The wind rolled slowly across the hillside, bending the tall grass in gentle waves.
If Kael hadn't known better, it would have been a peaceful scene. Blue sky overhead, sunlight warming the earth, the distant forest whispering in the breeze.
Instead, ten armed mercenaries stood on the road below them.
Waiting.
Kael rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
"I knew that dungeon was going too well."
Lyria stepped forward a few paces, lightning already dancing lazily between her fingers. Her grin had returned, the same one she wore whenever a fight looked interesting.
"You say that like we didn't almost get flattened three different times."
"We did almost get flattened," Kael replied.
Lyra stood quietly beside them, studying the figures below with calm, calculating eyes.
"There are eleven," she said.
Kael blinked.
"I counted ten."
"There is one behind the wagon."
Sure enough, when Kael looked more carefully, he spotted a boot sticking out behind a small supply cart on the road.
"…Great," he muttered.
Lyria rolled her shoulders.
"Still manageable."
Kael looked at her.
"Your definition of manageable is terrifying."
Below them, one of the figures stepped forward.
Tall.
Dark cloak.
Twin curved daggers at his belt.
The Shadow Twin they had already fought inside the dungeon.
He looked up toward the hill and smiled.
Even from a distance, Kael could see the arrogance in that expression.
"Well," Lyria said softly, "there's our friend again."
The assassin cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Congratulations on clearing the dungeon!"
His voice carried easily across the hill.
Kael sighed.
"Oh good, he's chatty."
The mercenary continued.
"Unfortunately for you, that means you've done all the hard work for us."
Lyria called back.
"You're welcome!"
The man laughed.
"I was hoping you'd be cooperative."
Kael folded his arms.
"And if we're not?"
"Then we take the rewards from your corpses."
Kael turned to the twins.
"Straight to the point."
Lyra nodded slightly.
"A predictable outcome."
The second Shadow Twin stepped out from the group now as well.
The two assassins stood side by side, both watching the hill carefully.
Kael felt the bond pulse in his chest.
The resonance crystal on his wrist hummed faintly.
"They think we're exhausted," he said quietly.
"Logical assumption," Lyra replied.
Lyria grinned.
"They're about to be disappointed."
Below them, the mercenary leader raised a hand.
The group began moving up the hill.
Slowly.
Spreading out as they climbed.
Kael exhaled slowly.
"Alright. Game plan?"
Lyra spoke first.
"Divide their formation."
Lyria added, "Take out the crossbows early."
Kael nodded.
"And the assassins?"
The two twins exchanged a quick glance.
"Leave them to us."
Kael sighed.
"I figured you'd say that."
The mercenaries reached halfway up the hill.
Then one of them shouted.
"Now!"
Crossbows fired.
Kael barely had time to react.
Three bolts shot toward them.
Instinct kicked in.
He pushed mana through the bond.
Lightning and ice surged instantly through the connection.
Lyra's frost erupted into a wall in front of them.
The bolts struck the ice and shattered.
Lyria laughed.
"Nice catch!"
Kael wiped sweat from his forehead.
"First one was free."
The mercenaries broke into a charge.
Swords drawn.
Shouting.
The hillside battle began.
Lyria moved first.
Lightning exploded around her as she dashed forward.
She slid downhill like a living thunderbolt.
Her first strike hit one of the crossbowmen square in the chest.
Electricity blasted him backward.
Another mercenary swung a sword toward her.
She ducked the strike and kicked him in the knee.
The man collapsed with a scream.
Kael focused on the bond.
Mana flowed easily now.
Stronger than before.
A mercenary rushed him from the left.
Kael instinctively raised his hands.
A burst of lightning-infused frost shot forward.
The man was knocked flat instantly.
"…Okay," Kael said under his breath.
"That actually worked."
Lyra moved like silent winter through the battlefield.
Ice spread across the grass wherever she stepped.
Two charging mercenaries suddenly slipped as frost coated the ground beneath them.
Before they could recover, jagged ice spikes erupted upward.
They froze in place.
The crossbowmen tried to reposition.
But Lyria was already among them.
Lightning cracked across the hillside.
Two more mercenaries went down in seconds.
Kael felt the bond surge again.
The Shadow Twins were moving.
Fast.
He barely saw the first assassin appear behind Lyra.
"Behind you!" Kael shouted.
Lyra spun instantly.
A dagger flashed toward her throat.
Ice formed around her arm just in time to block the strike.
Metal screeched against frozen crystal.
The second assassin appeared behind Lyria.
But this time Kael was ready.
"Lyria!"
She jumped.
A dagger sliced through the air where she had been standing.
Lightning erupted from her hand as she spun.
The assassin flipped backward, barely avoiding the strike.
Within seconds the battlefield had changed.
Six mercenaries were already down.
Only five remained.
Three fighters.
Two assassins.
The mercenary leader growled in frustration.
"You were supposed to be exhausted!"
Lyria laughed.
"We got a level-up!"
The leader charged Kael directly.
Big mistake.
Kael focused the bond.
Lightning and ice surged together.
A small Storm Lance formed in his hands.
He fired it.
The attack hit the mercenary square in the chest.
The man flew backward down the hill.
Kael blinked.
"…Okay that was awesome."
Lyria was still fighting the second Shadow Twin.
Their blades clashed rapidly.
Lightning sparks lit the air with every movement.
Lyra kept the first assassin locked in a deadly dance of frost and steel.
Kael stepped forward.
"Need help?"
"Stay back!" Lyria shouted.
"I've got this one!"
Lyra spoke calmly without looking away from her opponent.
"Maintain the bond."
Kael nodded.
The resonance crystal glowed brighter.
He poured mana into the connection.
Their movements sharpened.
Faster.
Stronger.
The assassins felt it too.
The first Shadow Twin cursed under his breath.
"What are you three?"
Lyria grinned.
"Teamwork."
She slammed her palm forward.
Lightning exploded from her hand.
The assassin was thrown backward.
Lyra struck at the same moment.
A spear of ice pierced the ground beside the other twin, trapping his leg.
Kael raised his hands.
Storm Lance formed again.
"Time to end this."
The assassins saw the spell forming.
Both tried to retreat.
Too late.
The fused lightning-and-ice attack tore across the hillside.
The first Shadow Twin rolled away just in time.
But the second one wasn't as lucky.
The blast threw him twenty feet down the slope.
He didn't get up.
Silence settled over the hillside.
The surviving assassin stared at them for a long moment.
Then he slowly stepped backward.
"This isn't over."
Lyria shrugged.
"It never is."
The man turned and ran down the road.
The remaining mercenaries followed quickly.
Within seconds they were gone.
The hillside grew quiet again.
Kael exhaled heavily.
"Well."
He sat down in the grass.
"That escalated quickly."
Lyria flopped down beside him again.
"That was fun."
Lyra walked back toward them.
"The road to town is now clear."
Kael looked at the two twins.
The bond pulsed warmly between them.
"You know something?"
"What?" Lyria asked.
"If this is what happens every time we clear a dungeon…"
He leaned back in the grass.
"…we're going to make a lot of enemies."
Lyria grinned.
"Probably."
Lyra nodded.
"Almost certainly."
Kael sighed.
"Great."
But despite everything…
He was smiling.