King's gaze snapped between the tagged ballista bolt still smoking in the crater and the fresh red cursor blinking on his map. The cursor moved steadily. Not running. Advancing.
Company would arrive soon.
King turned to the woman. She knelt on the scorched ground, one hand pressed against her throat where Maya's dagger had dimpled the skin. Her dragon thrashed weakly beneath the Construct Net, the glowing blue strands cinching tighter with each movement.
"You," King said.
The woman looked up. Her confident predator smile had vanished.
King pointed at the cursor on his interface. "Someone just fired that ballista. They're moving toward us now. More than one."
The woman's eyes widened. She glanced at her dragon, then back at King.
"Please," she said. Her voice cracked. "Don't kill me. Don't kill her." She gestured toward the dragon. "She's all I have."
