"Hallooo~~… Who are you~?"
!!!!!!!!
The voice came far too close.
Nysalea spun, startled, instincts kicking in like a cornered cat.
Her boots scraped against the stone, her blade raised halfway before her body screamed in protest.
Pain burst from her side, ripping through her injured triceps. She staggered back a step, breathing hard, cold sweat beading along her brow.
The voice belonged to a man who now stood less than an arm's reach from her.
A man who hadn't been there a second ago.
She hadn't heard his footsteps. She hadn't felt his presence.
And yet here he was.
That realization chilled her even more than assassins ever had.
He could have killed her ten times over.
And she wouldn't have even blinked.
Nysalea's eyes flickered over him, trying to make sense of the threat.
But instead of bloodlust or menace, she saw something else… something absurdly gentle.