Control (Book Seven) (Fated Saga Fantasy Series) by Rachel Humphrey - D'aigle Page B

it won’t be as bad as we’re thinking.”
    “They sure are taking a long time for it to be better than we’re thinking,” Meghan replied, holding no hope.
    Ivan kept his thoughts to himself.
    Nona hopped up. “My cat sense is telling me there’s a nice juicy...”
    “Don’t need to hear the details, Nona,” said Meghan, as playfully as she could muster. “Go. Hunt. Eat.”
    Nona liked being in the encampment. Being so far hidden in the woods, small rodents didn’t scare so easily; hunting was almost too easy. Meghan thought if they stayed long enough, Nona would end up getting fat with all the food roaming around. The Catawitch certainly enjoyed it.
    The tale of the ship’s bat tle with the Slopikes, Amphivena and Salt Spiders, had already spread like wild fire through the encampment. Looking over the ship now, the damage made perfect sense. Meghan wondered how Colin had found the ship? And what would have happened if he had not...
    A door opened.
    “Finally,” breathed out Meghan.
    A few bodies exited, people Meghan didn’t recognize.
    No one spoke a word.
    No one tried to make eye contact.
    Meghan’s first thought: It’s even worse than we thought .
    After a painfully long minute, Billie and Noah exited, with Kanda and Arnon directly behind.
    Billie came up to them and at first, said nothing. Their desperate gazes cried out for good news, which she could not give them.
    “I know how much you all want to know what’s happening on the island. I’m afraid all I can truthfully say is... it’s bad. Really bad.”
    “What happened?” asked Ivan. “ We fled just after Jae jumped over the cliff. I knew things would change after that, but... what’s happened?”
    Billie explained all that had happened after Jae had jumped off the cliff. How everyone was confused and disbelieving of what they had witnessed and how Garner and his wife had confronted Juliska, casting off any disbelief that might have lingered.
    “After our failed attempt at an attack , we fled, too. Those who came with me on the ship are all that got away. At least to my knowledge. As to what’s going on back there, right this very minute, I cannot imagine. But I have no doubt that Juliska is very much in charge, and that everyone’s lives are in grave danger. She has a host of Scratchers and an army of Stripers at her beck and call.”
    Meghan’s chest heaved as if weighted down. She thought about all those innocent people on the island. She wondered about the Mochries, Jae’s family... were they still alive? What had happened to them after Jae’s death? She felt instant guilt for not having thought of Mireya sooner. How was she coping with what she thought was her brother’s death? They didn’t even know he hadn’t actually died.
    “ Our escape,” continued Noah, “was with the aid of someone in the Striper guard. We feel fairly certain it is a trap. In part to follow us to wherever we sought out help, and in part to hunt down the two of you,” Noah aimed at Meghan and Ivan.
    “Us?” they asked together.
    “Yes,” answered Billie. “We can’t be sure why, but for some reason, Juliska is hunting you both. Apparently she is quite determined to find you, if she let us go in hopes of locating you. And here we are, we’ve shown them exactly where you are.” Her tone held nothing but apologies.
    “ I can’t say it’s not disturbing,” said Meghan, “but honestly, I’d rather know. If you were not here, Billie, we wouldn’t even know she is hunting for us.”
    Ivan kept quiet but nodded his agreement with Meghan. She could not tell what he was thinking.
    “ If we were tracked here, we may have put this entire encampment in danger,” Billie said.
    “Which is why we will need to act fast,” Arnon said.
    “We all knew time was of the essence,” added Kanda. “But our guests have made that point exceedingly clear. Juliska has become as equally threatening as the Grosvenor.”
    “ Is there a plan?” asked