The arrow didn't waver.
Lin Tian stood perfectly still, feeling the weight of that green-tipped point aimed at his heart. Behind him, he sensed his companions tensing, ready to move. He sent a pulse through the Link, a silent command to hold.
Don't. Not yet.
The girl on the dragon's crest studied him with those ancient forest-pool eyes. Her face was unreadable, carved from the same patient stillness as the trees around them.
"You carry the stench of the Blight," she said, her voice soft as falling leaves but carrying an edge that could cut stone. "Outsiders always bring it. They come with promises and leave with rot."
Lin Tian kept his hands visible, open at his sides. "We came seeking the Progenitor Fragment. Nothing more."
"The Fragment belongs to the forest." The dragon beneath her rumbled, a sound like grinding boulders. "And the forest does not share with those who poison her roots."
"I haven't poisoned anything."
"Your presence is the poison."
