Kassandra crept down the trail, her dagger held at the ready. She’d heard a noise from up ahead and had left Warren a short distance behind to investigate. The stories of the strange whale-like aliens attacking Valentina’s squad loomed large in her mind.

  Before they’d left, she changed into a pair of cargo pants and a long sleeve shirt. Both were a little too snug for her liking, but at least they allowed her to move quietly—unlike her ridiculous superhuman outfit.

  The thought of putting the latex catsuit back on almost made her shudder. That stuff was not made for anything outside of the bedroom. Not only did it constantly make crinkling noises, but she felt like she was being cooked alive while wearing it.

  After a few paces, she stopped at the sight of a herd of deer crossing the path. That must have been the sound she’d heard. She remained still, not wanting to startle the animals as they moved deeper into the forest.

  As she did, she couldn’t help but think how unperturbed the herd looked. While the world was ending for human civilization, nothing had really changed for the deer. They were blissfully unaware of the hordes of aliens that had descended on Sayers Mills.

  Sheathing her weapon, she hurried back the way she’d come. After a few paces, she found Warren crouched by the side of the trail—he’d clearly ignored her when she’d told him to stay put. Knowing him, he’d probably followed her to make sure she was alright.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered. “I thought I told you to stay back.”

  “I was worried about you.”

  “I’m a minion,” she replied. “Which means I’m expendable and you’re not.”

  “You are not expendable,” Warren said firmly.

  “If anything happens to me, you can always bring me back.” Though she said the words without any conviction. Neither of them knew what happened to her if she died. Hopefully, she’d just return to the little void she found herself in between summons. But there was a risk that she’d be gone forever.

  Regardless of her fate, she would do anything to protect Warren. She’d had a crush on him since she first met him in grade school. And it had only grown stronger once they entered high school. She’d desperately wanted to tell him how she felt before he left, but she’d never worked up the courage.

  And I’m still too chicken to tell him, she thought angrily. Why can’t I just tell him how I feel?

  As simple as that sounded, she knew it was far more complicated than that. Warren’s sister had been captured by the aliens and his only focus was on getting her back. And even if Lisa hadn’t been taken, she still had no idea if he was attracted to her.

  And then there was the fact she’d died and been reborn as a minion from some sort of stupid card game. Who would want to date someone that had to be summoned? She was crazy to think he’d have any interest in her in this situation.

  I just need to ignore my feelings.

  But the thought of him shirtless in the workshop returned unbidden, and she bit down on her lower lip as she tried to suppress her desire. She still couldn’t get over how hot Warren had become since he left. Not only did he have an amazing body, with firm pecs and abs that had little canyons carved between them, but he’d grown more handsome—if that was even possible.

  It didn’t hurt that he’d become a doctor, though she doubted she’d feel any different if he’d become a handyman like his dad. She’d be perfectly fine going to work every day at the sheriff’s office to support them if she could come home to him puttering around their workshop.

  With a deep breath, she dispelled her thoughts of them living together and turned her attention to the task at hand. Her job was to act as the scout on their trip to the Seymour Mountain resort. No matter what, she had to keep Warren safe.

  The memory of her failure to protect him in the dungeon still stung. For a terrible moment, the entire world had frozen as the stupid flower monster stabbed Warren. It was like everything she’d dreamed of had shattered in that moment.

  Thankfully, his strange galaxy sword had healed him. But she swore she would never let anything injure him again. At least for as long as she was his bodyguard.

  She had no delusions about how long she’d last in her position. As he received stronger cards, she’d be shunted off to the side and eventually forgotten. But until then, she’d keep him safe.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Warren said in a soft voice. “Is something wrong?”

  Kassandra flushed pink at his words. Luckily, the darkness hid her blush. She took a second to think of an answer?—it wasn’t like she could admit thinking about how handsome he was or how he’d probably replace her soon.

  “I’m just worried about you,” she said after a brief delay. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

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  “I’ll be fine,” Warren said, chuckling. “Unless one of those deer turns out to be unusually aggressive.”

  “I’m being serious,” she continued. “I thought… I was going to lose you in the dungeon. If we’re going to fight again, I want you to stay back.”

  The chuckle died on his lips. “What if something happens to you?”

  “Then you’ll just re-summon me.”

  “And if I can’t?” He reached out and touched her arm. “I won’t lose you again.”

  Her heart fluttered in her chest at his words. She looked up to see the moonlight reflected in his eyes. Why did he have to be so handsome? She could barely think straight around him.

  “You won’t lose me,” she said, looking away. “I’ll always be at your side if you need me.”

  Warren’s lips twitched up into a half smile before he released his grasp on her hand. “We should get moving.”

  Kassandra nodded and took in another deep breath. Once again, she had to remind herself that she needed to concentrate on watching for aliens and other creatures. According to Warren, there were all sorts of powerful beasts roaming the woods now. Though she didn’t quite understand his explanation for that.

  She spun around on her heel and headed back down the trail. With Warren’s deck on cooldown, she was his only line of defense. She needed to stay alert and be ready to take out anything that might threaten him.

  No matter how dangerous.

  With her in the lead, they travelled down the overgrown trail until they reached the road. They then veered to the north—at least in the direction that Warren claimed was north. Without her GPS, she never knew which direction she was going.

  They walked in silence along the side of the road for hours, the silvery moon slowly rising in the sky. One by one, the stars appeared, until a dark tapestry with pinpricks of light hung above their heads. She couldn’t believe how many more stars there were in the night sky now. Maybe it had something to do with the alien invasion?

  “It’s really beautiful,” she whispered to Warren. “Isn’t it?”

  “What do you mean?” he replied in a hushed voice.

  She waved her arm upward. “The night sky.”

  He looked up for a moment before replying. “I haven’t been home in so long I almost forgot what it was like here. Back in Miami, you couldn’t see any of the stars. But you’re right—it’s amazing.”

  She smiled at his words and continued down the road. A few times, they had to duck in the underbrush as something moved through the darkness. But neither of them spotted anything hostile. Apparently, Warren had a map of the area, and he claimed there were no monsters close to them.

  The time passed quickly, and after nearly four hours of hiking, they finally reached the driveway leading up to the mountain resort. In the distance, the building rose above the treeline like a dark and foreboding monolith.

  She started to walk forward, but Warren grabbed her arm and shook his head. Immediately, she drew her dagger and scanned the tree line for danger. Had he seen something she’d missed?

  “There are orcs up ahead,” he muttered. “We may have to fight them.”

  Kassandra blinked rapidly. “Like fantasy orcs? Like from a video game?”

  Warren nodded, his gaze fixated up the mountain at the dark and silent building.

  “What are they doing here?” she exclaimed. “I thought we were just fighting aliens. Now we’re fighting orcs? Are there halflings out there, too? Maybe a ring we need to toss into a fire?”

  “They’re part of the challenges that were seeded to help the native population,” he said before frowning. “At least I think that’s why they’re here. But the orcs aren’t moving on the map. I think they may have taken up residence at the hotel.”

  Kassandra squinted her eyes as she looked up at the resort. The building was at least five stories tall, with modern architecture and glass windows that reflected the moonlight. If the orcs had taken up residence here, there were a lot of places they could hide.

  She twirled a strand of her dark hair around her finger. “Does it tell you anything else?”

  “All the map says is that they’re called Mongrel Orcs and that they’re Level 2,” he continued. “At least they shouldn’t be too hard to defeat with my new cards.”

  “Do you want me to head up there?” She chewed on her lower lip. “Maybe I could take a look around?”

  Warren shook his head. “I’d like to wait until my deck is off cooldown.”

  “And how long with that be?”

  “Maybe another few minutes,” he replied. “It’s hard to be precise with the little hourglass icon.”

  Kassandra nodded and settled down in the brush. As she did, she swung her backpack around and pulled out a bottle of water. She then handed it to Warren, who gratefully accepted it. Before they’d left, she’d filled up all the water bottles from the sink in the workshop. She’d wanted to make sure he didn’t get dehydrated on the trip.

  After a few minutes had passed, Warren rose to his feet. “Are you ready?”

  She bit down on her lower lip again. “Maybe we should wait until they’ve moved on?”

  “They haven’t moved since we’ve been sitting here,” he said. “And Valentina needs those meds as soon as possible. I may have waited too long as it is.”

  “You couldn’t attempt to get the meds without your deck.” She reached behind her head to tie back her hair. “If anything happens to you, everyone in Sayers Mills is doomed. If it was up to me, you wouldn’t have left until it was off the cooldown thingy.”

  “I suppose,” he said, but he didn’t sound convinced.

  Kassandra reached down for the dagger strapped to her thigh before she stopped herself. If they were going into battle, there was no point drawing her weapon. The second Warren activated his combat deck, she would disappear into her void.

  A sudden thought occurred to her. “What if I soften them up first?”

  “That’s out of the question,” he said. “It’s too dangerous to send you in without support. What if you die for real when you die as my minion?”

  “Who said anything about dying? She smirked at him, though her expression was probably lost in the darkness. “Maybe I’ll clear out all the orcs by myself.”

  “I think your stats might be a bit too low for that,” he said. “I didn’t want to tell you, but the other card I received has much higher stats than you. You wouldn’t be a match for anything level 2. Remember, the Wizened Milbark and its minions were only level 1.”

  Her heart sank at his words. She suspected she would eventually be replaced by stronger cards, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. “Why not use me like a missile, then?” she countered. “Send me in and as soon as I’m in trouble, call your combat deck. That way, I’ll disappear before anything can happen to me.”

  Warren was silent for a minute, and she could tell he was mulling it over. Finally, he said, “No, that’s too risky. I want you to scout out the area and then return to me. But if you see an opportunity to take out a lone orc without too much risk to yourself, take it.”

  Kassandra drew her dagger and stalked up the steep road leading to the resort. While she might not be able to match the other cards he’d received, at least she could prove she was still useful.

  And maybe if she wiped out the orcs on her own, he wouldn’t replace her as his bodyguard.