When had she begun avoiding shadows?
She had stormed Silver Manor with a Battle Tank.
She had stared down House Silver without blinking.
And now she was retreating from a distant gunshot?
She inhaled sharply.
"Argh. Fine," she muttered. "Let's see who this is. Worst case scenario, I summon the Battle Tank and leave."
She pivoted decisively toward the sound.
Zion followed in silence.
As they advanced, more gunshots echoed through the forest, at least ten in total. The spacing between them was consistent, controlled. Not panic fire.
Training.
That was her first assumption.
But when she finally reached the clearing, illuminated faintly by moonlight filtering through the sparse canopy, she realized she had misjudged the situation entirely.
There were two figures.
One stood tall and composed, moving with fluid ease across branches and open ground.
The other was smaller.
A child.
The taller figure was instantly recognizable.
Icarus Veyne.
