"Would you prefer I'd negotiated? Maybe offered it a scholarship?" Kael rolled his good shoulder once. "Juvenile scouts are faster than adults, which is why they use them. That boy was thirty seconds away from handing them a map, menu, and seating chart."
The strike team behind him processed the sarcasm at different speeds. Sterling was the fastest. Griffin was still on "negotiated."
Kael sheathed his blade and started walking.
Maddox stood, Guinevere in his arms. Her eyes were closed again, the water and the exhaustion pulling her back under. She had not seen the fae boy, and Maddox was grateful for it.
They made it ten minutes before Kael raised his fist. The column stopped.
There was a large clearing where runes covered the ground in concentric circles, pulsing with a faint violet light.
