Page 44 of Thexan

“Yes.”

Her expression tightened slightly.

“Then we finish it.”

“Not yet,” I said. “Now we isolate.”

The ridge shifted beneath us as we repositioned, the engagement no longer theoretical.

Now it was a controlled execution.

And they had already begun to make their first mistake.

The second hunter did not advance blindly.

He adjusted his position along the lower slope, moving laterally instead of committing to the narrowed path where the first had fallen. His pace slowed, his focus shifting between terrain and pattern, searching not for movement, but for inconsistency.

He had already identified that something was wrong.

Not the cause.

But the absence.

Brynn remained positioned along the ridge opposite me, her stance low, and controlled, her attention fixed on the same line of approach I was tracking.

“He’s not taking the path,” she said quietly.

“No.”

“He’s going to try and confirm before he commits.”

“Yes.”

Which meant he would not give us the same opening.

I adjusted my position along the ridge, moving parallel to his path, using elevation to maintain visibility without exposing my own. The recovered weapon remained secured at my side, the blade still the primary option at this range.

“He’ll look for the break,” Brynn said. “Where the pattern changed.”

“Yes.”

“He’s going to find it.”

“Yes.”

That was not a disadvantage.

It was the next step.

The hunter slowed further, scanning the terrain ahead, then shifted his attention toward the section where the first unit had been removed. His posture changed subtly, weight redistributing, his center lowering as he prepared for engagement rather than reconnaissance.

“He knows,” Brynn said.

“He suspects,” I corrected.

“Close enough.”

The hunter moved again, not toward the ridge, but toward the space between us.