It was never going to be that easy

"I knew you were going to call shortly but I thought you would give me some more time!"

The annoyed voice of Etaria was the very first thing we all heard when the ringing of the walkie-talkie came to an end, signifying she picked up the call. 

I raised my eyes and looked over at the considerable number of onlookers before breathing a long sigh. 

"First thing first, shut up and listen. One very important thing has changed," I pressed the button and announced. 

"What, you are changing the terms now?!" Etaria replied right away, quickly turning from annoyed to outraged. 

"That's not it," I shook my head to the sides, only to recall that the princess, with nothing but another walkie-talkie, couldn't really see my gestures. "I just wanted you to know that contrary to our last talk, right now you are not talking with me alone. Right now, every person of importance to our group is nearby, so we can get this over with."

"Oh…"