"Master," the saber girl said again.
Kael froze for half a breath.
(How did she appear here?) he thought, eyes widening slightly.
He had not felt a teleportation surge. No spatial distortion.
One moment, she had not been there—and the next, she stood between him and the incoming blades as if reality itself had bent to place her there.
Her long hair flowed down her back, catching the light of the terminal's fading glow.
Her white eyes—empty of pupils, empty of mercy—turned slowly toward the group of attackers.
"Who… who is that girl?" one of the men shouted, instinctively stepping back.
"She wasn't here a second ago!"
Darius burst out laughing, though there was a crack in it—a strain that betrayed his nerves.
"Hah! Look at this!" he mocked loudly. "Coward… you got a girl back up now?"
The others laughed with him, though some did so hesitantly.
Kael pushed himself up from the ground, brushing dust from his shoulder. His grip tightened around his sword.
