One of the soldiers near the platform broke ranks, striding forward in a rush. He yanked the arrow from the target, half expecting it to vanish like a mirage. But it remained solid in his hands. He gasped, his eyes darting to Ayella's blank stare.
"General... It's really the arrow we sent..."
The words barely left his lips before his hands started trembling.
His squad often carved wooden arrows when they had nothing to do, and the arrows used in this challenge had been their latest batch. He knew them at a glance. He had made this arrow.
His throat went dry as the realization hit him. Had this arrow really traveled across the planet?
Ayella snapped out of her stupor. Letting go of Haruki, she leaped back to the platform, landing right in front of the soldier. She crouched low, her sharp gaze locked onto the arrow.
She didn't dare touch it, afraid her excitement might crush it to splinters.
