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When she gave him a puzzled look, he went and stood next to one.

“It’s designed for someone your size,” she said in a horrified whisper, and he nodded.

“Beast warriors.”

Her heart stuttered as she studied the chaotic footprints in front of the cages, following their direction beyond the abandoned camp. South. Definitely south. Her fingers trembled as she pressed them against the damp earth, confirming what her eyes already told her.

“Egon,” she whispered, her voice catching. “These tracks—they’re heading toward my village.”

The realization crashed down over her in an icy wave. Images flashed through her mind: Samha’s gap-toothed smile, the old willow tree where children played, her cottage with its climbing roses and beehives. All of it vulnerable, unprotected, even more so now after the fires.

“Are you certain?” He knelt beside her, his big body casting a shadow over the trampled ground as he examined the signs. “They’re heading south,” he agreed, |but that doesn’t mean they are heading for your village.”

“I know, but we have to try and warn them.” She rose to her feet, already calculating how quickly they could travel. “If we cut through the eastern woods, we might?—”

“Lyric.” His hand encircled her wrist, gentle but firm. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with. If something scattered armed men…”

She pulled away from him, panic rising in her chest. “We can’t abandon them. Not when I—we—might have drawn Lord Trevain’s attention. We have to try.”

His face hardened as he scanned the abandoned camp, a muscle twitching beneath the scarred green skin. He swore under his breath, the harsh sound carrying in the eerie silence.

“Damn it all,” he muttered, crouching to examine a set of tracks that diverged from the others. His massive fingers traced the outline—deeper, wider than human footprints.

Her stomach twisted. “What is it?”

“These aren’t men’s tracks,” he growled. “They’re Beast warriors.”

The words made her blood run cold. The thought of someone with Egon’s power, but without his compassion and control, descending upon the peaceful village—upon Samha and the elders who had defended her against their own fears.

“If they’ve been unleashed on the village…” He didn’t finish the thought, but he didn’t need to.

“We might already be too late,” she whispered, completing what he couldn’t say. The possibility tore at her heart, but she refused to accept it. “But we have to try.”

He rose to his full height, towering over her. For a moment, she thought he might refuse—might insist they continue toward Norhaven with the information they’d gathered. The rational choice. The strategic one.

Instead, he gave a single, sharp nod. “We’ll need to move fast.” He glanced at the sky, calculating. “If we push hard, we might reach them by nightfall.”

Relief flooded her, so intense she nearly staggered. She reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly. “Thank you.”

His golden eyes softened for just a moment as they met hers. “Your people are important to you. That makes them important to me.”

He hesitated, looking down at her with an expression she couldn’t quite read.

“There’s a faster way,” he finally said, his deep voice barely above a whisper. “I can carry you in my… other form.”

Understanding dawned on her. The Beast. The part of himself he’d tried to hide from her, even after she’d seen him transform to protect Samha.

“Will you trust me?” he asked, his voice tense. “I won’t hurt you, but I understand if?—”

“Yes,” she said immediately, no trace of doubt in her voice. “I trust you, Egon.”

His eyes widened slightly, as if her acceptance had caught him off guard. “You’re not afraid?”

She reached up to touch his face, tracing the scar that ran across his cheek. “Not of you. Never of you.”

He nodded once, then stepped back. “Stand clear.”

He closed his, his breathing deepening. The transformation began—muscles shifting beneath his skin, bones realigning with soft cracking sounds. His already impressive height increased as his body changed, becoming something wilder, more primal. His face grew sharper, more feral, and when he opened his eyes they were solid black.