The red flare hissed as it arced across the sky then burstpainting the cliffs in blood-colored light.
Kael reacted instantly.
“Inside. Now.”
He pushed Aria back into the stone shelter as Jonah slammed the shutters closed. Wood rattled violently as boots scraped rock outside controlled, disciplined movement. Not thugs. Not amateurs.
Hunters.
Aria’s heart hammered. “They found us, they actually found us.”
Kael crossed the room, grabbing weapons from a hidden crate beneath the floorboards two pistols, a compact rifle, and a knife so worn it looked fused to his hand.
“They didn’t find you,” he said grimly. “They found me.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“It shouldn’t,” he replied. “It means they won’t stop.”
Jonah peered through a c***k in the shutter. “Five. No six of them. Com
