"Boats approaching! Three of them!"
She looked up. Three small, fast river boats were cutting through the water toward them. Men stood on the decks—armed men with weapons drawn.
"Pirates," Kael said grimly, appearing beside her. "Or hired thugs. Either way, not friendly."
Elara set down her papers and stepped back to give the fighters room. Practical. The merchant crew grabbed weapons. The beast knights emerged from below deck.
The transformation was immediate.
These were the same warriors who'd been falling over buckets three days ago. Who'd gotten tangled in ropes. Who'd looked clumsy navigating the deck.
In combat, they were something else entirely.
The fox knight assessed angles and distance with cold precision. Captain Lyra barked orders and the beast knights spread into perfect formation—no wasted movement, no hesitation. The hawk knight scaled the mast like gravity was optional.
