The collective gasp that rippled through the square was sharp enough to cut through the heavy, spice-laden air. The celebratory atmosphere vanished in an heartbeat, replaced by a chaotic, buzzing tension as Lin Wan’s limp body was gathered into the powerful arms of Long Zhan.

The Dragon Lord did not hesitate; he moved with a fluid, terrifying efficiency, scooping her up in a princess-style carry that made her appear small and fragile against his massive obsidian frame.

Her head lolled against his shoulder, the star-blue flower in her hair finally falling to the dirt, forgotten in the panic.

Bax, whose body was still battered and coated in the dust of his recent defeat, dragged himself to his feet with a pained groan.

He stumbled toward Long Zhan, his breath coming in ragged gulps. "Lord Zhan... please," Bax wheezed, clutching his bruised ribs. "I will show you the way to her house. It is near the eastern slope. I can lead you there immediately."

Long Zhan did not even spare the warrior a glance. His violet eyes were fixed solely on the pale face of the woman in his arms, his jaw set in a hard, uncompromising line. "I do not require a guide to find what belongs to me," he spoke, his voice vibrating with a low, dangerous frequency. "I know exactly where my female resides."

Before anyone could blink or offer another word, the space where Long Zhan stood seemed to ripple and fold. In a sudden, silent distortion of reality, he vanished on the spot, taking Lin Wan with him.

The crowd erupted into a deafening roar of exclamations. They had seen speed before, and they had seen strength, but the ability to simply cease existing in one place and reappear in another was a power of the legends.

The remaining Dragon group did not look surprised by their leader’s display; instead, they looked deeply worried. Kray and Davy exchanged a grim look, their diplomatic facades completely gone.

Without a word to the Chief, they too followed suit, their figures shimmering and vanishing into the thin air, leaving the Orycto tribesmen staring at empty patches of dirt in a state of utter shock.

"How... how did he just disappear?" Lilly cried out, her hands flying to her mouth. Her eyes were wide with a terror she couldn’t hide. "He just left with Wanwan! He took her into the air itself!"

The Chief stood frozen, his silver ears pinned flat against his skull. "How can beastmen have such powers?" he whispered, his voice shaking. "To move through the void... those are not the skills of warriors. Those are the powers of gods. What have we invited into our home."

Ember stepped forward, her fiery hair messy from the night’s events, her face pale under the torchlight. "Forget how he moved! What is wrong with Lin? Why did she just collapse like that? She was fine a moment ago! She was smiling!"

"She must have been killed by that poison," a sharp, venomous voice cut through the panic. Su Mei stood at the edge of the circle, her eyes gleaming with a sick, distorted satisfaction. She smoothed her white fur, a small, dark smile playing on her lips. "That is good for her. A female who uses tricks and masks to seduce lords deserves to have her life snuffed out by the very shadows she plays in."

"Su Mei!" Ember, Lilly, and the other females shouted in unison, their voices thick with indignation.

Su Mei blinked, her expression shifting into one of fake innocence. "What? Did I say anything bad? I am only stating the obvious. She was weak, and now she is gone. It saves us the trouble of feeding her."

"You really do talk too much, Su Mei," Lilly hissed, her fingers curling into claws. "If you value your pelt, you will stay away from us tonight."

"Hmmmph!" Su Mei tossed her head, turning away with a sneer. "Believe what you want. I am going to bed. There is no point in mourning a corpse."

"Ignore her," Ember commanded, grabbing Lilly’s arm. "Come, let us go to Wanwan’s house. We have to know if she is breathing."

The walk to the eastern slope was a blur of frantic footsteps. When the group of Orycto reached the small, neatly kept cottage that Lin Wan had called home, they found the four Dragon tribesmen standing outside like silent, golden sentinels.

They stood with their arms crossed, their auras creating a wall of pressure that kept the curious at a distance.

Davy stepped out from the doorway just as the group approached. His usual diplomatic smirk was gone, replaced by a look of clinical urgency. He scanned the crowd until he saw the Chief and Bax. "Where is your tribe’s herb doctor?" Davy demanded, his voice slicing through the noise. "We need a healer, and we need one now."

Bax stepped forward, his face full of concern. "Did something happen? Is she... is female Lin still unconscious?"

"That is not for you to know," Davy snapped, his patience wearing thin. "Just answer the question. Where is the one who handles sick females?"

"My lord," the Chief stammered, stepping up. "The herb doctor is not here. We are a smaller settlement; it is not our turn to have him in residence. He travels between the tribes. It will take three days for his cycle to bring him back to see our females."

"I do not care about cycles or turns!" A voice thundered from inside the house. Long Zhan appeared at the window, his violet eyes glowing with an internal fire that made the wood of the frame creak. "Tell my men where the herbal doctor is located this instant, so they can go get him here, now!"

The Chief flinched at the sheer volume of the command. "He... he should be at the Peacock tribe’s territory. It is not too far, perhaps an hour’s journey on the fastest mount."

Long Zhan turned his gaze to Davy. "Davy, take Someone with you. Bring the doctor back. Use whatever means necessary." He then disappeared back into the shadows of the room.

Ember, wanting to help, motioned for her husband to step forward. "Go with them," she urged. "Show them the fastest winds to the Peacock tribe."

Thirty minutes of agonizing silence and waiting passed. The Orycto stood in the yard, huddled together, while the Dragons remained motionless.

Suddenly, the sound of massive wings flapping began to echo through the valley. It was a rhythmic, heavy sound that felt like the beating of a giant heart.

From the clouds, a huge golden dragon descended. His scales caught the moonlight, shimmering like a thousand polished coins.

It was Davy’s beast form, a creature of such size and majesty that the Orycto tribesmen fell to their knees in instinctive worship. On his broad, glittering back sat the Peacock tribe’s herb doctor, clutching onto Davy’s scales with a face that was white with terror, alongside Ember’s husband.

The dragon landed with a heavy thud, the wind from his wings nearly knocking the onlookers over.

As the doctor and the other two glided down from the golden back, Davy shimmered and returned to his human form, adjusting his tunic as if he hadn’t just flown across the sky.

The Orycto could only stare in awe; they had heard stories of the Great Dragons, but seeing the sheer scale and the brilliant color of the beast was something their minds could barely process.

Davy didn’t give them time to marvel. He grabbed the doctor by the collar and led him inside the cottage.

Inside, the room was dimly lit by a single glow-stone. Long Zhan was sitting on the edge of Lin’s bed, cradling her head in his lap. He was stroking her hair with a tenderness that contradicted his violent display in the square.

Seeing the doctor, the Dragon Lord gently lowered Lin’s head back onto the furs and stepped aside, giving the man space to work.

The doctor, an older man with feathers braided into his grey hair, hadn’t even touched Lin Wan yet when he suddenly paused. He sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring.

He looked confused for a second, his head tilting like a bird’s, before his face suddenly lit up with an expression of pure realization. He hurriedly walked to the bedside, his movements energized.

He reached out and pressed his fingers against Lin Wan’s pulse, closing his eyes to listen to the rhythm of her blood. The silence in the room was so thick you could hear the breathing of the Dragons peeping through the doorway.

Suddenly, the doctor turned around. His face was flushed with a mixture of excitement and sudden, inexplicable rage. He looked directly at Long Zhan, seemingly forgetting that he was standing before a Lord who could unmake him with a thought.

"You!" the doctor shouted, pointing a finger at Long Zhan’s chest. "How can you be so incredibly irresponsible? How can you allow a pregnant female to fall sick and collapse from exhaustion under your watch?"

The silence that followed was absolute. Long Zhan’s eyes widened, his usual stoic expression shattering into one of pure, unmasked shock.

"What?" Long Zhan managed to choke out, his voice failing him for the first time in centuries.

"Don’t ’what’ me!" the doctor scolded, his fear of the Dragons completely replaced by his professional indignation. "She is carrying a cub! Her body is diverted, her energy is split! To have her out in the night air, cooking and dancing and dealing with your heavy auras... it is a miracle she didn’t faint sooner! If you cannot take care of a female in this condition, give her to me! I will take her back to the Peacock tribe. I will raise her, I will feed her the finest nectars, and I will make sure she grows fat and plump as a female should be when she is bearing!"

Ember’s husband had explained to him what happened on their way to the orcyto.

Long Zhan stood frozen, his mouth slightly agape. Behind him, at the door, Davy and the other Dragon warriors had their mouths wide open, their eyes darting from the unconscious Lin Wan to their Lord. The "Guardian" vow Long Zhan had just taken suddenly took on a weight that none of them had ever expected.

Lin Wan lay still on the bed, unaware that her biggest secret had just been shouted into the ears of the most powerful male in the beastworld.