Just by sight alone, the class gap between the hunters and the girls from the Third Shell was immediate. Their clothing was clean and well-taken care of, made of finer, thicker fabric than anything Tristan had seen the past few days. Their hair and skin were clean and clear of debris. The most striking difference of all was their muscle definition and the shapely tones of their bodies. These girls were well-fed and aptly rested.

Before they could take two steps away from the pit, there was a guttural snarl.

“Oh? Just like that, you’re giving in?” a lithe young woman with deep blue hair and yellow eyes tapped a javelin against her wooden buckler. Tristan noticed the small leather loop hanging toward the weapon’s end—an amentum, the word tugged at his distant memories—and he made a note to keep an eye on her. “What are the Ejderha good for, Aliye?”

Aliye held up her arm, blocking the approaching woman. “We can’t fight two men, Callie. If they come to harm—”

Callie scoffed, then chortled under her breath. “Even if it means our lives?”

“We’re not here to hurt you—” Matt began.

“Tell that to your fire bitch.” Callie jerked one thumb toward Destiny.

“Hey! That’s my title,” Ravyn snapped.

“Callie’s right. There are only two more of them than us.” Another hunter with silver hair tied back on the top of her head slid a polished bow from her shoulder. “When have we ever backed down from a challenge?”

“Alright. Time out.” Matt crossed his axe over his shield. “We just want to talk.”

“Then talk, brute,” Callie snarled. “You waste our time and our daylight.”

“Stay here,” Zahra whispered to Tristan with a hand on his shoulder. He nodded, and she gracefully slid down the side of the dune as if she’d done it a thousand times.

“We need one of you to get Magni’s attention. All we want is a meeting. Once he’s agreed, you can all go home,” Matt explained quickly. “We’ll stay at the oasis until then. No one gets hurt, we all have food and water. Everyone wins.”

“Wins? You force us from our homes and our kittens and see it as ‘winning?’ Are all men so foolish?” the silver-haired girl snapped.

“We wish to rebalance this island. As it was in Vizier Krethik’s time. In Naeemah’s rule.” Zahra alighted in the dipping sands, holding her katana at her side.

Aliye’s face darkened and she spat at Zahra’s feet. “A rebellion from a traitor, then?”

“Inaction does not make me a traitor,” Zahra replied firmly.

“Who she is doesn’t matter. You want to take away everything we’ve worked for and hand it to the wretches in the Third Shell. For nothing,” Callie spat. “What have they done for us?”

“Suffered a miserable existence, you spoiled cunt,” Ravyn blustered.

Callie shifted her stance and tossed the javelin in the air, catching it by the base of the staff and twisting the amentum around her fingers. She cocked her arm back, pointed the sharp tip at Ravyn, then hurled it forward.

It was such a fast movement, one with years of practice in its every inch. Tristan barely had time to blink. “Ravyn! Look out!” he shouted.

The world slowed. Just as Ravyn opened her mouth to call out a Spell, Zahra side-stepped and swiped up at the spinning weapon with her katana. The blade struck true, slicing just below the metal point and breaking it in twain.

“[Fire Ball]!” When time resumed to its normal speed, the javelin’s point went flying inches from Ravyn’s face and the wooden shaft burst into flames, dissolving into ash before it reached the [Sorcerer]. Ravyn’s violet eyes glittered with fury, and a sharp smile cut her lips. “Oh? You want to play?”

“You fucked up! Squaawk!” Ball hopped from Ravyn’s shoulder into the air, taking a precursory lap around her hat and waiting for his master’s orders.

The other girls crowded around Callie, readying their javelins and spears, shielding their hearts, and glaring at Ravyn and her Party.

“Matt!” Cannoli squeaked.

“I did not wish to see this move to violence.” Ceres stepped forward and readied her polearm. “But I will not allow you to harm my friends further.”

Dammit! We had this! Tristan scrambled from his position and stumbled awkwardly down the dune. He grunted as his foot caught a stone near the end, pitching him forward onto his hands and knees.

“Goddess in heaven, we could kill them all.” The silver-haired girl procured an arrow from her quiver and nocked it across the string. “This lot knows nothing of our situation.”

Keke snapped her bow to attention, readying it with terrifying speed. “Put. That. Down,” she hissed.

Matt offered him a hand, but Tristan shook his head. He pushed himself up, then dusted the sand off his trousers. “Look, this doesn’t have to be about changing anything right now. We just need to talk to Magni.”

A girl to Callie’s right with cropped brown hair shook her head. “Then go through the channels. There’s no need to be barbaric.”

“Don’t you think we’ve tried?” Destiny shouted down. “Your Ejderha refuse to tell him we’re here. We’re stopped cold at the gate to the Second Shell.”

Aliye lifted one hand to quiet them both. “If not to change the way of things, why talk to Magni?”

“Matt, tell them what started this,” Tristan motioned to Matt.

He nodded, never taking his eyes off the girl with the bow. “San Island’s man, Cailu, wants to meet with all of us. The other islands need help, including Nyarlothep, and the four of us should do something about it.”

“Why should we care about what another island’s man wants?” Callie scoffed.

“Because if he were standing here right now, you’d all be dead,” Ravyn snapped. “Forget your ‘appropriate channels,’ he’d have made it to the palace and left a pile of bodies in his wake.”

Tristan shuddered to hear it but was too afraid to press on. Matt had mentioned the guy was impatient, but the idea of carving through catgirls to get what he wanted didn’t sit well with him.

“You’d be taking him from the island? What would we do in the interim?” Aliye asked.

“I believe the Ejderha already oversee this place as pseudo-rulers anyway. To me, it doesn’t seem like much would change.” Tristan hadn’t intended it as an insult, but a few girls in the hunting party shifted uncomfortably. At least some seemed to disagree with Callie and the silver-haired girl’s demands. The loudest voice in the room…

“Kuso! It’s hot, I’m thirsty, and this is ridiculous,” Ravyn grumbled.

Beads of sweat dripped along Matt’s temples and throat. “Look, we don’t want this to come to blows—”

“You continue to say that,” the silver-haired girl said.

Matt raised his voice and ignored her. “So, let’s go to the oasis. Aliye can return to Rājadhānī and secure a meeting. We’ll get a drink and cool off.”

“And what of our kittens?” someone called from the back.

“You’ll be home by sundown if Aliye hurries,” Keke replied, hands deadly still on her bow.

Aliye turned to Callie. “This is a request beyond my rank. I should fulfill it.”

“The First Shell has softened you,” Callie spat.

“And if this Cailu appears? What then?” Aliye challenged.

Callie shoved the front of her shield into Aliye’s abdomen. “You fear ghosts and fairy tales, you fool.”

Aliye gasped, then two-handed her spear and slammed it into Callie’s shield. “There are plenty of vacant cages in the Third Shell, Callie. Stay your tongue.”

Zarha put her fingers to her lips and blew a sharp whistle that echoed against the sands. “You act like kittens! Fall in and march, ladies!”

Tristan blinked at Zahra, then looked at the group of hunters. Aliye motioned for them to follow orders, and they begrudgingly fell into two lines of four. 

“How do you think we should split up, Ceres?” Matt asked her quietly.

“I believe Zahra and I should march at the front. You, Keke, and Cannoli should take the left. Tristan and Lara at the right. Ravyn and Destiny at the back,” Ceres replied hastily. “We cannot disarm them as carrying their weapons would be difficult. So we must keep a close watch as we move.”

“Sounds good. Tristan, anything else?” Matt asked.

Tristan glanced at Callie’s tense shoulders and red face. “I’ll keep an eye on Callie.”

Ravyn came up behind them, fire sparking at her fingertips. “No need. I’ve got dibs.”

Tristan nodded and gestured for Lara to follow him. Things would be back on track if they could just make it to the oasis. At least, he hoped as much.