Book 3 -38-

[Battle Plans]

ARIELLA

I was halfway through a mouthful of roasted beef when Zaiden stormed into the dining room and plopped down on a chair. His eyes were wild and his face was flushed. Everyone went quiet as we looked up at him. Puzzled by his sudden entry into the dining room, we all thought he was going to blurt something rude, but he didn’t. He bit his lip and stared across the table at all the half-empty plates.

“Can I get some food, please? I’m starved and exhausted. If you smell anything foul, it’s probably me.” Looking around at all the blank, confused faces staring back at him, Zaiden took a deep breath and began speaking.

“I’ve just come from the hunters’ base,” he said solemnly. “The things I heard and saw there were truly terrifying...”

Zaiden recounted in detail all that he had seen and heard. A heavy silence descended upon the room.

“The hunters have a secret room. Inside, they have a vast array of weaponry, from metal beads that would disperse silver shrapnel whe