Kael noticed me immediately.
His eyes found me so quickly that I almost laughed. For a split second confusion crossed his face, followed by realization. I watched the exact moment he figured out I hadn’t been standing beside him for the last several minutes.
His gaze narrowed.
Then narrowed some more.
That couldn’t be healthy.
“Where’s the scout?” he asked.
“Dead.”
The answer landed exactly the way I expected it to.
Jones looked from me to the trees and then back again as if trying to determine whether I’d somehow teleported. One of the younger guards blinked twice. Another slowly shook his head.
Kael simply stared.
“I didn’t give that order.”
“I know.”
His eye twitched.
I considered that a successful interaction.
“Drake.”
“Kael.”
“You can’t just disappear.”
“Technically I
