The Scent-Hounds below were restless. Their metallic claws raked the soil, tearing through roots as they circled the base of the Weir-tree. From his precarious perch, Gabriel watched as three figures emerged from the mist. They weren't soldiers; they were "Shadow-Breakers," elite mercenaries known for hunting magic-users and demi-humans.
"They’re spreading out," Gabriel whispered, his knuckles white as he gripped the branch.
Shino didn't respond. She was a statue of focus. She had hooked her legs around a secondary limb, hanging at an angle that would have made a human dizzy. She notched the hollow-tipped arrow she had pulled earlier.
"When I fire, the hounds will go blind for ten seconds," Shino breathed, her eyes locked on the lead mercenary. "In those ten seconds, you need to crawl to the next tree. Don't look down. Look at Hecate."
"Shino, wait—"
The string snapped. The arrow didn't hit a person; it hit the ground in the center of the pack. Upon impact, it released a high-frequency whistle combined with a burst of concentrated phosphorus.
The Scent-Hounds let out a collective, screeching whine, their sensory crystals overloaded. The mercenaries shielded their eyes, cursing.
"Go!" Shino hissed.
Gabriel moved. Every instinct told him he was going to fall, but the silk rope connecting him to Shino acted as a safety line. He scrambled across the interlocking branches, following the white flash of Hecate’s wings. Below him, the world was a blur of green and shadow, but he kept his eyes on the bird.
Suddenly, a bolt of purple energy hissed past his head, charring the bark beside his hand.
"They have a Caster!" Gabriel shouted.
Shino leaped from her branch, swinging through the air like a pendulum. In mid-swing, she drew and fired two arrows in rapid succession. The first forced the mercenary mage to drop his barrier; the second thudded into his shoulder, spinning him around.
She landed on a branch just ahead of Gabriel, her chest heaving. "They’re faster than I thought. The Caster is tracking the mana in my bow."
"Then stop using magic arrows," Gabriel said, reaching into his tunic. He pulled out a small, lead-lined pouch. "Take these. They’re 'Void-Salts.' My father’s alchemists gave them to me for emergencies. They dampen magical signatures."
Shino took the pouch, a look of surprise crossing her face. "A Prince with a dirty trick? Maybe there's hope for you yet."
She dipped the tips of her standard iron arrows into the salt. The humming glow of her bow subsided into a dull, matte black. She vanished into the foliage again, moving with a speed that Gabriel couldn't track.
For the next twenty minutes, the Whispering Woods became a graveyard of silence.
Gabriel stayed hidden in the hollow of a massive trunk, listening. He heard the thrum of a bowstring—not a loud bang, but a soft puff of wind. Then a cry. Then silence. Then another thrum.
Shino was picking them off. She wasn't just shooting; she was using the environment. She dropped a heavy beehive onto one mercenary; she used a tripwire to send another into a pit of 'Sinking Moss.'
But the lead mercenary was different. He was a hulking man in heavy plate armor, wielding a massive crossbow. He stopped moving, closed his eyes, and listened. He ignored the distractions. He was waiting for the one thing Shino couldn't hide: her breathing.
Gabriel saw the man raise his crossbow toward the very branch where Shino was reloading.
"Shino! Left!" Gabriel screamed.
The mercenary fired. The heavy bolt tore through the leaves. Shino twisted in mid-air, but the bolt grazed her thigh, sending her spiraling downward. She caught a lower branch with one hand, her bow falling into the darkness below.
The mercenary laughed, a cold, mechanical sound. He began to reload. "Found you, little cat."
Gabriel didn't think. He didn't calculate. He drew his ceremonial sword—a blade meant for parades, not war—and leaped from his hiding spot. He wasn't aiming for the man; he was aiming for the Scent-Hound standing next to him.
He landed hard, his sword plunging into the hound's neck joint. The construct exploded in a shower of sparks and oil. The distraction was enough.
Shino, despite her bleeding leg, drew a hidden hunting knife from her boot. She dropped from the tree like a falling star, landing squarely on the mercenary's shoulders. With a single, fluid motion, she found the gap in his neck armor.
The giant fell. The forest went silent again.
Shino rolled off him, clutching her leg. Gabriel scrambled over to her, his fine clothes now shredded and stained with grease.
"You're hurt," he said, reaching for his cloak to make a bandage.
Shino looked at him, her golden eyes wide with shock. "You jumped. You actually jumped from a Weir-tree to save a Cait Sith."
"I told you," Gabriel said, his hands shaking as he tied the cloth around her wound. "I’m a Prince of Ober. We don't leave our allies behind."
Shino looked away, her ears twitching in a way that Gabriel finally recognized as a blush. "You're a reckless idiot, Gabriel Ober. But... you're a loud, reckless idiot with a decent heart."
She leaned back against a mossy stone, looking up at the sky through the canopy. The capital was only a day's journey away now. The "Golden Heir" and the "Shadow Archer" were still alive, but the hardest part was yet to come.
"We need to move," Shino whispered, her voice losing its cold edge. "Before the rest of them find the bodies."
"Can you walk?"
Shino looked at her bandaged leg, then at Gabriel’s offered shoulder. For the first time, she didn't make a joke about his weakness. She took it.
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