Legacy of Fire (The Blaze Trilogy - Book #1)

Chapter 25

I wake up slowly from bed, rubbing my eyes blearily as the rising sun shines onto my face. I can hear a hushed voice. “Hale?” I mumble, a lazy smile on my face. “Are you making breakfast?”

But then I flick my eyelids open, and I almost scream. 

Greyson stands at the foot of my bed, with Shortie and Tall standing on either side of him, pale-faced. I snatch up my covers, bundling them over myself to conceal my nighttime slip. 

Greyson laughs. “Sorry, were you expecting a certain Earthborne?” 

I flush. “Seriously, what the hell are you doing here? I haven’t violated any of your rules. I’ve been good.”

“Too good, actually.” Greyson stares at me. “So good that everyone in Everwood is hearing of your progress. Hearing about how our Fireborne is stronger than we can ever imagine.” He frowns slightly. “I’m getting pressure from below. People want me to let you fight for them.”

My ears perk up at this. “The Terran? I thought everyone in this camp was afraid of me.”

“I think they still are, at least a little bit.” He smiles slightly. “And that’s why they’re so eager to set you on our enemies.”

“So am I joining a strike team?”

Greyson puts up a hand. “Quiet. I’ll tell you more when we get to the mission room.”

He lets me shower and get dressed, then takes me back through town. It’s still early, so mercifully there’s no one around to gawk at me. We go up to the same room Zander and I met Greyson in when we first arrived; that spacious white one with the massive table.

He leads me through the doors, and five heads turn towards me; Adrian, Hale, Captain Ellis, Noah, and lastly, Kal'sayu. I swallow slightly, then take the seat next to Hale. He looks puzzled to see me.

“Alright,” Greyson stands at the front of the table. “Everyone’s here.”

Suddenly a soft cough draws my attention, and I glance to my left. A short, bald man sits next to row of flashing screens, the fragile stool beneath him groaning with effort as he turns to face us. His round spectacles widen his eyes like a bug, revealing a pair of chocolate irises, and he fumbles with his papers before clearing his throat again. 

“Uh, is that my cue to start?” His voice is abnormally squeaky. 

Greyson nods, gesturing to the man. “Ava, this is Malcom, our lead intelligence specialist. Malcom, please, the floor is yours.”

The squat man turns to me, bowing his head slightly. “It is an honour to meet you, Commander Rosentar.” Then he stands up. “Well, last night we managed to intercepted a transmission from the Consium to the Department of the Defense. They have direct orders to transport hostages from Aeon to Kartayn tonight. One of said hostages is classified as high security.”

Adrian turns to Greyson, his expression hard. “That has to be her.”

The camp leader sighs. “We don’t know for sure… But it’s a possibility.”

But Hale’s shaking his head. “Greyson, this is insane. This is the fourth tip we’ve had this month, and none of the other missions were successful - the hostage is never Cal. The intel we’re getting just isn’t accurate.”

“And what if it is this time?” Adrian snarls. “We don’t go and we’ll have let her slip right through our fingers.”

Hale frowns. “But we’ve never had this many strike attacks in such a short amount of time. Defence increases the amount of men every time we’ve hit them - it’s only a matter of time before there’s another accident. They’re being more vigilant.”