Two figures stood on a ridge far to the east, their silhouettes barely visible against the darkening sky, watching the campfire flicker below.
The girl sat on a flat rock with her knees pulled up to her chest, her tail wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her arms. Her eyes were fixed on the distant glow of the camp, but her expression was tight, her brow furrowed in a way that had not eased since the fight ended.
"That was too close," she said, her voice quiet.
The boy stood beside her, arms crossed, his gaze steady on the camp below, not responding right away.
"If that spike had hit his heart, he would have died," she continued, her tail twitching, "and if he dies, the fragment dies with him. And if the fragment dies, we answer to the King."
"We did not let him die," the boy said, his tone flat.
