Chapter 151: Going back home
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the clearing as the snow leopards absorbed Hana’s words.
Her dark eyes gleamed with a cold, mocking amusement. She knew exactly what she was doing. She had no problem admitting she took it all, but watching them squirm under the weight of their own greed and ignorance was far more satisfying.
"Well?" Hana asked, her voice dropping into a dangerous, quiet register. "I’m waiting. Which one of you wants to be the first to show me the stolen treasures on my person?"
The tribe members looked at one another, completely bewildered. They looked at her flat, empty palms, then at her form-fitting clothes that couldn’t possibly hide a single ration bar, let alone the massive crates they knew were stored inside.
She had walked in empty-handed, and she had walked out empty-handed.
"But... but you said you took what you wanted!" one of the younger warriors stammered from the middle of the crowd, his voice shaking under the combined glare of Caspian, Raiden, and Kulu. "Brenda is right! The shrine... the doors are open! You must have taken the blessings!"
Hana let out a soft, mocking chuckle that sounded like cracking ice. "And how, exactly, did I carry them out? Do you see a bag? Do you see carts? If you’re so certain I’m a thief, why don’t you go inside and check the place yourselves?"
The crowd stirred, the whispers starting up again. They had seen her pull that glowing blue cylinder out of thin air earlier, so anything was possible.
"She used that magic!" Brenda cried out from the snow, her voice shrill with desperation as she tried to salvage what was left of her pride. "She made that glowing thing appear from nothing! She must have made our treasures disappear into the same place! She’s lying to us!"
Hana’s brow arched, a dangerous frown settling onto her face. Her eyes locked onto Brenda with total disdain.
Don’t they know that ignorance is bliss? Hana thought to herself, a wave of irritation washing over her.
This was exactly why she despised bothering with these primitive crowds or trying to lighten their heartaches. She had left them alive, secured weapons that would have obliterated their entire lineage, and offered them a clear path into the bunker—yet their petty, nosy nature still drove them to push their luck.
"Prove it," Hana stated flatly, her voice cutting Brenda off like a guillotine. "You claim I have a magical space. You claim I hid your ’treasures’ in thin air. Go on, Brenda. Reach into the air and pull them out. Show the Chief your proof."
Brenda opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water, turning completely red under Hana’s sharp gaze. There was no proof.
There was nothing to point to. To the rest of the tribe, Hana’s logic was ironclad: she was standing right there, completely empty-handed, while the sacred shrine doors sat wide open, practically inviting them to see the truth for themselves.
"If you can’t prove it, then hold your tongue before I help you cut it out," Hana warned, her hand resting firmly on the heavy curve of her stomach. She turned her back on Brenda entirely, facing the trembling Chief. "The doors are open. The ’shrine’ is yours to wander. Whatever is inside is yours to keep, but you honestly won’t find anything and walk out empty-handed... Just as I did."
The Chief bowed his head instantly, his old hands trembling. "We... we understand, Lady Hana. No one will speak of this again."
Just then, Ren emerged from the edge of the clearing, carrying Mina’s small, weathered leather pack over his broad shoulder. Mina followed closely behind him, her head bowed respectfully but her steps lighter than they had ever been.
"We are ready, Hana," Ren said softly, his icy blue eyes fixed entirely on her, completely ignoring the fearful glances of his former tribesmen.
"Good," Hana said, the malice fading back into her usual stoic, unbothered expression. "Let’s go home."
Without any goodbyes or farewells, Ren and Mina turned their backs on the tribe they spent their whole lives in. The tribe that had discarded them as traitors just because they chose their own paths.
This was goodbye.
The departure from the mountain peak was swift and coordinated.
Caspian extended his massive dragon wings, the dark scales along his back catching the winter sun.
He stepped forward and carefully gathered Hana into his arms, lifting her with an effortless strength that ensured the heavy curve of her stomach was perfectly protected against his chest.
Beside them, Kulu stretched his brilliant red wings. With a practiced ease, the falcon used his extended talons to grip Raiden firmly by the shoulders.
Raiden didn’t mind the lift; his nine pink tails coiled loosely beneath him, swaying gently in the air as Kulu lifted him off the frozen ground. It was way better than dangling on Caspian’s tail.
Down below, Ren stepped up to Mina. Without a word, he hoisted his sister securely onto his broad arms.
"I’ve got you, Mina," he said, and she nodded.
"Keep the pace steady," Hana said to them. "If you both fly at full speed, Ren will lose our trail in the treeline, do you understand?"
Kulu nodded, his amber eyes locked onto Ren below, and Caspian let out a lazy huff.
With a synchronized push, the two predators began to fly. They maintained a low, deliberate altitude, hovering just above the canopy of the forest.
Below them, Ren took off like a shot. He became a blur of muscle and fur, leaping over massive fallen logs, navigating steep rocky drops, and tearing through the thick snow at top speed, his eyes locked onto the dark shadow of Caspian’s wings guiding him from above.
Because they had to match Ren’s ground speed, the flight was remarkably smooth. There was no violent, rushing turbulence or biting gale-force winds. Instead, the air passing over them was reduced to a soft, gentle breeze.
Hana rested her head against Caspian’s solid chest. The steady, rhythmic thud of his heart acted like a metronome, while the radiating warmth of his dragon blood completely shielded her from the mountain chill.
Combined with the gentle, rocking motion of the flight and the sheer exhaustion that came with being pregnant had caught up to her, and her eyelids grew incredibly heavy.
She let out a soft sigh, her hand relaxing against the curve of her belly. Shielded safely between the sky and the earth by her mates, Hana closed her eyes and let the gentle breeze lull her into a deep, peaceful sleep on the long journey back to New Eden.
When they finally crossed the snowy mountains, past the rocky terrain and finally into the green lands of the Emerald forest, they finally reached the boundary of New Eden.
Caspian landed flawlessly outside the den, his massive black wings folding tightly against his back without making a sound and disappearing as if they had never been there.
Hana didn’t even stir. She remained deeply asleep, her breathing slow and even against his chest.
Instead of waking her, Caspian adjusted his grip, keeping her securely cradled in his arms as he carried her through the entrance that was being guarded by two automated robots. He walked past the kitchen area and the inverter corner, carrying her straight to the sleeping quarters.
There, he carefully laid Hana down on her bed, pulling the thick, comfortable blankets over her sleeping form before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Leaving her to rest, he slipped back out to the main den space, his expression shifting back to that of a commanding Alpha as he met the others near the glowing control panels.
Raiden immediately stepped over to the inverter corner. With a quick, practiced flick of his wrist, he turned on the fluorescent lights, manually adjusting the settings to a dim, low amber glow so the sudden brightness wouldn’t reach the sleeping quarters and wake Hana.
"Now that we’re back, we have to make sure everything is exactly as we left it," Caspian ordered in a low, authoritative rumble. "Check the workers, the automated drones, and see if the security system registered any new beastmen registered with the boars while we were gone."
Raiden, who was lazily grooming one of his pink tails, paused and arched an eyebrow. His sharp emerald eyes locked onto the dragon. "And what will you be doing, then?"
Caspian let out a sharp huff, his gaze shifting over to Ren and Mina, who were standing somewhat stiffly near the entrance of the ultra-modern living space, looking entirely overwhelmed by the smooth walls, glowing lights, and high-tech structure.
"Hana has officially accepted them into the household," Caspian stated, crossing his massive arms. "So I will personally show them around and explain how our appliances work."
Raiden paused, a slow, mocking smirk stretching across his face. He let out a low, amused purr. "Personally? That’s a pretty big job for a big-muscled lizard like you, isn’t it? Try not to smash the control panels with your tail."
Caspian’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, the scales on his neck flaring as he took a threatening step forward. "What did you just say, rat?"
The air in the room instantly grew heavy with tension, a fight about to spark right then and there, when Kulu suddenly stepped between them. His amber eyes looked calmly at the dragon.
"Caspian, hold on. The fox is actually right this time," Kulu said smoothly, his red wings giving a small, dismissing twitch. "When it comes to the trickier appliances in the den, Raiden actually understands the system settings better. Let him explain it to them."
Caspian bared his teeth, looking highly offended as he glared at the falcon. "Are you seriously taking the fox’s side right now, bird brain?"
Kulu shook his head, completely unfazed by the dragon’s temper. "I am taking Hana’s side. I just do not want a situation where they make a mistake, break a machine, and Hana has to deal with the stress of fixing it when she wakes up. Let the fox handle the tour."
Comments