After counting off the rooms, Verin knocked twice, paused, then added a third before tapping his datapad against the locking mechanism. Caldus heard movement on the other side and held his arm out in front of Altan to stop the younger man from following. The resulting clang that had Verin stumbling backward from the room he’d entered brought Caldus unending satisfaction.
”Shab Fyn’ika,” Verin huffed from where he sat in the middle of the hallway.
The woman in question stormed from the room with a heavy bottle raised above her head for another strike. She stopped, dark brows raised. “Verin? What the hell are you doing here?” The same deep blue eyes that Verin had found Caldus and Altan. “And who are these beasts?”
A snarl slipped free from Caldus before he realized she was remarking on their size rather than their species as he still wore his helmet and Altan was half hidden behind him. Caldus swallowed the retort and straightened.
Fynta Wolfe had the kind of brown skin Caldus saw on the field workers as a kid. Her black hair glistened in the harsh lighting, and there was indeed a target tattooed around her right eye. Upon closer inspection, he could pick out the similarities between the siblings, though Verin’s coloring was lighter.
“We’re here to rescue you.” Verin shoved up from the floor without the aid of those standing around him. “Didn’t you hear me knock?”