"Even now, they could be under attack by a horde of monsters. You'd want us to reach them before that happens, wouldn't you?"
Naira hesitated, biting her lip as the words sank in.
The native girl's fingers twisted into the fabric of her worn tunic.
She stood frozen with her eyes darting between Bastet, Nyx, and Aria - never once landing on Kaiden. It seemed looking at his visage was too much for her heart.
The weight of their words pressed on her chest. She'd been taught since childhood that outsiders brought ruin. That speaking with them risked punishment. Not just for her, but for her whole kin. Yet the image of her poor mother eaten alive by these vile creatures… Alone in the wild, maybe surrounded right now, kept flashing through her mind.
Her breathing quickened. She looked away, torn between fear and instinct.
