The forest had grown dark around her.
Elysia proceeded through the trees with the stealth of a shadow, her footsteps inaudible on the soft terrain. The mission had been accomplished. The facility was reduced to ashes and corpses behind her. Ahead lay the road to civilization, the academy, and the ongoing games of influence and politics.
She did not perceive their presence until it was nearly too late.
They were highly skilled. Extremely skilled. Their presence was so deeply embedded within the ambient energy of the forest that her instincts only issued a warning mere heartbeat before the initial assault occurred.
A blade emerged from the darkness, directed at her throat.
Elysia's body responded instinctively before her mind fully apprehended the danger. She pivoted, the knife passing mere millimeters from her skin. Her hand immediately shot out, crackling with lightning, but her assailant had already vanished, dissolving back into the shadows like smoke.
