Just then, instead of engulfing Kael whole, it howled to the ceiling in agonized pain. A maternal pain that he couldn't understand. It wasn't just rage. It was loss. It was the sound of something realizing the world had been altered permanently.
Only then did he realize that the mother hadn't spotted him yet.
Perhaps it was the rune.
Or perhaps because it was still dark.
Or maybe it was the mud covering his body that hid his scent.
Or maybe all three of them combined.
Unlike the Ifrit, which was able to track Kael despite a delay of recognition, she was fully unable to even see him. That difference chilled him. The Ifrit had been a predator that reacted on sight, heat, and territory. This basilisk was something else, something that lived by smell, vibration, instinct. If she couldn't see him now, it meant she was searching differently.
