Sky Mesa Ladrón

take the pass down from this mesa; go directly though. luneshale is too far.

That was what Khusobek had ordered, and so it was done. Machi’s pale head moved in constant vigilance, his opal eyes scanning every shadow and rise as he led the girl through the pass. His gait was swift, nearing a canter. He didn’t like it here—trapped between walls of jagged rock, with the only means of escape being forward, and the wind funneled mercilessly into their faces.

If they could maintain this pace, they’d clear the pass and reach the flatlands within the hour. But as his gaze flicked toward the girl beside him, Machi doubted whether she could keep up for that long. He watched her movements, gauging her endurance, calculating the risk.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of movement. They were being followed.

Machi’s gaze snapped to the distant mouth of the pass, so close yet impossibly far. There was no chance they would reach it before their pursuers caught up—not if they quickened their pace. The bags in his mouth bounced against the feathered fur at his neck as he surged ahead, overtaking Safiya just long enough for her to catch the urgent signal: danger.