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After a short conversation, it didn’t take long for her to demonstrate what she meant. She morphed into a human-sized barn owl and eventually took flight, leaving behind a white feather speckled with brown.

After a long moment where Emerie stared in the direction the Witch Owl had gone, her eyes so wide twin rings of white were visible, she turned to Ingram. Her gaze softened.

Then, the white scarring on her face darkened with pale red, as did her cheeks. She averted her gaze to the forest.

“I guess I should just get it over with and say sorry about my reaction before.” Blue instantly lifted into his sight at the cold reminder. Emerie rubbed at the sleeve of her black uniform. “It’s been a really tough few days and my emotions just kind of boiled over. Sorry if I alarmed you. It had nothing to do with you, nor was it your fault. I just want you to know that, considering you might be embarrassed because of how I just started having a panic attack right after you came.”

Came?Is that what he’d done?

The blue lifted away from his orbs to be replaced by their usual purple, and he was relieved to see that colour naturally after so many days.

He hesitantly stepped forward. He dipped his head almost submissively.“I did not do something wrong?”

“Do something wrong?” she answered with a flinching laugh. “No, not at all.”

Relief sailed through him like a warm gust of wind. She looked southward from their location in the forest, and a breeze fluttered her colourful hair over her shoulder.

“We better get moving before the guild catches up to us. They’ll be disorientated for a while since Wren is dead, but that’ll only be for so long.” Then, once more, she turned to him, this time gifting him with a smile – one that closed both eyes and appeared more like a cringe. “Guess it’s just you and me now.”

Just you and me.The way she’d said those four words hadn’t been with disdain, but perhaps hinting at something pleasant.

Warmth tickled his chest as a bright yellow lifted into his sight this time. His long tail shifted the dirt as it slid side to side in response.

I am not alone now.

Ingram followed next to the female as she took the lead, tilting his head one way and then the other while ducking around trees to stay with her.

“Should we not be going west?”he asked, unsure of why she was taking them this way.“We are north of the Veil’s canyon.”

The crack of earth that spanned across the entire world from west to east was relatively narrow in comparison. They were currently north of it, so it made sense to go west from their current location.

Holding onto the strap of her bag directly between the two generous mounds on her chest, Emerie blew a stray strand of waving red hair from her face. “Yes, it would probably be faster to go straight from here, but then we’ll be entering a dangerous territory.”

His head rattled like dry bones were trapped inside his skull.“But I will protect us.”

Does she not think I am strong?His sight wandered to the side as annoyance spiked in his chest, bruising his ego.Does she think I am weak because I was bound so helplessly?

That wasn’t fair. His trappings had been tight within that dungeon. His captors had also made sure to anchor all of his moveable joints, ensuring he couldn’t rip his own limbs off to escape.

Shouldn’t that show how formidable he was?

“It’ll only add a few extra days if we go south first. The north has more shade because of the trees and is closer to many mountain ranges. Whereas there’s a large expanse of fields south of the Veil. That means less Demons, and...” She peeked over to him. “The northern Demonslayer sector is larger. Zagros Fortress has probably already sent messenger birds to all the guild sectors with my description and crimes. Sometimes a human hiding in the shadows with a bow and arrow is more dangerous than a Demon. You don’t hear your death coming.”

“But I cannot die,”he answered. At least... not so easily.

“But I can.” She smiled as she spoke the words, yet it didn’t reach her eyes. “Plus, say they missed and only cut me instead. My blood would send you into a frenzy, correct? Accidents happen, but it’s best to do everything in our power to prevent them.”

Ingram decided to let it go and just follow her, having to slow his pace to a snail’s crawl to stay by her side. Her breaths were sharp, like she was exerting herself, but she never changed the pace of her determined march. The entire time, her shoulders were firmly rolled back, her spine straight, and her head high.

Ingram eventually dropped back slightly so he could inspect her freely without her knowledge. He made sure his foot and hand steps were quiet as he came inches from her back and sniffed.

That possessive scent is no longer on her,he thought as he took in her sweet smell, nearly shuddering at it.When she touched me, what came from me smelt similar.

Was that why she hadn’t wanted it to be on her, so he couldn’t leave his own possessive marking on her? Why not? Ingram didn’t think he was too bad.

He had a pretty skull in comparison to the other Mavka. He didn’t have snapping sharp fangs, and his horns weren’t tall and daunting; instead, they were rather stout. He was the only one he knew of with a beak. He figured these differences made him better.

He came around the other side of Emerie and snuck another sniff of her. He wouldn’t mind shielding her mouthwatering smell with his own, ensuring no one else could take it in. Instead, they would only be reminded of his presence.