As they passed through the gates, the procession slowly turned back toward the forest.
From the way the path cut through the undergrowth, Keiser could imagine how Lenko had led everyone out of the underground settlement in their desperate flight.
The track was rough, the dirt disturbed and scattered... a mark left by panicked feet and the heavy passage of beasts.
He could almost picture it.
A few beasts were already on their heels, drawn by instinct to the stampede of fleeing prey.
Their snarls and pounding steps pressed closer, but the true surge came only minutes later... the beasts that had managed to slip through while he and the princess were locked in combat with the Arbores.
Even so, their numbers were thinner than before. Many had already been cut down, either trapped within the ward he had put up and soon reduced to ash beneath the princess' blades.
That brief window of slaughter... those precious, harrowing minutes they had carved out... had made all the difference.
