The two warriors breathed heavily.

  “The fight has overstayed,” one of them muttered, stealing a glance at Sky, who was also catching her breath.

  “The fire is prolonging her counters. We just need one good opportunity,” the other replied, inhaling deeply.

  Sky tightened her grip. She stepped in, crossing swords with the guy who had a neck tattoo of crossed blades. The air filled with crushing metal sounds—Sky dancing along the rhythm of the fire-forged swords. She slipped past a swing, her body following the movement like instinct, then blocked another from the guy without the tattoo.

  A flash of heat grazed her as a swing sliced a part of her ponytail, burning the hair instantly. The wild slash nearly hit the tattooed guy’s friend, who blocked it with quick reflex.

  That split-second hesitation was enough. Sky dropped low, stabbed the tattooed guy in the leg, tore the blade free, and swung for the second man—but he dashed back just in time, creating the distance he needed.

  The tattooed guy crouched, pain ripping through his leg and up to his skull. He prepared to lunge again—furious—when a sharp, nasty silent sound hit his right ear. His vision cut off instantly before even the faint errrr faded.

  To everyone else, it was a single pop, violent and demanding.

  Dakota and the old woman had the perfect view: Ben appeared behind the tattooed guy, using the moment of distraction from Sky’s stab to sneak in a heavy right hook.

  Sky instantly turned when she heard the pop, her eyes locking onto Ben’s leg as he raised it—ready to stomp the man’s head. Before it could fall, Dakota jumped onto his back and whispered into his ear. Sky saw Ben’s lips move before he stepped back from the body.

  “The little girl just saved your friend. You can at least return the favor,” Sky told the last fighter.

  He smiled, blue eyes sweeping over everyone.“Seems like you’ve won. And thank you, little girl, for… you know.” He released the girl’s hand and tossed a blue potion to the other twin, signaling him to help the injured one while he went over to support them.

  “Waki, waki, guys. Time to leave—it’s getting dark,” he said, handing both of them healing potions.

  “Hey, Ben. Sky to Ben,” Sky said, giving him light slaps on the cheek.

  “What happened?”

  “You blacked out.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “It’s been long since I heard those words... The fight—?”

  “It’s done. Help me with the girl.”

  “Huhhh… So, how did we do?”

  “Not bad enough,” Blue Eyes said. “But you were out-skilled.”

  “I’m hungry,” the other twin groaned, running his hand over his face. “My left side feels heavy.”

  Blue Eyes laughed at him.

  “Let’s go, guys. Lots of women and food waiting for us,” he said as he helped lift both of them. Before leaving, he turned back to Sky. “Hey, girlie—maybe next time we spar. I liked what I saw.”

  They left the battleground with limping steps.

  “I don’t think you can survive the night in that condition. Stay at our place. Tomorrow we’ll help you get home. I also have some healing potions,” Sky told the old woman, extending a hand.

  The old woman accepted, kissing Sky’s hand gratefully.

  “Please, no need,” Sky said quickly.

  “Thank you… truly,” the old woman replied.

  Ben carried the frail girl on his back, Dakota held the skreevil, and Sky walked beside the old lady as they headed home.

  “It’s a little small,” Sky said as the house came into view.

  “We can only thank you. Don’t worry about size,” the old lady replied. Her eyes scanned the area—small fireplace, stacks of wood, a simple wooden house. Not much different from ours, she thought.

  Ben led them inside, the frail girl still on his back. She’s very light, he noted as he laid her gently on the bed.

  “I’ll get some potions. Can you give them to her?” Sky asked.

  “I’m younger than I look, child. Don’t treat me like I’m ninety when I’m sixty-three,” she said with a chuckle. “And my name is Aisha. Please, no ‘Mrs.’ if possible. I don’t like feeling old. And she”—she pointed at the girl—“is Anjali.”

  “I’m Sky. The boy who left earlier is Ben, and the little one is—”

  “Dakota. I heard her name… when Ben said it.”

  Sky studied Anjali, sympathy flickering in her eyes.

  “Don’t worry about her; it’s nothing new. Right now she just needs rest. Please, the potion.”

  “Ohh, I forgot. Let me get them,” Sky said, rushing out of the room.

  'Guess she’s not that bad', Aisha thought, trusting her instincts for once.

  “Ben… are you a brother to Sky?” Dakota asked quietly, watching the running water.

  “Mmmm, where did that question come from?”

  “I’m sorry if I said something wrong,” Dakota whispered, stuffing her face into Ben’s shirt.

  “You didn’t say anything wrong. You just caught me off guard.” He gently patted her hair. “For now, I can tell you I’m not her brother. We just… grew up together. From the beginning, I think.”

  He picked up another bucket. “Let’s fetch the water. We’ve got skreevil and rice for dinner. And it’s getting dark real quick.”

  “This view is always good before the dark,” Ben said, looking toward the water. “The sun, the grass, the trees… Guess I was late today.”

  Dakota nodded, smiling as they walked back along the path they’d formed.

  Sky was cooking rice when they returned. The money from recent jobs was already proving useful.

  “Mmmm, Dakota, you look happy. Did Ben pat your head?” Sky teased.

  “Yeah! Is that so?” Dakota said, cheeks warming.

  “I’m almost done with the rice. Can you start on the skreevil?” Sky asked, glancing at Ben.

  Ben got a chair and a dish, filling it with hot water before cleaning the skreevil.

  “Are they fine?” he asked.

  “They’re fine. Aisha’s in the room with Anjali,” Sky said. “Just in case—Aisha is the old one. They’ll be sleeping together, so the other room is ours.”

  “That’s no problem. I can sleep on the floor while you and Dakota take the bed.”

  “Can’t we all fit?” Sky asked.

  “I mean… it’s possible. But you’ll need comfort, or—”

  “No, I’ll be fine. You can’t sleep on the ground.”

  “I’ll join you in the morning,” Ben said, wiping his hands. “But first, you need to rest comfortably. I can at least do that, right?” He reached for her hand but paused, seeing the skreevil blood on his fingers.

  “Can I—”

  “Yes, please. Dakota, get another seat,” Ben said, accidentally cutting Aisha off.

  “You two sound like a young couple,” Aisha said, sitting down.

  “More or less,” Sky replied. “Do you eat skreevil? I’ve heard some people don’t.”

  “Don’t worry, I can actually cook them. If possible, I’d like to—just to show my appreciation,” Aisha said.

  “If you teach me, I’ve got these two stomachs to feed,” Sky said, smiling. Feel like I’ve seen her before, she thought.

  “But I have to ask… this place looks too open, especially inside Veilwood. Are you that powerful? Because normally you’d see a fence.”

  “We’ve got a protector nowadays. But we don’t think too much about it,” Sky answered.

  “And she’s here,” Ben said, nodding toward the tree on the left.

  “That’s a Nyrrak,” Aisha whispered, blinking rapidly.