No matter how reluctant they were to let Cyrus and Calen share the schedule, they had no choice but to do it.

But before they could even talk about it, something completely unexpected happened.

"What happened?!" Roxanna rushed forward when she saw Calen carrying Cyrus in his hands, and his body now in the form of a small bird.

One of his wings was injured. An arrow had pierced through it, and blood slowly dripped down, staining his red feathers, so they were becoming deeper crimson.

"Wife... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry." Calen dropped to his knees the moment he reached her. "When we were in the forest, it was covered in thick fog, so we couldn’t see clearly. That’s why... that’s why Cyrus flew up to check the situation from above, but... he didn’t come back."

"After the fog cleared, I found him like this." Calen looked at her, his eyes filled with worry. "I don’t know whose arrow this is, but—"

"I do," Luan suddenly said.

He crouched down in front of Calen and leaned closer to the black arrow stuck in Cyrus’s wing. "I know who did this. They hurt him on purpose."

Roxanna’s eyes widened. "Who? Who would hurt my Cyrus?!"

Calmly, Luan pointed at the small line of ’xxx’ symbols carved into the arrow. "This is the main weapon used by the Sky Tribe."

He turned to Zeir. "They’re the ones who sold Cyrus to the Tiger Clan. He told us about his past before. You remember, right?"

Zeir’s face darkened instantly. His hands clenched into fists as he nodded. "Yes," he said. "But Loba already bought him for a hundred red crystals." His jaw tightened, and he looked like he was holding back the urge to kill someone. "There’s no reason for them to do this to him!"

"There is," Luan replied quietly, his eyes cold and empty. "To remind him that... no matter where he goes, they can always come and take him back. That’s the kind of thing those trash tribes like to do."

Roxanna felt a little lost because she only knew that Cyrus used to be locked in a cage before Loba bought him. She had never heard anything about the Sky Tribe.

"That’s not important right now!" Calen suddenly shouted, his voice shaking. His golden eyes burned with both anger and fear. "We need to help him first!"

Roxanna snapped out of her thoughts at his words. "Let’s bring him home! I’ll give him my blood right away!"

Calen nodded quickly. "Alright... and I’m sorry for making you use your blood."

As he stood up and hurried toward their new home, Roxanna followed closely behind. "It’s not your fault," she said firmly. "So don’t apologize."

Azul trailed after them, but Zeir and Luan stayed behind near the gate.

"What are you doing?" Zeir asked when he noticed Luan still standing there, quietly looking up at the starry sky.

"I’m going out for a walk," Luan said after a moment. "Tell our wife I’ll be back at dawn."

"Stop lying. Tell me the truth," Zeir said sharply. "What are you planning to do?"

Luan took a step back and gave a small shrug. "What else?" he said lightly. "In my old tribe, we had a rule; if someone hurts one of us, they have to face all of us."

"Blood for blood. And pain... will be returned ten times over." A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Since someone dared to hurt one of us, I guess it’s time for me to hunt down some birds."

Zeir was about to stop him, but it was already too late.

Luan had transformed into a black cat, his body blending perfectly into the darkness. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the night, leaving almost no chance of being found.

Zeir stood there for a moment, staring at the quiet road ahead, before finally turning around and walking back into the settlement.

He hadn’t known Luan for long, but he understood one thing clearly: the black cat was never harmless.

The only reason Luan had seemed calm all this time was because the evil Roxanna had bound him with an invisible chain, but now that Roxanna had set him free, there was nothing left holding him back.

A nightmare had finally come into the real world.

===

"I’m sorry, this will be painful," Azul said gently as he placed his hand on the arrow. "But I know you can endure it."

The little bird lay motionless on the bed, and even though Roxanna wasn’t a veterinarian, she could tell that Cyrus was struggling to breathe because the arrow had also pierced his chest.

"Be careful!" Calen shouted, his voice full of worry.

"Don’t yell," Azul said in a low voice. "You’re making it hard for me to think."

Without paying attention to Calen anymore, Azul snapped off both ends of the arrow. "I’ll count to three, alright?" he said gently to Cyrus.

Without waiting for a response, Azul counted, "One, two, three!"

The moment he pulled the arrow out as fast as he could, Cyrus let out a sharp, pained cry, his small beak opening as the sound escaped him.

"Now!" Azul called. "Pour your blood!"

Roxanna didn’t hesitate. She quickly cut her palm with the stone knife and let her blood drip onto Cyrus’s wound.

She held her breath, her chest tightening as she watched him tremble in pain, making her heart ache at the sight.

"You’re okay... you’re going to be okay," Roxanna kept whispering, over and over again, not even sure if she was trying to calm Cyrus or maybe herself.

After a while, her blood finally started to work. The wounds began to close at a frightening speed, but it only made Cyrus cry out louder, his small body even shaking from the pain.

Calen carefully held him down, trying his best to keep him still so the blood wouldn’t be wasted.

"How is he?" Zeir asked as he stepped into the hut.

"He’ll be fine," Azul replied, then glanced at him. "Where is Luan?"

"He has something he needs to take care of," Zeir said. "He’ll be back soon."

Azul stared at him quietly for a moment before speaking again. "I just hope he comes back with his head still attached to his body."

"He will," Zeir said calmly. "Don’t worry."

On the other side, Roxanna completely ignored Zeir, her entire focus fixed on Cyrus.

After waiting for a while, the wounds on Cyrus’s body finally healed completely. She let out a soft sigh of relief, and at last, he was able to breathe normally again.

"You’re fine," Roxanna whispered as she leaned down, resting her head gently beside him. "You’re safe now. Don’t be scared."

[He should have turned into his human form by now... so why hasn’t he changed yet?] Roxanna wondered.

[Is he feeling embarrassed because he got hurt?!]

Even though Cyrus didn’t say anything, Roxanna could tell that he felt a little embarrassed about the situation.

"Can you give us some privacy?" Roxanna said to the others. "He probably needs some rest."

"Alright," Zeir replied, then gestured for Azul and Calen to step outside for a moment.

Calen still looked a bit hesitant, so Roxanna reached out and gently touched his cheek. "You can stay too. You deserve to rest as well."

After all, Calen was the one who had brought Cyrus home, so she didn’t think Cyrus would mind if he stayed.

"No," Calen shook his head. "It’s fine. I’ll wait outside for a while. Besides, I need some fresh air."

Not long after they stepped out of the hut, Cyrus finally transformed back into his human form. He instinctively held his chest, as if checking his heartbeat—or remembering the pain he had just gone through.

"How are you feeling?" Roxanna moved closer to him, gently stroking his back as if she also wanted to soothe his wings. "Does it still hurt?"

"No." Cyrus took a deep breath. He looked away for a moment before his gaze fell on Roxanna’s right hand, where a faint wound mark was still visible. "Thank you."

He reached for her hand, holding it tightly as he spoke softly. "You saved me again."

Roxanna froze for a second, her fingers still in his grasp. "Of course I did," she said softly, trying to sound calm. "You’re my husband. I’m not just going to let anything happen to you."

But even as she said that, her grip on his hand tightened a little.

Cyrus looked down at their joined hands, his thumb brushing lightly over the faint wound on her palm. The mark had already healed, but he still traced it as if he could feel the pain she had endured for him.

"Luan was right," he said again at last. "The Sky Tribe was the one who shot me, and I don’t think they will stop bothering me until they catch me again."

"And I won’t let that happen to you!" Roxanna said fiercely. "As the leader of this tribe, and as your wife, I won’t let you get hurt or be locked up again!"