---
Batbat gave Kai a final mock salute with his wing, winked, and with a single whoosh, dissolved into the sky like a red mist chased by the first kiss of dawn.
Silence returned. The fire crackled softly.
Kai stood there alone for a long while. The camp behind him stirred but did not wake. All his girls still slumbered in their beds of leaves, furs, and stolen pillows. Akayoroi murmured in her sleep. Naaro turned over, clutching a half eaten fruit. Azhara rolled onto Sha and murmured something about moonberries on Kai's anaconda, then sucking it for flavour.
Kai looked toward the east. The black sky was beginning to shift. The tiniest sliver of blue pressed against the stars, nudging them out of view.
Morning was coming. Fast.
He sat back down by the fire, tossing another stick into the embers. His body felt tired, his blood still not fully replaced, and his mind still digesting what just happened.
Gods. Artifacts. World ending predator monsters.
