Valeria hit the ground first. She landed in a crouch without a sound. Mela landed a moment later, stumbling on the uneven floor before she caught her balance. The massive branch crashed down beside them. Liesa was still attached to it, her tunic pinned to the wood by the arrow.
"Get me down!" She yelled.
From the other side of the clearing, they heard the human start moving toward them.
Valeria did not need to be told. She ran along the length of the fallen branch, her feet sure on the rough bark. She grabbed the arrow with both hands and yanked it free. The wood splintered. Liesa dropped the last few feet to the ground with a grunt.
"They’re coming," Mela said, her voice a low hiss. "Up. Now." She threw a thin rope up into a high branch of another tree and began to climb. Valeria did the same. Liesa scrambled after them, her movements clumsy from the fall. They disappeared into the canopy just as Nox and Serian arrived where they landed.
Nox looked at the broken branch on the ground, then up into the trees. "They were here," he said.
Serian stood beside him, her hand near the hilt of her sword. "I cannot sense them. It is as if they were never here at all." She touched her temple, her brow furrowed. "This has not happened before. My senses have never failed me so completely."
"It doesn’t matter," he said. He kicked a loose piece of wood. "They ran off. Let’s go. We’re wasting time." He turned and started walking away.
Serian watched him for a second, then looked back at the trees. "Yes," she said quietly. "We are." She followed him, but she kept looking back over her shoulder.
High above them, hidden by the leaves, the three sisters watched them go.
"He just left," Liesa said. She rubbed her arm where the arrow had pinned her sleeve. "He didn’t even look for us."
"He knew he could not find us," Mela said. She watched Nox’s back as he walked away. "And Valeria was right. He is beyond normal human parameters."
"He caught my arrow," Valeria said, her own voice flat and quiet. "Then he threw it back. The velocity was greater than that of my bow."
Liesa drew one of her short swords. "So he is strong. And he has a strange trick. It does not matter. I can still take him."
"You will not," Mela said, not looking at her sister. "You will follow my orders. We will observe them. That is what Mother commanded."
"Quiet," Mela said. "We will follow. From a distance."
They waited until Nox and Serian were out of sight, then they dropped back to the ground. The small fire Nox had made was now just a pile of smoking embers.
Liesa walked over to where Nox had been standing and kicked at the dirt. "He is just an arrogant human," she said. "And his elf is weak. Why are we being so careful?"
"Because he is not normal, and you are not in charge," Mela said. She walked over to the spot where Nox had been kneeling. "He knew we were here. He looked right at me."
"So? He got lucky," Liesa said. "I can still take him."
"We will follow," Mela said, her voice firm. "We will report back to Mother. Those are the orders."
A voice came from right behind them. "Looking for me?"
The three sisters spun around. Nox was standing there, leaning against a tree. He had his arms crossed, and he looked like he had been there the whole time. He had appeared without making a single sound.
"How did you get here?" Mela asked, her hand moving to her blowgun.
Liesa did not wait for an order. "I’ve had enough of you," she said, and charged at him. Her two short swords were a blur as she ran.
She swung both swords at his neck from opposite sides, a move that was impossible to block completely.
Nox did not try to block. He lifted his left hand and caught one blade by its flat side. At the same time, his right hand shot out and clamped down on Liesa’s wrist, stopping the other sword just inches from his throat.
Her eyes went wide. She tried to pull her swords back, but he held her wrist in a grip of solid iron. The blade in his other hand did not move.
He ignored her and looked at the sword in his hand, then at the girl he was holding. A blue screen appeared in his vision.
[Liesa - Dark Elf Scout]
[A fast and aggressive fighter. Weak to direct, overwhelming force.]
’Level 40,’ he thought. ’Interesting.’
"Let go of my sister," Mela said. She and Valeria had their own weapons drawn, but they were not attacking yet. They were watching, their faces full of shock.
He let go of Liesa’s wrist and pushed her sword away. She stumbled back, her eyes still wide. She looked at her swords, then back at him. "How did you do that?"
"You’re sloppy," he said, his voice flat. He looked past her at the other two. "You are all elves but why is your skin darker than Serian’s?"
"How dare you!" she yelled, her voice echoing. "You arrogant human! You think you can talk down to us just because you have a few tricks?"
"Liesa, stop!" Mela said, stepping forward. She held a hand out to her sister, but her eyes were still locked on Nox. "He is too strong for you."
"I asked a question," Nox said. He ignored Liesa’s outburst completely and just looked at Mela. "Are all the elves in this forest like you?"
Just then, a twig snapped behind him. He didn’t turn. Serian limped into the clearing, leaning heavily on a branch she was using as a crutch. Her eyes went wide when she saw the three dark elves.
"Nox, I told you not to go off alone," she said. She saw the weapons in their hands and her own hand went to her sword.
"You know them?" he asked her.
She shook her head, her gaze fixed on the three sisters. "I do not know them personally," she said, her voice low. "But I know their kind. They are Ashen Elves. Dark Elves."
"And what does that mean?" He asked.
"It means their connection to the world is different from mine," she explained, taking a limping step closer. "Their mana... it has been altered. They are born from a corrupted world seed."
Liesa let out a harsh laugh. "Corrupted? Is that what the Sun Elves are calling us now? You know nothing about us."
"I know that it makes your people more aggressive," Serian said calmly. "And that you have no love for my kind."
"You abandoned us!" Liesa suddenly screamed. Her face was twisted with rage. "When the humans burned the outer groves, your people did nothing! You hid in your sunny kingdom and let our lands turn to ash!"
"That is not what happened," Serian said, but her voice faltered.
Mela stepped in front of her sister. "Enough, Liesa." She looked at Nox and Serian, her expression serious. "My mother, Elder Fena, wishes to speak with you."
Nox crossed his arms. "And if we say no?"
"It was not a request," Mela replied, her voice firm. "She wants to know why a Sun Elf and a human are trespassing in her woods. You will come with us. Now."
Valeria raised her bow, nocking an arrow in one smooth, silent motion. The sharp tip was pointed right at Nox’s chest.