Miras Last by Erin Elliott

while,” Galena said, heaving herself to her feet and grinning
mischievously at him.
    “That’s my girl.” Taking her hand, Elenio led
them back to their tent for which Galena was grateful for because
she really wasn’t sure which one was theirs after storming away
from it early that morning.
    “How’s Morgo?”
    “Much better as I’m sure you knew he would be
after working on him. Morak is also well. Tark sent him and some of
his archers out after the army to keep track of them until we catch
up. Not that we’ll need them to locate those brutes. It would be a
little difficult to lose an army that size.” Elenio shook his head,
amused at his own sarcasm. “I understand you saw Tark this
morning.” He couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice with this
last statement.
    “Yeah, this wasn’t my most graceful day,”
Galena said, hoping to ward off the fits of laughter that she was
sure would come. “How far is our tent? I don’t remember walking
this far.”
    “Just over there,” he said grinning, pointing
in the direction of a tent on the outer edges of the camp. He knew
what she was trying to do. She slapped his shoulder for good
measure before walking in that direction.
    “Home sweet home,” Galena said, opening the
flap of the tent and stepping into the dark little room. How
dreary , she thought, letting the flap close behind her.
Thinking of the floating orbs of light from Gora and the
underground world, she focused on air shaped like a small ball and
trapped some of the light she saw in the lightning within the
confines of it. The result caused the inside of the tent to be
bathed in the soft light. That’s a little better, she
thought dully.
    “No sense prettying the place up if we’re
heading out the day after tomorrow,” Elenio said as he stepped
through the doorway of the tent. “Especially considering I can’t
see you wanting to stay in here more than to sleep.”
    “I really don’t even want to sleep in here,
to be honest. It reminds me too much of the underground world.”
    “It’s not that bad,” Elenio said, as he sat
down on the hammock and stretched out.
    “Do you think I should put a protective
barrier around the camp?” Galena asked. She couldn’t help feeling
vulnerable without it, now that they were so close to Rau’s
army.
    “No. Tark has patrols making rounds around
the camp. Your job is to rest. You’re the most important person in
the upcoming battles. Get some sleep while you can and let others
take care of you for a little while.”
    Galena shrugged and then moving slowly so as
not to repeat the fiasco of earlier that morning, she sat next to
Elenio. Lying back, she rolled over so that she could lay her head
on his shoulder and wrap an arm around his middle. Instead of
risking the movement, she caused a gentle breeze to pick up their
blanket and pull it up to their shoulders. The nights had warmed
up; however, it was still chilly enough that the blanket helped
Galena feel nice and warm. The activities of the day ran through
Galena’s mind, making her feel incredibly tired and before she knew
it, she was fast asleep.
    * * * *
    Tark awoke to the sun attempting to shine
through the thick tent material. He looked over at Taura, still
sleeping curled up next to him. He pulled the blanket up over her
shoulders and kissed her lightly on the forehead before he quietly
slipped from the hammock. He wanted to check with the night patrol
and Morgo before the camp really began to wake up and stir.
Slipping past the tent flap and stepping into the bright light of
the morning, Tark had to blink several times, allowing his eyes to
adjust to the light before he was able to continue. He talked with
each of the patrols to find that the night was quiet when they
started their shifts and the guards before reported the same. Galena must have really scared Rau’s army, Tark thought
grimly. Thanking the elves for their reports and work, he headed
off in the direction of Morgo’s