"Crazy, huh?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "Who the hell did you just call crazy, you feathered rat?"
The sparrow yelped, stumbling backward, wings half-flaring as though he could take flight at any second. "W-Wait, I didn't mean—!"
Veer lunged forward, fury etched into every line of his face.
And then—
"Enough."
Kaya's single word cut through the clearing like a blade, sharp and absolute.
Veer froze mid-stride. Even the sparrow, panting and wide-eyed, stopped trembling for a heartbeat.
When Kaya spoke again, her voice was calm, measured—but the weight in it made both men still as stone.
"Not one more step, Veer."
Her hand lifted slightly, her gaze never leaving the sparrow. "He talks first. Then you can break him."
The sparrow nearly collapsed on the spot.
Kaya slowly bent down to look at him. "So… you mean you asked the birds around here for my information, right?"
The sparrow nodded nervously. "Not only birds, but small animals too."
