Coco scanned the surrounding chaos, eyes sweeping across the scattered wreckage, the panicked horses, the fleeing figures, and the gelatinous sli that was alarmingly massive.
She ignored the way her heart raced, focusing on the task at hand. Cleora. She needed to find her. Her mother was here sowhere— probably responsible for the sli that was wrecking havoc on the hooded figures.
She pushed forward, keeping her eyes peeled for even the hint of dark hair, but she froze in her tracks, her breath catching sharply in her throat as her eyes landed on Cleora.
Her mother stood tall in the middle of the wreckage— her grip locked around the throat of a struggling figure.
The woman’s face was dark with fury, her expression colder than Coco had ever seen it.
Coco could see that Cleora tightened her hold on the figure’s neck and for a single, heart-stopping mont, Coco wondered—
Was this the Baroness? Or just another pawn?
Coco didn’t get to find out because Cleora suddenly turned her head, locking eyes with her beloved daughter.
In that gaze was sothing feral, sothing protective— sothing dangerous.
Coco swallowed hard and realized that her mother had this handled, that she didn’t have to waste her energy on worrying about her well-being.
Coco reluctantly tore her gaze away from her mother, glancing at the man in her grip instead.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, much bigger than any of the figures she had seen fleeing, and even with the hood pulled over his head, the size and shape of him was obviously muscular.
He was struggling, clawing at Cleora’s wrists, but her mother’s grip was like iron.
It was tight and unyielding.
Coco let out a shaky exhale, relief washing over her like a wave, even when she witnessed her mother snap the man’s neck like a toothpick.
It was the sa kind of relief one feels when you see a beloved family mber safe.
Coco felt the tension leaving her body, her shoulders relaxing just a fracture when her mother finally released her hold— letting the man collapse to the ground.
Cleora stood over him, breathing heavily.
Blood stained the front of her clothes, but her expression was steady with a grim satisfaction in her eyes that was scary to be seen in a gentle face like hers.
Coco watched her mother as Cleora turned her gaze to the sli, her expression softening.
Following her lead, Coco looked in the sa direction as well and what she saw made her breath catch in her throat.
The sli had spread even further, consuming every fleeing figure as it advanced— its progress was slow and steady, its movents almost unnaturally deliberate, but the re size and speed of it was terrifying.
The sli reminded her of the sli that healed her wounds a few nights ago.
Groaning, Coco watched as the sli finally consud the last runner, its gooey form jiggling for a mont as it ca to a halt.
It stood still and then, incredibly, it gave the impression of swallowing.
It was an unnerving sight, sothing that made Coco’s skin crawl, and she glanced between the sli and her mother, wondering if she was the only one who felt the sheer wrongness of the situation.
To her surprise, or not, Cleora nodded her head as if she was proud of it.
The sli proceeded to begin to move directly towards Cleora and glided across the ground, its thick form leaving a trail of glistening sli in its wake.
Coco took a step forward, instinctively wanting to intervene, but then she stopped herself.
She hasn’t forgotten the others. She couldn’t abandon them— no matter how much she wanted to help her mother and protect her.
Coco could only let out a frustrated sigh, forcing herself to turn away from the unsettling sight of the sli advancing toward her mother and glance back at the wagon, only to find Heiren, Quizen, Jacques, and the others all staring past her with wide, horrified eyes, their gazes locked onto Cleora.
Coco opened her mouth to reassure them, perhaps to snap them out of it, but then she heard sothing.
A wet, heavy squelch.
She whirled around just in ti to see the sli collapse into itself before dissolving into nothingness— leaving behind only a faint shimr in the air before vanishing completely.
Cleora stood before the spot of the sli, her expression unreadable and then, without warning, she turned her head and t Coco’s gaze.
She quickly crossed the distance and smiled. "See? I told you I could handle myself."
Coco exhaled shakily because damn, her mother was terrifying and yet, she had never been more relieved.
Coco nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in her throat before managing a small smile. "I know, Mama.. I’ve never doubted you, you know? I was simply worried."
Cleora’s lips quirked into a teasing smirk, though her eyes held warmth. "But you were so incredibly worried that it might as well have been a doubt."
Coco huffed, cheeks flushing slightly, but she didn’t deny it. Her mother wasn’t wrong.
Cleora chuckled, shaking her head before striding forward, stepping over the fallen body like they were re inconveniences.
"Co on, Coco." She humd, tilting her head toward the wagon that her daughter was previously in. "Let’s get everyone moving again before more of them show up."
Coco quickly nodded, hurrying past the opening of the wagon, only to pause in surprise as her mother followed her in.
Coco couldn’t hide the flicker of curiosity that crossed her face, but she suddenly rembered the destroyed carriage outside, as well as the number of the remaining available wooden vehicles.
She decided to just keep quiet and crawl her way over to the spot between Zaque and Alhai, pressing her back against the wagon’s walls.
Cleora knocked her knuckles on the wagon, causing the vehicle to start moving.
"Don’t worry." Cleora spoke up and smiled at the children before her. "We’re already close to the northern walls."
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