Kael walked in the opposite direction of the fallen boys, the shadows still lazily swirling around his feet like they were hungry. His mind was sharp, already calculating the next steps, when a whisper of movement behind him sliced through the silence.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Three sets of hurried footsteps. Three racing hearts. The three boys—the survivors—were trying to flee, stumbling over their own fear as they scrambled toward the old staircase they had come down from.
Kael stopped walking.
His head turned slightly, a tired smile forming at the corner of his lips.
"Ahri…" he murmured, not needing to raise his voice.
The nine-tailed fox, who had been walking beside him with her usual feline grace, halted as well. Her golden eyes shimmered at the sound of his voice. A dramatic sigh slipped from her lips.
"Men are so predictable," she said with amused disdain. "Take power from their hands for one second… and they go running like rats."
Then she leapt.
