Forsaken (Fated Saga Fantasy Series Book 8) by Rachel Humphrey-D'aigle

Kanda asked her.
    “Um… Yes…”
    “Never been in one,” she guessed.
    “No.”
    “You’ll be okay. Stick to your training. More than that, stick to what you know.”
    What Juliska knew was Firemancy.
    They ran out to join the others.
    It was chaos. And smoke. And flashes of light, followed by things exploding all around them. Juliska had trained to battle, but never like this. And even with magic on their side, they were a small army.
    Her fellow quest members had created a line of defense around their tent, using it as cover behind them, not that the canvas gave them much protection. They shot off spell after spell over their heads, creating a magical shield to ward off the incoming ambush.
    Except there was no magic or devastation actually reaching them.
    The smoke cleared some, and everything that had exploded was a good twenty feet away from them. Was this intentional? Not getting too close… and their magical shield was only good for a few feet around them.
    Juliska saw Eddy around the right-hand side of the tent, but let him stay focused. Just at the edge to her left was Arnon, and Cornell around the side. They were giving each other a confused look.
    “Everyone gather at the front!” Arnon ordered a moment later.
    The explosions were slamming into things all around the tent, sending debris flying; but not close enough to hit them or the tent.
    They created a line of defense at the front, the remnants of the magical shield holding, for now. Juliska stayed just inside the entrance, unsure how to help. She caught a tense glance from Eddy.
    “It’s like they’re just letting us know they’re here…” Cornell shouted. “Makes no sense.”
    “Nothing is even getting close to our shield,” Arnon noted.
    “A diversion?” questioned Nashua ominously.
    They all looked at each other. A diversion for what?
    “We have nothing of value with us,” insisted Milo.
    “Maybe they want our research?” suggested Balloch.
    “That could be valuable to the right person,” agreed Arnon.
    “And just who is they? ” asked Kanda.
    The smoke cleared even more, the explosions stopping. Everyone trained their gazes into the woods, searching. A flitter of smoke-like movement, and then another, darting between trees. They moved so fast it was impossible to catch a clear view… but only one thing moved like that.
    “Grosvenor…” muttered Cornell in dismal revelation.
    They cemented their defensive stances, palms at the ready.
    “There’s more than one,” warned Arnon. He saw at least three shadows he could count so far, possibly more.
    “Let’s hope not all nine are here,” said Nashua. He was itching to be in his wolf form, but his human form had more of a chance of surviving this foe. The Grosvenor rarely attacked out in the open like this… it meant there was a purpose behind it. A purpose the quest members didn’t know and could only imagine.
    “Maybe we need a diversion,” said Kanda. “Keep them busy.”
    Nashua spun and stared her down through resolved eyes. “No. Not from you… ”
    “I can’t hide what I am forever, Brother.”
    “But it does not have to be today.”
    “Maybe they already know…”
    Nashua said nothing, but the rage in his gaze led them to believe he’d already thought of this.
    “What is this about?” demanded Arnon. What secret had they kept from him?
    Kanda said nothing, eyeing her brother, hard.
    Arnon stepped closer. “If it’s the reason they’re here I need to know.”
    “I just counted five figures,” Cornell shouted.
    Kanda and Nashua did not explain and they reformed the defensive line, aiming overhead- a flash. A Boom. Something powerful rent the space between them all, scattering them in all directions.
    Eddy pushed Juliska down to the ground, rolling them to take cover behind a downed tree.
    If the Grosvenor had been playing with them, testing them, or warning them, it was over. Perhaps it was not a diversion at all, just a test to see if there was any