All except Zarah.
And the troll. The strange creature had grown close to the clan in its own way, though even now it lood at the edge with arms crossed, watching Ariel with quiet distrust. Strange—how once the troll had been treated with the sa wariness now directed at her, only to sohow beco part of the clan.
That was worth investigating. But I didn’t have ti for that.
Zarah stepped closer, her jaw tightening, her voice dropping to a whisper ant only for . "She almost killed ."
Her breath brushed against my ear, carrying that faint, grounding scent of hers.
It stirred sothing in , sothing sharp and distracting.
For a heartbeat, I let it linger, savoring the nearness.
But I forced myself back, snapping the thought away before it rooted too deep. This wasn’t the ti.
"It’s fine," I replied firmly, holding her gaze without flinching. "She will not harm you. I made sure of that."
Zarah’s brows knit together, her voice edged with frustration. "Do we really have to take her in? She’s dangerous, Chief. Oath or no oath."
I exhaled slowly, steadying myself before answering. "We don’t have much of a choice. She and I... are bonded."
That stopped her cold. Suspicion bled into her tone. "Bonded?"
"Yes," I said, forcing the words out evenly. "We’re tied together in a kind of... relationship."
Her head tilted, confusion flashing across her face. "Relationship?"
I could already tell how strange it sounded. Even to my own ears, the word rang wrong. Of all the terms I could have chosen, that one didn’t help.
"Alright, maybe not that kind of relationship," I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck with a grimace. "Think of it as... complicated."
Zarah’s frown only deepened, her voice rising a notch. "A complicated relationship?" she repeated, the words tumbling awkwardly from her tongue, as though I had dropped a riddle in her lap that made no sense at all.
Every explanation seed to dig the hole deeper, confusion piling on suspicion.
"In simple terms," I said at last, eting each of their eyes, "if she dies, I die. And if I die, she dies too."
That drew a collective pause. Zarah tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "That... seems like sothing special."
"Yes," I admitted with a short nod. "It is."
But the word sat heavy on my tongue. The more I thought about it, the more unsettling the truth beca. My life was tethered to this fox. Bound, inescapably. If she fell in battle, then I would fall with her—no matter where I was, no matter what I was doing. Just like that, my story would end.
What in Drugar’s na had I been thinking when I offered her the chance to walk away?
The image ca unbidden: Ariel crossing paths with so powerful beast, cut down before she even realized the danger. And —falling beside her, dragged into death by the chain of our bond.
The thought made my jaw tighten. Recklessness might serve in battle, but when it ca to bonds like this, mistakes weren’t just costly—they were fatal.
I couldn’t isolate her anymore, not when my survival was directly tied to hers.
And there was another problem. Her level. She was still too low, too weak, and now her weakness dragged down as much as it did her. Which ant, whether I wanted to or not, I would have to raise her up. Strengthen her. Drag her from liability to asset.
And yet every part of recoiled at the thought. I didn’t want to do that.
"So what this ans... is that she must not die?" Zarah asked softly, her eyes flicking between Ariel and with a trace of unease.
"Right," I answered without hesitation.
She gave a slow nod, as if she understood, though her lips pressed into a thin line that betrayed how little she liked it. Acceptance, not approval.
"Alright," I said at last, breaking the silence before it grew heavy, "let’s go inside and inform the others. After that, we’ll head out to hunt."
They exchanged quick glances and began to turn, falling into step. I shifted my weight, ready to move—
And then it hit.
The sharp, chanical chi of the system rang inside my skull, clear and cold, cutting through my thoughts. Text unfurled across my vision, each word sinking like a stone into water.
I froze mid-step, body going rigid as my eyes scanned the notification.
My heartbeat quickened, each thud heavier than the last, a drumbeat of warning pounding in my chest.
"What the hell..." I muttered, my throat dry, anxiety creeping into like frost under my skin.
"It’s too soon," I whispered under my breath.
Ding!
[Drugar Blessed in range][Finder has been activated][A Blessed is nearing your location][A Blessed is nearing your location]
I froze, every muscle locking tight. Not one. Two. Two Blessed were closing in, their presence strong enough to awaken the ability I had taken from the shaman goblin.
Which could only an one thing. The shaman hadn’t stayed down. Sohow, impossibly, he had returned. And this ti, he wasn’t alone.
A chill slid down my spine, the implications cutting deep. Two Blessed moving together was no accident. This was coordinated. Intentional.
"Chief... is sothing wrong?"
Narg’s voice drew my focus. His eyes narrowed, reading the strain on my face with growing concern.
I exhaled slowly, the words heavy as I revealed the truth. "Enemies are approaching."
"What?" Narg exclaid, his grip tightening around his staff.
"There’s no ti to explain," I said sharply. "I’ll draw them away. The rest of you need to be ready for anything. Narg, you’re in charge until I return."
Before they could press with questions, I triggered my skill. Space folded, and I warped away in an instant.
I couldn’t afford to stay.
If I lingered, the danger would follow straight to them.
The shaman had told once before that Blessed ones could sense and track one another. If two of them were closing in on now, then every step in the wrong direction would drag them closer to my clan.
And that wasn’t a risk I could allow.
The mont I reappeared, I warped again, blinking through the trees in rapid succession.
Each jump carried further, faster, until the world itself seed to lurch and snap under the strain of my power.
My stomach clenched at the speed of it, but I refused to slow.
Not until the distance between and the cave was absolute.
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