The falcon's cry still echoed when the wind shifted — tight, sharp, warning.
Ayisulu felt it before anyone else.
"Something's wrong," she whispered.
Temir immediately dropped the dried apricot he was eating.
Kanykei smacked his shoulder. "Coward."
"No! My apricot!" Temir cried.
Before Ayisulu could respond—
Arrows hissed from the ridge.
Arslan grabbed her without hesitation, pulling her off the horse so fast she barely had time to gasp. They hit the ground together as arrows struck the spot where she'd been sitting a heartbeat ago.
Temir dove behind a saddlebag screaming,
"I REGRET EVERYTHING!"
Bair tried to look heroic and tripped over his own cloak.
Kanykei rolled him out of the way like a sack of wheat.
But Arslan didn't look at any of them.
He only looked at Ayisulu.
"You're not hurt?" he asked, voice raw.
"I'm fine—"
Another volley of arrows flew.
Arslan covered her with his entire body.
Temir peeked from behind the saddlebag.
"Is this a bad time to mention I think they like each other?"
Kanykei threw a pebble at him.
"NOW is not the moment, Temir!"
---
Six riders emerged from the ridge, masked in red cloth.
Falcon scouts.
Kereg cursed.
Bair cried, "Why does it always have to be masked men? What happened to normal bandits?!"
Ayisulu felt something burn inside her — not fear.
Power.
When a rider charged Temir, Ayisulu lifted her hand and the wind shifted violently. The horse stumbled sideways, sending the rider tumbling.
Temir screamed,
"AYISULU IS A WIND WITCH! I KNEW IT!"
Kanykei replied,
"You knew nothing."
Another rider released an arrow toward Arslan.
Ayisulu didn't think. She whispered a word she didn't know she knew.
The arrow shattered in midair.
Everything stopped.
Arslan stared at her with stunned eyes.
"Ayisulu…" he said softly.
"That wasn't instinct."
Temir whispered, "Is this… is this what magic looks like? I was expecting more sparkles."
Kanykei elbowed him again.
---
But the battle wasn't over.
A masked rider charged Ayisulu with a rope.
Arslan saw it and fully lost his mind.
"NO—"
He sprinted across the battlefield like a man possessed, leapt onto the rider's horse, grabbed the attacker, and slammed him into the ground.
Even Kereg blinked.
"That was… reckless."
Temir stood up.
"No. That was love."
Kanykei kicked him back down.
"Shut up."
Ayisulu didn't hear them.
Her vision blurred — the world slowing again…
She saw the battlefield unfold like a pattern.
Paths. Outcomes. Movements.
She stepped through danger as if she already lived this moment.
"Ayisulu, STOP WALKING INTO WEAPONS!" Arslan shouted.
"She's not walking into weapons," Temir whispered. "She's dancing with fate!"
Kanykei stared at Ayisulu like she wasn't sure whether to be impressed or afraid.
---
Finally, after her last command made Arslan shift at the perfect second, the scouts retreated.
Ayisulu's strength flickered.
Her knees buckled—
And Arslan caught her.
He lowered her carefully, hands trembling despite the iron control in his voice.
"Ayisulu," he breathed, "what did you do…?"
Temir whispered to Kanykei, "Oh spirits, he's panicking. This is beautiful."
Kanykei hissed back,
"Let them have their moment or I'll throw you at the Falcon myself."
Arslan cupped Ayisulu's face, thumb brushing dust from her cheek.
"You saved us," he said.
"I saved you," Ayisulu whispered.
Temir gasped.
"I knew it! This is romance in the middle of trauma!"
Kereg muttered,
"If he doesn't stop talking, I will end him."
Arslan leaned his forehead against Ayisulu's.
"Ayisulu… if you had fallen—"
"I didn't."
"You could have."
Temir whispered,
"He's about to confess, isn't he?"
Kanykei slapped her hand over his mouth.
Ayisulu lifted a trembling hand to Arslan's jaw.
His breath shuddered.
"You can't do this alone," he whispered.
"I wasn't alone," she said.
"I knew you would move when I asked."
His eyes softened — dangerously, beautifully.
"Ayisulu," he murmured, "I—"
And at that exact moment—
A voice called from the ridge:
"Ayisulu?"
Ayisulu froze.
Arslan turned with the look of a man prepared to fight the entire world.
Temir screamed,
"IS THAT A NEW CHARACTER?!"
Kanykei muttered,
"Let me guess… someone dramatic."
A young man appeared on the ridge — wind-tousled, sunburned, eyes wide with recognition.
"Ayisulu," he said again, stepping closer.
"It's really you!"
Ayisulu's heart dropped.
"…Erlan?"
Arslan went completely still.
Temir gasped so loudly it echoed.
"A LOVE TRIANGLE. WE ARE BLESSED."
Kanykei kicked him again.
"Shut up."
Bair already began writing poetry.
Ayisulu covered her face with her hands.
Because of course.
Of course fate was this cruel.