The city shifted when two predators circled the same prey.
Red Fang still hunted for us, their rage burning in alley fires and broken stalls. But now, another shadow crept in. The corps. Not as loud, not as messy—colder. Cleaner.
They didn't shout. They watched. They took notes. They whispered into comms that glowed faint blue in the dark.
And that was worse.
---
I noticed first. The Lexicon stirred while I walked the market, coffee in my hand. Threads shimmered faintly around a man leaning against a stall. Too steady. Too calm. His intent didn't smell of hunger or fear. It smelled like duty.
Two more appeared near the plaza the next day. Suits plain, hair cut sharp, boots clean in streets that never let shoes stay clean. Watching. Always watching.
"Helix," Mara spat when I told her in the backroom. She sat cross-legged on the table, blade across her knees. "Government dogs."
Jonas' arms crossed. His face stayed calm, but his fists clenched tight. "If they see too much, we burn."
"They won't," I said. "Not yet."
The Lexicon hummed low, like a page turning slower than usual. Warning.
---
Meanwhile, Veyra bled the streets harder.
That night, three Red Fang bodies hung from lamp posts in the plaza. Not ours. Hers. She killed her own men for failing to bring her coin back.
The crowd watched with silent eyes. Fear deeper now, but beneath it—something else. Whispers still moved. Umbra.
Veyra heard them. That's why she burned her own.
She was scared.
---
The backroom that night was heavy. The candle flame leaned with every draft.
"They'll squeeze the market dry between them," Mara said. "Fang burns it down, Helix drains it clean."
"Then we cut where neither sees," I said. "We bleed Fang with shadows. We blind Helix with noise. They'll chase each other until they trip."
Jonas rumbled, "And us?"
I smiled faintly. "We stay what we are. A mask. A shadow. A whisper with teeth."
The Lexicon pulsed strong, a page turning sharp.
The corps had arrived. Red Fang was desperate.
The city was becoming a battlefield.
And Umbra was caught between two wolves.