The midsized caravan set out before dawn, hauling the corpses of both Raiders and Hungers.
It wasn't to lure the beasts—no matter what they did, the horde would surround them anyway.
Instead, the dead would serve as fodder, a distraction to keep the creatures occupied.
Among the Raiders' spoils was a new slaves: Hungers ensnared by Lady Rose's Enthralling Dance.
At the caravan's head, Mad Dog spotted Raiders lingering at the entrance of the Bone Orchards, torn between turning back or waiting.
"The hell are you lot doing here?" he growled.
"We were trying to recapture the runaway slaves, but they went deeper into the Bone Orchards," one of the Raiders answered.
"Then why the hell are you all just standing here? Too scared to move?"
The Raiders exchanged uneasy glances, none able to justify their hesitation.
"Ah... We... We were waiting for the Child to come back," another muttered.
"What child?" Mad Dog snapped, confused.
"The one Lady Rose adopted..."
Mad Dog's eyes widened.
These fucking morons didn't even try to stop him—didn't even report it to me.
"You brainless idiots!" he roared.
"You should've stopped him—or gone with him! Why the f*ck didn't you tell me?"
His mind raced, already crafting excuses in case Lady Rose demanded answers.
Then, a cold smirk twisted his lips.
So what if he dies, right?
"Get back to your posts, you worthless sacks of shit," he growled.
The Raiders quickly fell in with the caravan as it advanced into the Bone Orchards, laughing like they'd narrowly escaped disaster.
Mad Dog just sighed, shaking his head.
This lot doesn't think past the next sunrise.
As they pushed deeper into the forest, the carnage left by the Bone Orchards unfolded before them.
The corpses of Hungers and Tribesmen lay strewn across the path, their mangled remains turning the dirt road into a churned river of blood and mud.
The stench was unbearable—a sickening mix of spilled innards and the rank saliva of beasts.
Even some of the hardened Raiders gagged, unable to stomach the horror.
The further they went, the worse it became.
Soon, they stumbled upon a grisly mound of Moonlit Wolves and other creatures, their bodies torn apart even more savagely than the rest.
Moonlit Wolves were among the deadliest terrors of the Bone Orchards, yet here they were, slaughtered in droves.
The sight left the Raiders stunned, their faces twisted in disbelief.
"I can't believe the Moonlit Wolves were butchered like this," muttered one Raider.
"Hell, I'd be lucky to scratch one of these things at night," another admitted.
Mad Dog could only stare, his usual bravado replaced by cold shock. Even he, a battle-hardened Barbarian, knew such a feat was beyond him.
A grim thought struck him—maybe this was why no beasts had attacked them yet. Every last one on this side of the forest was already dead.
But how? Slaves and Hungers couldn't have done this. It was impossible. Even Hungers needed time to digest their meals before regaining strength. So what—or who—had torn through these monsters like they were nothing?
As they advanced, a figure came into view—
—slumped in a pool of blood, its pallid flesh stark against the crimson.
Long white hair clung to its body, soaked through with gore, but the most unsettling feature was the single black-red wing splayed limply across the ground.
"Halt!" Mad Dog barked.
Approaching cautiously, he spotted another corpse near an acacia-like tree—a Skinless, its frame lean yet corded with dense muscle beneath the exposed tissue.
A Skinless Leopard.
"Weapons ready! We got Skinless Leopard here!" His shout sent the Raiders scrambling into defensive positions.
Gripping his shortsword, Mad Dog edged toward the winged creature—
—until a voice, razor-edged and dripping with threat, froze him mid-step.
"Stop."
Lady Rose emerged from the carriage, Lily gliding behind her.
Their steps were unnervingly graceful as they trod the bloodied path without hesitation.
Mad Dog immediately yielded, bowing low.
"My Lady... we don't know what that thing is."
Lady Rose regarded Mad Dog with icy disdain before turning toward the single-winged figure lying in its pool of blood.
A slow, intoxicating smile curled her lips—so hypnotic that the Raiders who caught even a glimpse felt their thoughts spiral into forbidden fantasies.
"Truly a Blessed of Death ," she murmured, her voice trembling with barely restrained excitement.
She had heard only whispers—rumors that a few followers of the Death Church had survived the purge.
Yet here lay living proof, a mere child no less.
The thought sent a thrill coursing through her; now she could witness firsthand the legendary carnage that the Death Church had once unleashed upon the mortal realm.
Kneeling in the blood-soaked earth, she rolled the small body onto its back with surprising gentleness.
Then, cradling the child effortlessly in her arms—as though she were indeed the mother fate had denied her—she rose and carried him toward the carriage.
The Raiders could only stare in stunned silence.
Mad Dog's blood ran cold the moment he recognized the boy's blood-streaked face—Lady Rose's adopted child.
A shudder wracked his body as he recalled their last encounter.
Had they actually fought that day, he realized with dawning horror, he might have been the one left lifeless beneath that acacia-like tree—just like the Skinless Leopard.
...
Inside the carriage, Lily tenderly wiped the blood from Hound's small frame. To her surprise, no wounds marred his pale skin—not even a scratch. Even his lone wing, once cleansed, shimmered with an otherworldly glow, like the last embers of twilight.
A quiet warmth filled her as she worked, memories resurfacing of when she had cared for her other brother in its stillness. There was a strange comfort in this ritual, a familiar sorrow that brought her inexplicable joy.
Across the carriage, Lady Rose watched them with quiet satisfaction. The sight of her daughter tending to her youngest sibling stirred long-buried recollections—hazy fragments of another life, another land.
"Kalix..." Lady Rose murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
As if summoned from the shadows themselves, Kalix materialized on the carriage floor, kneeling in perfect submission before his mistress.
Even Lily—usually so composed—couldn't suppress her startled gasp at his sudden appearance.
Truly, she thought, a master assassin worthy of his legend.
"My Lady..." Kalix intoned, his voice thick with reverence.
"What do you think about my new son?" Lady Rose inquired, her fingers tracing idle patterns in the air.
Kalix's dark eyes flickered toward Hound's still form for only a heartbeat before bowing his head again.
"A rough diamond... a blood diamond."
Lady Rose's pupils dilated slightly.
While diamonds were rare enough in their own right, a blood diamond—that deep crimson variant whispered about in royal treasuries—was a treasure beyond measure.
Her gaze drifted back to Hound's pale face, new possibilities unfolding in her mind.
Perhaps through you... I might finally break these chains...
Through the carriage window, her eyes sought the western horizon—where the ghosts of her past still walked among the living.