problem was, Lexy already knew that. She was out there beyond the tree line, her warriors strung like a net around us, waiting for me to make a mistake.
I didn’t plan on making one.
We’d been hemmed in for hours. The ridge cut us off on one side, the marsh on the other. Two viable escape paths remained, but they were guarded, and I could feel the weight of her eyes even when I couldn’t see her. Lexy didn’t breathe unless it served a purpose. She was patient — more patient than I’d given her credit for — and that was going to make this interesting.
Ralph the lead soldier crouched beside me, his gaze flicking to the shadows where a cluster of my men waited for orders. “We should hit them before the reinforcements arrive.”
“They’ll be here before sunrise,” I said. “We don’t have the numbers to break through clean. Not yet.”
He frowned. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Test the walls before we climb over them,” I murmured.
The truth was, I needed to know how solid her lines were, where the cracks might be hiding. And if I could make her impatient, force her to move too soon, all the better.
I sent the first probe just before midnight — two of my fastest slipping toward the ridge to see if her left flank was overextended. They came back minutes later, breathless and empty-handed.
“They were ready,” one of them reported. “Didn’t even blink.”
I smiled faintly. “Good. That means they’re not tired yet.”
An hour later, I tried the right flank. Same result. Her people didn’t chase, didn’t break formation. Lexy was holding them tight, and that told me something important — she expected help.
If I couldn’t break her line, maybe I could make it harder for her to see what was coming. I signaled to a pair of my men, and moments later the first tendrils of smoke curled into the air from a small, controlled fire deeper in our cover. Nothing big enough to be dangerous, but enough to sting the eyes and test their nerves.
Through the haze, I caught faint movement — silhouettes tightening their formation. She wasn’t taking the bait.
“Of course not,” I muttered. “She’s too smart for that trick.”
Ralph shifted beside me. “We can’t sit here until dawn. Once the reinforcements come, we’re done.”
“That’s why we don’t sit,” I said.
The next test was sharper. I picked one man — fast, strong, and willing to take a hit — and sent him sprinting toward the far slope. It wasn’t about getting him through; it was about watching what Lexy would do.
He was halfway there when two arrows cut through the night. One found its mark, and he went down hard. Lexy’s line flexed, half of them moving to block while the rest held steady. Discipline, precision — no overreaction.
I ground my teeth. “She’s running this like a siege.”
“That’s bad for us,” Ralph said.
“It’s bad for her, too,” I countered. “She has to hold her people’s focus for hours. That’s when mistakes happen.”
The third probe was more ambitious — three of my men trying to slip low and wide on the right. They didn’t make it far. Her warriors moved like water, closing around them and driving them back without breaking the line.
Ralph let out a low whistle. “She’s not giving us anything.”
“She will,” I said. “Everyone has a breaking point.”
I settled back into the shadows, studying her formation, counting the heartbeats between each movement. She was steady, but her front line was shifting their weight more often now. Their shoulders were tighter, their eyes darting faster. Fatigue was creeping in, slow but inevitable.
If the reinforcements were closer than I thought, I’d have to make my move soon. But if they were still hours away, I could bleed her strength just enough to open a hole.
The smoke continued to drift, softening the edges of the night. Every so often, I caught flashes of her — tall, still, scanning the tree line with that predator’s focus. She wasn’t just leading her warriors; she was anchoring them. Break her, and the line would crumble.
The problem was, I couldn’t get close enough to try without walking straight into the trap she’d set.
So, I waited, testing in small bursts. A whisper of movement here, a shadow dart there. Each time, her people adjusted with machine-like precision. No panic. No collapse.
When midnight reached and I knew I was closing in on weakening their stans.
Then I heard it — the horn. Low, steady, three blasts. Reinforcements.
Ralph’s curse was sharp in the cold air. “We’re boxed in.”
“Not yet,” I said, but my mind was already turning over options faster than I could discard them.
The northern slope was closing, and once that wall went up, there would be no way out except through Lexy herself.
I stepped forward, just far enough for my voice to carry into the open. “Still waiting, Lexy? I’d almost think you were afraid.”
Her answer came clear and even. “Not afraid. Just giving you the chance to surrender without spilling blood.”
I laughed, low and genuine. “You know I’ll never surrender.”
“Then you know what comes next.”
I almost admired her — almost. But admiration wouldn’t keep me free.
As the reinforcements began to pour down the slope, I felt the trap snap shut. The only way out now was forward, and I was ready to meet her there.
“Then come take me,” I called.
Her voice came back, sharp as steel. “Gladly.”
The fire in her tone told me everything I needed to know. It will not be simple, but I will always fight till the end.
The line surged toward us. And I smiled, because even trapped, there was always one more move to play.
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