The Exiles (Book 1 of the Exiles Series)

Fifteen

I didn't dare tell Nicole about my feelings. She would be so angry if I told her I had a crush on the enemy. I was already in hot water with her, so I didn't want to go any deeper and drown.

Nicole and I climbed up the ladder until our feet touched the ground above. Then Nicole and I started towards her house.

"It will be safer there," she told me when I asked, "and we can make plans." I knew exactly what she meant: battle plans. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. I couldn't believe I was caught in the middle of a full-out war between my two best friends. My insides felt like they had turned to mush.

We reached the home after taking our time. It was fall. There was no hurry to get home. Darkness was falling late, even still. I followed Nicole inside and we sat side by side on her bed, facing each other. Nic gave me a mischievous grin.

"Oh, Talia, I'm so proud of you," she gushed, flushing with relief. "Standing up to that snake--I didn't think you were going to do it." She squeezed my shoulders.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously. The look on Nicole's face told me that she was confused. "What do you mean?" she replied sassily. "Are you thinking about him?" I gulped. "Of course not," I lied. "I just...feel a little guilty, you know? Just letting it all out like that was...hard."

Nic rolled her eyes. "Guilty?" she said, adding extra emphasis on every syllable. "There is no such thing as guilt in war. Don't let your feelings get in the way of your fighting, or else we can't win."

I rubbed my hand over my forehead. "You're right," I replied. "I'm just a little tired, that's all." Nicole gave me a doubtful look. "It's not even noon," she said. "Are you feeling alright, Talia?" She squinted at me suspiciously.

"I'm fine," I gulped, trying not to sound upset. I didn't want to clue Nicole in on anything that could lead her to believe that there was more to the story. I appeared to be doing a fairly good job.

"Here." Nicole got up and walked to the chest with spring in her step. She threw open the lid and dug around for a few seconds. Eventually, she unearthed her trademark bow and arrows--as well as a set for me that looked to be unused.

"Wow," I breathed. Nicole held out the hunting set for me to grab. "For you," she told me. Eagerly, I took the bow and arrow from Nicole and twirled it in my hands. "This is awesome," I told her, so absorbed in awe that I momentarily forgot about Magnus. "Thank you." She nodded in reply. "Don't mention it," she responded. "You need to defend yourself. Take it from me: Magnus gets even worse when he's angry--I'm sure you know that." Reluctantly, I nodded in reply. I had experienced his anger in that room not even an hour ago.

"So, how do we do this?" I asked Nicole. "I've never participated in a, er...war before."

She shut the chest lid and sat back down on the bed. "I haven't either," Nic admitted. "But I suppose it's just like hunting: you have the enemies, your prey, and you have to hunt them down with no mercy." Her words had some truth to them. It felt strange, though, to think of Magnus as prey.

"How are we gonna get an army?" I asked. We would surely need help. "I know people," Nic replied mysteriously. "I was thinking of asking some friends, Sammy and Sasha, maybe, and setting up a home base here." I didn't even think of that. We would need a place to call home, a place where we could regroup and strategize.

"Where will everyone go?" I asked. "I mean, if we set up home base here. Will there be enough room for everybody?"

Nicole rubbed the wall behind her. "We don't necessarily need everybody to stay here," Nicole explained. "It's good to have some spies across the island--you never know what, or who, you might find." I nodded.