RedNovelChapter 0786
"your foolish quest has cost us dearly," he began without preamble, his words biting. "The forest, our hall of
it, reduced to ash and ruin because of your reckless actions."
A flicker of sadness flickered inside ofbecause | knew that Kai was right. But before | could muster a
response, the old village leader's features softened, his shoulders sagging.
"And yet," he continued, his voice lowering to a murmur, "you managed to evacuate so many of Mila's prisoners,
to rally those who had lost hope." He shook his head slowly, a rueful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "
Perhaps | have underestimated you, child."
| opened my mouth to respond, but the words caught in my throat as a sudden realization washed over me. "My
father," | breathed, my brow furrowing. "Where is he? If we had his help-"
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Kai's expression darkened, and he averted his gaze, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "Gone," he said simply. "They
pursued Mila after her transformation, but we have received no word of their whereabouts... or their fate."
A heavy silence fell over the group again. My father, the Alpha King, lost as well-it was nearly too much to bear,
on top of not knowing where Enzo had gone.
Yet, even as despair threatened to consme, a flicker of determination burned inside of me, fueled by the
memory of Selena's words and the life that still stirred in my womb.
Squaring my shoulders, | met Kai's gaze with a steely resolve. "We're here to help, however we can," | said. "Just
give us the word, and we'll do it."
Kai regardedfor a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, he inclined his head in a subtle nod
of respect.
"We need your antidote again. There are those who are still maddened by the Dragon Queen's influence, and
they're growing dangerous."
| nodded, and without another word, | followed Kai to the part of camp where those he had described were held.
Over the following hours, my friends and | worked to cure those whose sickness caused by the gasses under
Mila's mountain had gone too far.
Before we knew it, we were watching previously sick and borderline feral shifters be reunited with their families,
and despite Enzo and my father's missing status, it was heartwarming.
Later, as we wandered the nearby forest in search of anything edible to forage for the stew that night, Jessica fell
into step beside me. Her face was still somewhat ashen from the fires, but she hadn't lost that spark in her eyes
that never seemed to fade.
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"Hey," she said softly, leaning closer as we gathered swild roots for the stew. "Don't bite off more than you
can chew."
"More than | can chew?" | almost scoffed as | looked at her. "Jessica, this is all my fault. If | hadn't—"
"How could it be your fault?" she leveledwith a stern glare. "It was going to happen, sooner or later. That
dragon was a ticking timebomb. And if it weren't for you and Luke figuring out what was happening to Enzo so
quickly, then..."
Her voice trailed off, but we both knew what she was going to say: Enzo might have died in Mila's clutches.
But, at the stime, so many others had died because of our plan to get him out. The forest had been
destroyed, Mila was on the loose, and my father was following her somewhere-assuming that he was even still
alive.
And Enzo, the man who we had done all of this for to begin with?
He was still missing, too.
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