"Three left," Nova said. His eyes swept the treeline. "And they're regrouping."
Adam sniffed the air. "They're circling," he said. "Their scent's thick, but it's thinning. I think they're pulling back to their base."
"They're baiting us," Elesch said quietly, adjusting her stance. Her tone was calm, but her eyes darted, scanning the shadows. "They want us off the middle ground."
Nova exhaled slowly. "Doesn't matter. If their leader's on the move, we can't sit still. If they reach our crystal before we reach theirs-"
The sentence didn't need finishing. They all knew. He turned toward Adam. "We move fast and low. Elesch, bend in with the foliage, and recon ahead. Adam, flank right. I'll follow the heat trail."
Elesch nodded once, flickering into invisibility, while Adam bounded up into the canopy, vanishing in bursts of speed.
