Veer’s expression softened. "Everyone’s allowed secrets, Kaya. Even from their husband." He smiled. "Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"If you’re in danger—real danger—tell me. Let me help."

Kaya met his eyes and nodded. "I promise."

It was the truth. If something went truly wrong, she’d tell him.

But until then, the heat in her chest, the floating, the strength—those were hers to figure out.

On her own terms.

Veer stood and pulled her up with him. "Come on. Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow, Raven wants to spar with you."

Kaya groaned. "Of course he does."

"He says he needs to see if you’re as good as I claim."

"And if I beat him?"

Veer grinned. "Then I get to brag about my wife for the rest of my life."

Despite everything, Kaya smiled. "Deal."

.

.

.

At midnight, Kaya looked at Veer, who was already asleep, one arm thrown over his face, breathing deep and steady.

She slipped out of bed carefully, making no sound, and walked to the door. The cave entrance opened to the night, and she stepped outside, sitting on the stone ledge just beyond the threshold.

The moon was huge tonight, hanging low and bright, lighting the entire mountainside like a second sun. Stars scattered across the sky, sharper and clearer than anything she’d ever seen back home.

Kaya wrapped her arms around her knees and stared up at it all.

She didn’t understand herself anymore.

When she’d first arrived in this world, all she’d wanted was to leave. Find a way back. Escape. But now? Now she didn’t even know what she wanted. Where she was going. What she was doing.

Sometimes she couldn’t understand herself at all.

She didn’t fear death. Never had. But she also didn’t want to die by someone else’s hand—used, discarded, hunted like prey.

Kaya closed her eyes, exhaustion settling deep into her bones.

And suddenly, faces flashed through her mind. Veer’s smile. Cutie’s quiet steadiness. Sparrow’s loud complaints. The young warriors standing in formation. Mira’s warmth. Even Veer’s father handing her that bracelet.

She’d killed so many people in her life. More than she could count on both hands. More than she wanted to remember.

Yet these people—these ’beastmen’ who weren’t even human—made her feel weak sometimes. Soft. Vulnerable in ways she hated.

Kaya looked up at the sky, throat tight.

’Cap, what should I do?’

Her old captain couldn’t answer. He was gone. Dead. Buried in a world she’d never see again.

But still, she asked.

Footsteps sounded behind her—quiet, deliberate.

Kaya turned.

Cutie stood in the doorway, holding two cups, steam rising from both. He looked at her with those calm, steady eyes and walked over, offering one.

"Couldn’t sleep?" he asked softly.

Kaya took the cup. Warm water mixed with fruit juice and crushed tea leaves—the handmade drink Cutie always made when someone needed comfort. She didn’t know his recipe, but it was good. Soothing.

"Thanks," she said.

Cutie gestured to the space beside her. "May I sit?"

Kaya nodded.

He settled down next to her, close but not crowding, holding his own cup, looking out at the moonlit mountains.

"Are you tired?" he asked quietly.

Kaya turned to look at him, then shook her head. "Just sitting here for peace."

Cutie nodded, not pushing for more. They sat in silence for a moment, the night air cool against their skin, the world around them quiet and still.

"It’s beautiful tonight," Cutie said finally.

"Yeah," Kaya agreed.

Another pause. Comfortable. Easy.

Cutie looked at Kaya, then up at the moon. "Do you remember the first time we met? The moon was shining brightly like this."

Kaya’s mind drifted back to that night—the forest, the chaos, the first time she’d seen those calm blue eyes. She smiled despite herself. "Yeah. And you were being chased by hyenas."

Cutie nodded, a soft laugh escaping. "Well, it was my fault. I entered their territory."

Kaya turned to look at him fully. "They were in a green forest. A lush, healthy forest. That doesn’t make sense. Hyenas don’t live in places like that."

"Right?" Cutie’s expression brightened slightly. "I thought so too. I kept wondering what hyenas were even doing in such a green forest." He sighed, shaking his head. "God knows what they were doing there. But it helped—at least I met you. And everything else after that."

Kaya paused, studying his profile in the moonlight. "Why didn’t you leave your tribe earlier? They treated you so badly."

Cutie went still.

Kaya pressed gently. "Your father wasn’t alive. You had no reason to stay there. So why didn’t you just leave?"

Cutie was quiet for a long moment, staring at the moon like it held answers. Finally, he spoke. "Not a big reason, really. Before I met you, I never thought much about where I’d go. Or for who. I didn’t have a reason." He paused. "I thought my tribe hated me. Or was angry at me. But at least they cared for me in some way. They gave me food and shelter. That counted for something, didn’t it?"

Kaya scoffed. "Yeah. The food. The food I had to fight them for just so you could eat properly."

Cutie smiled, small and genuine. "Yeah. That was the first time I’d ever seen a female be so furious on someone else’s behalf."

Kaya turned to look at him. "What, you hated it?"

"No," Cutie said, shaking his head quickly. "No, that was the first time I saw a female fight them. Fight ’for’ me." His voice softened. "And I thought—if you could do it with such a thin body, with no horn, no claws, no strength you were born with—then I could too."

He looked at her, eyes steady and honest. "Leaving them wasn’t that big of a deal after that. Actually, I felt free. For the first time in my life, I felt free."

Kaya’s chest tightened—not from the heat, but from something warmer and more complicated.

"I’m glad you left," she said quietly.

Cutie smiled. "Me too."

Kaya paused, then asked quietly, "Why didn’t you stay with the Nikala beastmen tribe? I left you a house, so much food, salt. I don’t think there was any reason for you to leave that place. It was much better than... this." She gestured vaguely at the cave, at the chaos their life had become. "Why come after me?"

Cutie went still. He looked at the moon, then down at his cup, then sighed—helpless, almost embarrassed. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"I don’t know," he said finally.

Kaya paused mid-sip and turned to look at him.

Cutie met her eyes, holding her gaze steadily. "I don’t know," he repeated. "When I woke up and found you gone, I was... angry. Not furious, but hurt, maybe. That you left me alone." He looked back down at his cup. "I tried to find you. And there was no logical reason for it. Even now—we don’t have a stable place. People are trying to kill us. Everything is dangerous and uncertain."

He paused, then smiled softly. "But I’m happy. Being with you. It’s... nice."

Kaya’s throat tightened.

"The Nikala beastmen are happy too," Cutie continued. "They have their own place now. Their own tribe. A home." He looked back at Kaya, eyes warm in the moonlight. "And don’t we also have a place to go back to? In Gold tribe?"

Kaya paused, then smiled despite herself. "Yeah. We do."

Cutie smiled wider. "So we’re not homeless. Just... traveling."

"Traveling," Kaya repeated, shaking her head. "That’s one way to put it."