Irene never saw him.
The attack slammed into the back of her neck with enough force to throw her forward across the clearing. Heat burst across her skin a split second before pain followed.
Her vision blurred as her palms hit the dirt.
Then the noise returned all at once.
"Lady Irene!"
"Rear attack!"
"Protect the statue!"
Several voices crashed together.
Irene forced herself onto one knee, ignoring the agonizing sensation of her flesh burning.
Smoke drifted between the trees.
All the trees were on fire.
There was no explanation of how someone could have reached her blind spot. None at all.
There had been nothing.
No shift in air.
No mana fluctuation.
Nothing.
Irene wasn't a master, but any student at her level could automatically sense someone else's mana signature if they were that close.
