Exᴛʀᴇᴍᴇ || Tʜᴇ Cʜᴏsᴇɴ Eɪɢʜᴛ Bᴏᴏᴋ Fɪᴠᴇ

Chapter One // Waiting Game

Tazi
I paced back and forth along a stretch of the battlements, my head aching with thought. Everybody had been on edge for the last week. Tyler has said we'd be leaving for Stetriol as soon as possible, but we were still waiting on Greencloak reinforcements. I paused as our black haired guardian came into sight in the courtyard, accompanied by Hoya and Ryan. All three had been shaken by Tarik's death and Shane's betrayal, although they didn't think we'd noticed. I had. I remember the looks on their faces when Halawir swept in, and Shane fought off the Four Fallen. I shuddered just thinking about it.

"Tazi?"

I glanced over my shoulder, toward the wrought iron door leading inside. Niko's head was poking out. His usual crooked grin was missing from his face, replaced by the purple bruises that tugged on his eyes.

"There you are." The Niloan boy answered himself lightly. "Are you coming inside? We're all in the common room, discussing tactics." He blinked at me. "It's warm."

I suddenly became aware of how my clothes was sticking to my skin, icy raindrops trickling down my neck from my hair. "You know what, I think I will." I gave him a half-grin and followed Niko inside.

A few moment later I was seated on one of the chairs in the common area, a towel wrapped around my shoulders. Most of the others were sitting on the floor, around a rolled-out map with game-like figures on it. Zay and Sasha were arguing.

"So what have we gotten so far?" I asked Lizzie, who had scooted back to sit closer to me.

"Hm, not much. Mostly it's been those two arguing, plus the others chipping in from time to time." Lizzie shrugged with one shoulder. "So nothing more than expected."

I cracked a small smile at that, my gaze roving the map. "So we're joining Olvan's forces in Stetriol?" I asked, having decoded that from the map and game pieces.

"Yeah. We'll be travelling with him and a whole bunch of other Greencloaks. We're going to be meeting up with the Four Fallen and their escort at, uh, Muttering Rock, I think it is." She was avoiding my eyes, staring at the strategies laid out on the map.

"Are you nervous?" I asked, drawing my eyes back to her.

"Yeah." She sighed.

I waited for her to explain, but she seemed not to want to say why. I frowned lightly. "Me too. We are going into enemy territory. And this is going to be a crazy battle." I exhaled. "It'd be weird if you weren't nervous."

"Hm." Lizzie nodded impassively. Her attention was diverted as Sasha moved something around.

I watched as another argument broke out. The beginnings of another migraine was beating in my forehead as I pondered her response. My head had been particularly sensitive since Shane's attack, when I'd been thrown against a wall and knocked out cold. It was rather annoying, if you asked me.

"Everything alright?" It was Navia who pulled me from my thoughts, her light green eyes soft with concern.

"Yeah, just a little headache is all." I answered, dropping my fingers from my temples.

The redhead offered a sympathetic smile. "We're all a bit out of sorts." She agreed. "Do you need anything?"

"I'll be okay." I smiled back, though it only lasted for a few moments. My gaze was pulled back to the map and I resisted the urge to rub at my aching head.

Navia followed my gaze. "Our last stand." She mused, emotions warring on her face.

I nodded, adding softly. "We don't even know if we'll win."

"Or what we'll lose if we do." She agreed darkly.

I raised my eyebrows. It seemed unlike Navia to say something like that. She was always the optimistic one, who kept everyone else going. What would we do if she lost hope?

"Anyways, if you need something for your head, you know where to find me." Navia brightened, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Yeah." The interaction left me wondering what other sides of my teammates I hadn't seen. Sure, Sasha and Sabien weren't as great with hiding their emotions, but... most of the girls were closed books. And Niko... maybe he had some tragic backstory? I don't know. Maybe I shouldnt go digging in other people's business. I shook my head slightly to get rid of the thought. It was a distraction, and we couldn't afford that. Not now, when the fate of Erdas was at stake. The idea of saving the world made my head pound, but it also excited me. Me, a mere cook's son from Greenhaven, a saviour of the world. It sounded nice...

"Hey, Tazi!"

I glanced up. Zay and the others were looking at me.

"Are you actually going to help, or are you just gonna sit there and stare into space?" The Stetriolian scooted over. "Come on!"

I let out a soft snort of laughter and slid, rather ungracefully if I do say so myself, from the chair and plopped myself between her and Lizzie. "So what are we doing?"

As they explained it, Lizzie leaned over and pointed out specific points on the map. I caught a whiff of her hair and frowned. Why did she smell like rain? We'd all been stuck inside for the past few weeks, none of them going outside besides me. So why did she smell like rain? What has she been up to?

Lizzie leaned back. "You got that?"

"Yep." I answered, my eyes scanned hers, and in the second before they dropped to the ground, guilt flashed through her blue irises. That caught me off guard. Why is she guilty? I wondered, feeling slightly sick due to the pain in my head. Lizzie, what aren't you telling me? Why are you hiding things? Why are you lying?

Ok so-
I'm trying to go as much according to the books as I can, but I can't seem to get the book anywhere. :(
So sorry for any screwed up details!
Enjoy :)