Tazi
"Tazi?"

I blinked open my eyes, wincing at the thudding ache in my temples.

"Oh, thank Tellun." It was Navia. She had bruises on her face, plus a bleeding scrape on her cheekbone. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got run over by a pack of wild geese." I grumbled, letting her help me sit up. "What happened?"

Navia sighed and rubbed her forehead, smudging a streak of dust across it. "We were betrayed."

I frowned. "What? How?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but Tyler interrupted by coming over and crouching by her side. "Oh, good, Tazi, you're awake. How do you feel?"

"I'm choosing not to answer that." I grunted in reply, reaching up and touching my head. It was wrapped in a bandage. I must've hit it during the attack. "So who sold us out?" I asked, grasping Tyler and Navia's arms as they tugged me back to my feet. The world spun for a moment before I regained my balance, leaning on the wolverine-summoner for support.

"It's more complicated than that, technically." Tyler sighed.

"Where are the others?" I frowned. "The rest of the team? Surely they heard about this?"

"Right behind you." Ryan's voice answered my question before Tyler could, causing me to turn around.

Lizzie ran up and threw her arms around my neck, almost knocking both of us to the floor. "I was so worried!" She breathed, "I can't bear to lose you!"

I felt my cheeks flush and cautiously pushed her away. "So what happened?"

"The shorthand is that Abeke escaped the Conqueror camp along with Shane, who we now know is the Devourer. They came here and Shane attacked, then took the talismans and rode away on Halawir." Ryan answered calmly as Lizzie stepped back.

"So now what?" I glanced at Tyler. He looked tired, and the scrape across his nose looked painful.

"Olvan is meeting with the senior Greencloaks right now, trying to figure that out." He responded wearily. "Ryan and I are about to join him. You should get some rest, all of you. And have someone take a look at that gash, Navia."

She nodded and our two guardians moved away, their voices quiet. Lizzie took my arm to help steady me, as I was still slightly off-balance. The eight of us headed silently back to the barracks building. But when we stopped in front of Sabien's room, the first along the hallway, he didn't go in. Instead, the Islander turned to us. "So what are we going to do?"

"Wait?" Lucia suggested unsurely, breaking our quiet. "The adults will figure something out, won't they?"

"Maybe they will, but can we really trust any of them?" Zay butted in. "Listen, maybe we need to rethink our alliance. The Greencloaks could have traitors working in their midst! We could have a mole in our team!"

I felt the gasp leave my mouth, in unison with the others'.

"Then that's only more reason to stay." Navia responded quietly, drawing our attention. "We have to show the Conquerors that we are not afraid of them. Yes, we've been betrayed, and it may happen again! But is that a reason to give up? No! Because we're Greencloaks! We fight for what's right, and what's right is stopping the Conquerors!" She glared at us. "We are Protectors of Erdas. Are you about to give that up because some idiot on a crocodile took away some of our fancy super-necklaces?"

"No." I answered boldly, meeting her eye. I saw approval there, and a spark of gratitude. "No, I won't go back to my old life. I am a Greencloak, and I stand with Erdas!"

Others were nodding their heads as well. Lucia, Niko, Sasha, even Lizzie and, surprisingly, Zay. In response to our shocked gazes, she lifted her chin and hissed, "they made themselves my enemy. If with the Greencloaks is where I'll get my revenge, then I stand with the Greencloaks."

"That sounds an awful lot like your vows." A warm voice behind me made us jump. Turning, I noted the pink-haired woman, Hoya. She smiled and held out a worn green cloak to Zay. "With the Greencloaks, then?"

The Stetriolian didn't hesitate to take it, unclipping her grey cloak and letting it fall to the ground before affixing the new one.

Hoya glanced around at us, her eyes soft. "...so proud." She murmured to herself, pivoting on her heels and striding away.

"...well that was awkward." Niko commented after a while. I exchanged a raised eyebrow with Lizzie, and smiles broke across our faces for the first time in what felt like years.

Later that night, I turned over in my bed and sighed. My head was still sore, but only sometimes. I closed my eyes and wished for sleep, but it didn't come. A rap on the door pulled me from my thoughts. I sat up, resting my bare feet on the cold floor and reaching for the small knife is hidden under my pillow. Couldn't be too cautious nowadays. "Who's there?"

"Ah good, you're awake." Tyler popped his head in. Moonlight threw his features into sharp relief in comparison to the dark wood of the door. "Pack your things and get some sleep."

Before I could ask any questions, he withdrew. His last words were, "tomorrow we sail for Stetriol. This is war."

:DDDDDD you're welcome. Only one chap left! (Well technically it's the epilogue but whatever-)
Anyway, hope you enjoyed! I've started brainstorming title ideas for the last book and I was thinking maybe Chosen Eight and The War of The Evertree. Lemme know whatcha think!