When Evangeline woke up, she slled the thick scent of blood all around.
She propped herself up, and as she looked up, she saw a dark, surging tide of insects hemming her in on all sides.
Evangeline frowned and scanned her surroundings. The Everwake was gone.
As she awoke, the swarm seed to receive so signal. The insects froze for a mont, then receded like a tide, leaving winding trails of sli on the tree trunks.
She lowered her gaze and saw several stark beast skeletons lying beneath the tree, still streaked with blood that had yet to dry.
Evangeline rose slowly, a red thread shimring faintly at her fingertips.
She looked up, gazing into the depths of the rain. That was the direction of the Umbral Abyss.
The Everwake hadn’t stayed, but his willingness to command the swarm to protect her was a sign that his guard was lowering.
Still, she had already placed a Protective Body Restriction on herself and had absolutely no need for his gesture.
’Of course, progress is a good thing. Since he’s so conflicted, I’ll just give him so ti to sort things out.’
Evangeline pulled her soaked robes tighter. She needed to get back to Blackwater Swamp. ’Two days have passed. If I don’t head back now, the others at ho are going to raise a fuss.’
Suddenly, a shrill cry echoed from the sky.
Evangeline narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning toward the sky with keen interest.
The male from the Iridian People was still circling in the rain, his long tail feathers tracing stubborn arcs through the air. Evangeline raised an eyebrow. ’He’s a stubborn one. Is he planning to betray his clan and tribe just to be with ?’
Evangeline grew pensive, her thoughts suddenly turning to the night she had co looking for The Everwake.
’If I saw correctly, that must have been Saskia.’
’The Monitor Tribe was wiped out and Saskia’s whereabouts were unknown. I never thought she’d be hiding here.’
’At the ti, I was overwheld by the heat, my body burning. I didn’t have the chance to deal with the one who got away. When the Monitor Tribe attacked, they almost killed Caden Albright. It seems Saskia had a major hand in that.’
A smile spread across Evangeline’s face. She leaped, disappearing into the churning morning mist.
She stretched her limbs. ’The heat in my body has completely faded, and even my thoughts have cleared. Now I have so ti to go find my "old acquaintance" Saskia and catch up.’
The Iridian Beastman’s wings grazed the treetops as he landed softly behind her.
Evangeline didn’t turn around, but she heard the sound of splashing footsteps in the water behind her.
The Iridian Beastman had caught up and was now beside her. Having shed his beast form, he was revealed to be a rather handso Beastman.
His young face was flushed, his features filled with shyness, yet he stubbornly t her gaze. His voice trembled as he asked, "C-Can I be your mate?"
The end of his question quavered, as if it had taken every ounce of his courage to ask.
Evangeline raised an eyebrow, the red thread coiling around her fingertip. A small smile touched her lips as she shook her head. "No."
The Iridian Beastman’s pupils contracted. "Why?" he asked, his voice full of urgency. "I... I’ll do anything for you! I can be stronger than that Swarm Beastman! I can help you through your heat!"
As he spoke, iridescent feathers began to appear on the side of his neck.
Evangeline studied his downcast expression and chuckled. "No."
After her blunt refusal, her red lips parted as she added languidly, "The ones I have at ho are far more interesting than you."
His voice cracked, and even his feathers seed to droop in dejection. "At least... give a chance..."
Evangeline glanced at him and asked nonchalantly, "Saskia... when did she arrive in your tribe?"
The Iridian Youth, a picture of dejection, followed Evangeline with his head bowed. He trailed in her steps, mumbling, "Saskia is a new Witch in our tribe. She beca partners with Liu... We..."
He trailed off, his words stopping abruptly.
The Iridian Youth suddenly looked up at Evangeline, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. "You know Saskia?"
Evangeline’s eyes glinted. "We were in the sa tribe once."
The Iridian Youth’s pupils quivered. "But Saskia said... everyone in her tribe died..."
"Is that so? Did she happen to ntion how her tribe mbers died?" Evangeline asked, flicking her fingertips nonchalantly, her tone as light and casual as if they were just chatting.
’I wonder,’ Evangeline mused, ’when Saskia says "her people," does she an the Midridge Tribe, the Grymdale Tribe, or the Monitor Tribe?’
’Thinking about it, Saskia is quite impressive. To have been involved in the rise and fall of three tribes and still escape unscathed.’
’And now she’s joined the Iridian Tribe and beco their Witch. She really is a piece of work.’
The Iridian Youth paused, glancing around warily. He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned a little closer to Evangeline. "Aren’t you one of her people? You don’t know?"
"Know what?" The corners of Evangeline’s eyes curved alluringly as a faint, sweet fragrance wafted from her.
The scent made the Iridian Youth’s back tense. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his voice trembled, "Fallen Beastn. Saskia said so Fallen Beastn escaped from Thorncliff."
Evangeline gave a low, mocking laugh. "In that case, it seems the people she cares about are from the Monitor Tribe."
She had been in the Grymdale Tribe at the ti, giving birth to Bunny, so she hadn’t seen Saskia with her own eyes. Elias Moretti had told her about it later, saying that Saskia had already been pregnant with a cub back then.
"The Monitor Tribe? She never ntioned that," the Iridian Youth said, shaking his head.
He looked at Evangeline and suddenly had an idea. He leaned forward slightly, his tone filled with unconcealable hope. "Will you co to the tribal trading assembly this year?"
Evangeline barely lifted her eyelids, a nonchalant smile playing on her lips. "Not interested."
The light in the Iridian Youth’s eyes dimd, but he wasn’t ready to give up. In an attempt to keep Evangeline there, he added, "After the rainy season, all the great tribes gather. It’s an annual tradition, but this year..."
The Iridian Youth lowered his voice, a note of secret excitent creeping in. "But this year, it’s about more than just trading supplies!"
"Oh?" Evangeline turned to look at him, her slender eyes shining with a bewitching light.
As if srized, the Iridian Youth rushed to explain, "This year’s trading assembly is really about sothing far more important—it’s a critical joint operation between the great tribes to hunt down the Fallen Beastn!"
Evangeline narrowed her eyes, her fingertips lightly brushing the corner of her mouth. "Are the Fallen Beastn idiots?"
’In my opinion, Caden Albright is no fool. In fact, among my Beast Husbands, that fox is the most intelligent. A single flicker of his amber eyes holds a hundred calculations.’
’His status is sensitive; he wouldn’t just walk into a dangerous situation for no reason.’
The Iridian Youth shook his head. "Of course not. But Saskia has co up with a brilliant plan. She guarantees that Fallen Beastman will obediently walk right into our trap and won’t even dare to fight back!"
Evangeline stopped in her tracks and whipped her head around.
A faint smile played on her bewitching face, but the lines of her features were sharp and severe. "Oh? I’m listening."
The Iridian Youth hadn’t planned on hiding it from her anyway. He cleared his throat and said, "That Fallen Beastman is already under a Contract, and his female is quite famous in Norfell!"
"According to Saskia, the female has been searching everywhere for her missing mates. As it happens, we found one of them! It won’t be difficult to use the tribal trading assembly to lure her out."
Evangeline let her gaze flicker, showing just the right amount of surprise. "You found one? Who is it?"
The Iridian Youth shrugged, his tone tinged with disgust. "A Beastman from the Goldeagle Clan. I think his na is Drake. A pity, really. His wings are broken, so he can’t hunt on his own. He’s just a vagrant."
"Drake..." A chord was struck in Evangeline’s heart, and she unconsciously flexed her slender fingers.
She suddenly bead, her smile radiant. "So how do you plan on luring out the real target?"
The Iridian Youth was so dazzled by her smile that he lost his senses and blurted out, "At the trading assembly, we’re going to sell that Goldeagle Beastman in public! From then on, he’ll beco the most wretched of vagrant slaves, sold and resold among the great tribes."
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