---
She laughed softly. "You said it."
"I was unconscious. That doesn't count."
Fenna shook her head and drew another arrow, the obsidian tip glinting. "Let's make this clean. One shot, one squeal."
They looked at each other with narrowing eyes, breath slowing. They split.
Zephyr anchored the final cord with a precise twist of his wrist. His fingers moving in fluid, practiced knots. The spider silk twine shimmered faintly in the shifting light. It was almost invisible unless viewed at just the right angle. Stretched taut between two scarred, iron-barked trunks, the web-like grid looked fragile, but it could stop a charging beast three times his weight. The trick wasn't just the strength —it was the give, the snapback. It would tangle legs, unbalance momentum, and force panic before prey even knew it was caught.
