Afonso's face turned a mottled purple the moment he was called out. He retorted immediately, his voice defensive and sharp.
"I didn't drop it for nothing! I was attacked! It was two of those bats on me at once! I had to jerk the light just to parry!"
Hermi's brow drew together as she recalled the chaotic moment. It had been a blur, yet she remembered Afonso stumbling on his own rather than dodging a strike as he claimed. As she sifted through the memories, another ugly detail resurfaced.
Just before she had stumbled into Afonso, a hand, deliberate and forceful, had pushed her in the back when the formation broke. She could not be certain it was a member of Squad One, but they had been the ones standing closest to her.
Prudence was better than naivety. Her wariness of them increased tenfold. Squad One now had three men lying in the infirmary, leaving only five here. The culprit might be among the wounded, but he could just as easily be sitting right before her.
