"W— We thought you left!" one of the remaining six invaders exclaimed as they halted in their steps. At first, deep relief obviously flooded them, but then his words sank in and anxiety returned.
"We— We weren't fleeing!" another stammered in a panic, eyes wide, hands waving in front of him. "We just needed to reposition!"
"Hmpf," the confessor snorted with stern cruelty. "It's interesting how you seem to think that lying to me will help your cause."
As the six hunters flinched at his words, the Maghreb trio recovered from their surprise and quickly regrouped. Nasir and Zohran defensively flanked a tired Zahra, who had her eyes closed in meditation as she tried to recover as much mental stamina as she could.
"Who are you?" Nasir growled coldly at the confessor. Next to him, Zohran appeared to have lost all of his previous uncontrollable rage.
