LERRIN

Leaving Suhle had made him tense and irritable. He stalked among the troops that were moving on foot and hadn't yet left, barking orders and demanding answers. While it wasn't really fair on them, it had the effect of keeping everyone's mouths shut and no one questioning where he'd been for the past few hours.

Most of the footsoldiers had left in staggered groups hours earlier—only two or three fists at a time, never more than twenty wolves, and each group spreading out and approaching the Tree City from different directions so that if one were discovered or attacked, they would be seen as simply another assassination attempt.

Some would march for several hours to circle wide around the Tree City and come at it from the East. But still, the assassins and some of the more strategic fist leaders were being flown in by the birds. They, along with the last of the foot troops were still at the gathering point just outside the encampment when Lerrin arrived and began spitting orders.

Craye, Hern, and some of the other Security Council who hadn't gone with the foot soldiers were gathered at the top of the clearing, speaking low voices, and not meeting his eye. Even Craye didn't want to draw his attention when he was in this mood.

Every time he thought of Suhle—not only approaching the Tree City, but doing it at a time when so many of the wolves were also sneaking through the forest and might stumble upon her—made his skin itch to shift. He wanted to run circles around her, keep her out of the sight and smell of every living male to ensure she made it safely. But he knew… he knew he had to trust her to do this. She had evaded him even when he knew she was there. She could stay out of sight of the normal soldiers easily.

He hoped.

On one side of the clearing, dozens of birds stood with the harnesses they would use to transfer the key wolves to their positions—and to drop Lerrin and the rest of the assassin group onto the mountain above the Royal cave so there was no scent trail to be found.

Using birds to move small groups of Anima short distances wasn't anything new to the Anima, but they'd developed a new approach that he knew had to be baffling Reth.

The weakness in this form of travel had always been the visibility of the shifted Anima birds when they flew. As large as they were, they couldn't be mistaken for anything else. But the size of the other Anima and the loads they created meant that flying in the higher altitudes was extremely difficult with the load.

With the harnesses they'd developed, two Birds could fly two or even three other Anima, sharing the load.

And the wolves had asked more of them. They had been training flying at the limits of their abilities, pushing themselves higher and higher, until on a glance they would appear to be a much smaller bird—except closer. From such heights they could spiral down and drop the wolves on the mountain without anyone touching the ground to leave a scent trail to be discovered by scouts.

Essentially, as long as they flew at night, and at the highest altitude they could, the birds could drop the wolves off, then fly a short distance unhindered to sleep and eat until they were strong enough to return. Meanwhile, the wolves would only be discovered if the scouts came to the exact spot where they hid.

The experiment had been a success—getting the other fist in to take their shots at Reth without raising any alarm. The problem was that the efforts to move for the many miles and at such altitudes exhausted the birds. They remained vulnerable after dropping the wolves in because they didn't have the energy to return home or reach the heights they'd need to to pass over the Tree City safely.

Instead, twice as many birds were needed—a full contingent to move the wolves, then another full contingent to bring them back out when they were done. Every fist and operative had a retreat route in case their bird was shot down, or injured. But those routes took days to return to the encampment safely.

That was how the prisoner had ended up in Reth's hands. She had been so exhausted, she hadn't slipped away far enough from the battle, and she'd been caught in the ensuing sweep.

Lerrin ground his teeth. These birds had been warned—for their own safety!—to ensure they kept enough energy aside to get themselves at least a mile away after their drop off.

Learning the fate of the prisoner had motivated them. They were each standing alongside the harnesses looking well rested and fed. But Lerrin knew they would be pushed to their limits that night.

He tossed his bag into the harness that was set aside for him and his partner—a bodyguard—then knelt to check the pockets one last time.

When he stood, Craye was behind him, though he hadn't heard the male approach. He had to fake not being surprised to see him.

"The firestarters are already in place,

" Craye said quietly, his smile flashing his teeth.

"If you call through the mind link, they will begin—and if anything goes wrong, head West. You'll be able to link with my operatives waiting to take the bears. They can clear any families or groups on the path to get you through unnoticed.

"

Lerrin froze, then turned to more fully face the male.

"I never approved the killing of the bears.

"

"No, but I wanted to remind you that they are in position and available for your use, Sire—

"

"Tell them to retreat.

"

Craye blinked.

"What?

"

"Tell them to leave the region. The bears are beginning their sleep, yes? They are not a threat to us. Get them out.

"

"I can't speak to them from this distance, I was assuring you that if you were go that route—

"

"No, Craye, you aren't listening: I'm saying, get those you have positioned to kill out of that region. If they are asleep they do not risk discovering us if we are forced to flee.

"

"But Sire—

"

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!

" Lerrin snarled. Immediately several males around him submitted. But Craye… Craye took a defense stance, and a tiny growl puttered in his throat.

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