Chapter 155

Simon POV The sound split the night like a bone snapping, sharp, ugly, final. I saw the glint of the bolt before I heard the hiss, my eyes tracking it in the fraction of a heartbeat it took to cut through the air. I moved before thought had a chance to catch up, my body driven by the same instinct that had kept me alive in a dozen battles. Aisha’s safety was my first calculation, everything else secondary. I shoved her down and to the side, already mapping the trajectory in my head. The bolt struck the trunk behind us with a solid, splintering thud, quivering in the wood. Close, too damn close. Whoever fired had aim, and they had time to line the shot. That meant they were confident. That meant they were patient. My eyes swept the treeline in quick, efficient arcs, searching for the shooter. Nothing but shadows, the restless sway of leaves. I inhaled sharply through my nose, not just air, but information. The faint tang of oiled metal. Human sweat overlaid with the distinct musk of rog