The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) by Garrett Robinson (elon musk reading list TXT) 📕

“This is my fault,” said Kaita. “I should have scouted ahead.”

“You kept your eyes on the force following us, as we both agreed,” said Tagata. “Our enemies were clever, and we underestimated them. If you wish to take the blame for that, you must share it with—”

Her right leg buckled beneath her, and she fell to the ground. Kaita tried to support her, but it was like catching a falling boulder.

“Tagata!” cried Kaita. “Are you all right? Does it hurt?”

“Not the healing, no,” said Tagata through gritted teeth. She tried and failed to regain her feet. “But until the wounds have gone, I can still feel every one.”

Kaita looked desperately around. They were in the hills now and could not see very far in any direction. But though the rolling land blocked sight, it was hardly defensible. The slopes were gentle, and they could be scaled or descended with little effort. She growled in frustration.

“I am going to take a look around,” she told Tagata. Then she raised her voice to bark at the Shades surrounding them. “Halt the march! Stay here until I return.”

Gently she removed Tagata’s arm from her shoulder and stepped away. Magelight flashed in her eyes, and a moment later, she powered into the air on raven’s wings.

At once, she could see things were even worse than she had feared. They were only a few spans into the hills, but nowhere was there any position better than their current one. The only glimmer of hope came from the fact that, looking south, she could see flashes of firelight in the woods. Her enemies had made camp in the Greenfrost and were not yet giving chase.

She dove back to the ground and resumed her human form. Tagata looked up with blood on her lips.

“Are they close?” she said.

“They have set up camp in the wood,” said Kaita. “And we should do the same. There is no better place to march tonight, and we must get as much rest as we can. You need to heal, and the rest of us need to be fresh tomorrow. They will not simply let us sit here unmolested.”

“Mayhap we should march a little—” Tagata grunted at a stab of pain. She fell back to one knee, clutching the hilt of her greatsword as its tip sank into the ground.

“And that is enough of that,” said Kaita. “Everyone! Set up camp. Sentries on every hill surrounding this dell. Someone raise Tagata’s tent for her, now.”

Her voice cracked like a whip, and the Shades leaped to obey. Kaita went to Tagata and took her hand. Tagata tried to smile at her through the pain wracking her body.

“You need to rest,” said Kaita. “Promise me you will.”

“It seems I have little choice,” said Tagata. “I will be fine in the morning.”

“Should I stay with you?”

Tagata shook her head, sending her heavy auburn hair cascading over her face. “I will be fine. And you will get no rest if you are with me. The healing process is not always pleasant, and less so, the worse my wounds.”

Kaita browbeat the others until they had Tagata’s tent up, and then she helped her inside. But she found little rest for herself that night. Sleep would not come, and after two hours, she gave up. She settled for taking flight once more, swooping low over the camp of Kun’s army in the Greenfrost. The glow of our fires refracted through the emerald trunks, like a crystal that breaks sunlight into many colors.

She could not tell which tents were mine or Mag’s. Yet she could almost feel us below her. More than anything, she wanted to descend upon the camp in a fury, to find us and destroy us. The magestones were back at the camp, and Tagata was wounded. Kaita could eat them, and she would never be discovered …

But Mag and I were among allies, and Kaita had made promises to Rogan. She was worthy of trust, and she had to prove it. And so, many long hours later, she finally returned to her tent and passed the rest of the night in sleep almost as restless as my own.

When she woke, just before dawn, she emerged into the open air to find Tagata standing there.

The shadeborn’s eyes were closed and her shoulders back. Her face tilted slightly up, as though the scent of some treasured dish wafted to her on the breeze. Firelight played across her features, deepening the crags and scars splayed across them. All signs of her injuries were gone—the Lord’s blessing had done its work through the night. And now, as Kaita approached, Tagata’s eyes opened, and her expression turned grim.

“I received a message,” she said. “From the Lord.”

“When?” snapped Kaita, eyes wide. “In the night?”

“Yes,” said Tagata. “He had dark tidings—yet the darkness holds a glimmer of hope. But come. We should speak of this privately.”

She threw back the flap of her tent, and Kaita led the way inside. Sitting so close, she could again feel the heat radiating from Tagata. It almost made her want to cast off her cloak.

“What are these tidings?” said Kaita.

“We will face our foes in battle again soon,” said Tagata. “And we will lose.”

For a moment, Kaita could not speak, but only stared at Tagata in shock. “What do you mean, we will lose?” she said.

“They will heavily outnumber us,” said Tagata. “No strategy we could concoct will work in these hills, and we cannot outrun them. However, this will not be our end. Some of us, at least, will be able to escape.”

“Then let us escape now,” said Kaita. “They have not come to attack us yet. There is still time.”

“We will not find a way out until the time is right,” said Tagata. “The Lord did not know how we would get away, but he said we would see a sign. It shall be a fiery wyrm.”

Kaita could only stare in shock for a moment. “Is he—” She