»Like I’d tell you, spineless human.«

My growl gave the fire-wielding human a pause, his eyebrows arching. "Did... did she lose it?"

"No, I..." stammered the blue-eyed female - Elira. "... I think she just can't talk."

"Oh. Then you tell me. What did she do?"

"... s-she healed herself," Vara, the auburn-haired female, coughed out, the disbelief oozing from her voice more than the pain. "Tits, I could use some of her regeneration."

If I could, I would share it. At the same time, however, she couldn't be further from the truth. It wasn't me - it was the beast. My merits in this were akin to pressing the START button on a microwave. The machine’s magic was beyond me; all I knew was that it heated the food, and in this case, it fixed me.

"What? She healed...?" the fire-wielding mage asked, confused. Then, his eyes widened, mirroring Vara’s and Elira’s. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him - or them. Even I couldn't believe what I was seeing. And I was seeing it with both my eyes. Every trace of my injuries had vanished.

"Damn, that's - your regeneration is more impressive than I thought. Was that the mana I felt?"

»Y-Yeah.« I nodded to make it crystal clear, still trying to catch my breath.

"Well, it better be just that," the man muttered. "Listen, all of you. Drawing attention to yourself is - well, pointless. Rayden no doubt already knows where we're headed. It would be strange if she didn't. However, like her, you two," he pointed at Vara and Elira, his hand jutting through the bars and wavering for a moment. "... you two must know that the city wall is where her and the city guard's authority ends. Once we are out of the city, we will be out of their reach."

"You still have to get through the gate first," Elira shot back, her voice sharp. Though, I couldn't help wondering why it was necessary to go through the gates. Like those bastards she hadn't even considered them trying to escape over the city walls. Sure, they were tall, rising to the gutters of the houses in Castiana. But with all the weaves the people here on Eleaden wielded and the magic at their disposal, it couldn't have been such a big deal. Unless, of course, there was something about those walls I didn’t know. And that was likely.

'The gate, though.'

Elira’s fear for her brother was so strong, it overpowered the stench of sweat and soot clinging to me. It was sad and understandable. If it were my little brother, I would feel the same. In fact, I would have to hold back from trying to rip the human's throat out.

»No messing with my pack!«

'I couldn't have said it better.' For once, I agreed with my inner beast, though dread gnawed at me. Since her brother at Esulmor Gate had sent them the false orders, I feared no city guards would be waiting to stop these bastards from breaking through.

"I wonder how much of the human in you is left," the fire-wielding male remarked at my threatening growl, glancing back at Elira.

"Yes, you’re right. We must go through the gate, and we will."

"Elias?" Her voice trembled as she spoke, the words barely holding together.

"Don't know. He should..."

"Harcon?! What the bloody fuck are you doing? Pull down the tarp! We're almost at the gate," growled the short, fat human from the driver's seat.

The fire-wielding male let out a weary sigh and offered a sad smile. "I’ll find out how he is and tell you. You have my word, Elira."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"As if your word is worth anything," Vara snapped, but Elira cut her off, locking eyes with the man. "Please… I'd be grateful."

Without another word, the male stepped away, letting the tarp drape back over the cage.

"The fuck, El?!" Vara lashed out, her voice sharp despite the pain it cost her. "You can't trust that bastard."

"I know."

"That son of a bitch is the reason we're in this mess."

"I know."

"Then what in the name of all the tits..."

"Because he could be our way out of this mess," Elira whispered, opening her palm. There, in its center, glittered a ring.

'The Distress Cry ring?'

»Cowards's piece of metal?«

"Is that...?" Vara trailed off, not finishing her question - her wide eyes said enough. My ears perked up too.

"What was that about, Harcon?" The voice was unmistakable - Ward, the shadow-wielding human, the one who always smelled faintly of flowers.

"The mana burst?"

"What else?"

"The half-Terr chick healed herself - completely."

"Did she?"

The next moment the tarp went up again, with Ward peering inside the cage, inspecting me. "I'll be damned. Impressive, Miss Grey. Truly impressive." No more words followed. He let go of the tarp, disappearing out of my earshot. Still, I listened for a while to make sure.

'Good. Looks like he's gone.'

»He's gone.«

Thankfully, the meaning of my growl seemed to carry over. Both guard females breathed a sigh of relief, Elira carefully taking the ring in the three remaining fingers of her right hand.

»Can't they see you?« I blurted out, gesturing what I meant. I may not be able to see through the tarp with my domain, but that didn't necessarily mean they couldn't.

'Did it, though?'

If they could, why would they need to pull it off to check what was happening inside?

"The tarp is enchanted. They can't see in," Elira confirmed my guess, smiling. "... and thanks to Harcon, they can't even hear anything."

»The silencing magic?«

'But he cast it on the cage... to stop anyone from hearing us cry for help. Was that his plan all along?' Sure, if he hadn't cast that magic, my so-called master would have ordered me to keep quiet and likely had the guard females properly tied up and gagged. But what was the point of us being able to talk when no one outside the cage could hear us? Were we supposed to find comfort in speaking to each other?

»Stupid.«

'I love you too,' I growled back at the beast. Still, it didn’t add up. Why give us the ring he had tried so hard to destroy? No, he didn't want to leave any chance for anyone to find out about the ring - or that he had given it to us.

"Are you sure?" The brown-haired female asked, pointing to the ring in the other's palm.

"Do we have many other options?" she retorted, slipping the metal piece onto her good hand with trembling fingers.

Covering my ears for a possible cry coming from the ring, I watched Elira anxiously, claws ready to slice off her finger if necessary. For all I knew, the fire-wielding male was toying with us, and this ring was a trap. And for a moment, it looked that way. Her eyes lost focus and she stared off into space. Since Vara remained unfazed, however, I held myself back and remained sitting in my corner.

That didn't mean it left me unfazed.

I was on the edge, the beast ready to pounce. As such, I almost pissed myself when Elira’s blue eyes suddenly snapped back to me. "He wants to talk to you."

'Huh?'

»What do you mean?«

My confusion must have been evident because Elira launched into an explanation. "This is a Union Ring. It'll let you speak through your mind to whoever holds the other one."

'Okay? And who has the other ring?'

»Stupid.«

'Ah, Harcon?'

»What the bastard wants?«

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Vara asked, the doubt in her voice obviously hinting at my inability to speak Standard.

Elira shrugged. "Hopefully. Just put it on. It's a pretty expensive one, so you don't have to do much. Just focus your thoughts on the ring. Enchantments will do the rest."

Not hiding my doubts, I took the piece of metal from her. It was too small for most of my shifted furry fingers, so I put it on the only one I could see that it would fit on - my pinky. The moment I did, I froze.