The forest was thick with mist, the air damp and heavy. You pushed through the underbrush, your boots sinking into the muddy earth with every step. Your shoulders ached from the weight of your pack, but you refused to slow down. You could hear Lexa behind you, moving with an infuriating grace, her footsteps barely audible.

A twig snapped, and you whirled around, your hand instinctively going to the knife at your side. Lexa stood there, calm as ever, her hand resting lightly on the hilt of her sword.

“Relax,”

Lexa said coldly.

“If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t see it coming.”

“Charming,”

You muttered, turning back toward the path.

You‘d been forced to travel together for days now, scouting out a potential supply route between your camps. The uneasy truce between Skaikru and the Grounders still felt like a ticking bomb, and you hated that you had to rely on someone as calculating—and infuriating—as Lexa.

The silence between you was broken by the faint rustle of leaves above. You froze, your eyes darting upward just as an arrow shot down, narrowly missing your head.

“Ambush!”

Lexa hissed, shoving you to the ground as another arrow thudded into a tree trunk behind you.

You scrambled to your feet, yanking your gun from its holster. Lexa already had her sword drawn, her sharp eyes scanning the trees. Shadowy figures moved among the branches, their faces painted in the dark, their weapons gleaming.

Grounders. Rogue warriors, you realized with a sinking feeling. Not loyal to Lexa’s coalition.

One of them dropped down in front of you, a blade flashing toward your throat. You fired instinctively, the sound of the gunshot ringing out as the warrior crumpled.

Lexa shot you a glare.

“You’ll draw more of them with that noise!”

“Like they don’t already know we’re here!”

You snapped back

Another warrior lunged at Lexa, their blades clashing with a metallic scream. You turned, firing at another figure emerging from the shadows, but the forest seemed to come alive with enemies