Evangeline paused. Hearing the jealousy lacing Thorne’s tone, she puffed out a laugh.

She reached out, taking hold of Thorne’s chin. Her fingertips gently caressed his hard jawline as a cunning glint lit up the corners of her eyes. Her voice carried a flirtatious lilt. "If you ask me, he’s not nearly as handsome as you all."

The moment she finished speaking, a cold snort came from the distance.

A cold glint flashed in Julian’s golden pupils. He shot them a chilly glare before transforming into a massive Goldeagle and launching into the sky. As for the question of who was "more handsome," he couldn’t be bothered to waste a single breath arguing.

’Right now, I’m more interested in finding out if what Evangeline said about reshaping the Star Pattern is true or not.’

Caden Albright stepped forward and said seriously, "Enough. The most important thing now is to find Lachlan."

Thorne lifted his chin, some of the coldness in his eyes dissipating. He’d been placated. Bending down, he swept Evangeline into his arms. An unrestrained smile touched his lips as he shot off into the distance like a gale, not even sparing Caden Albright a glance.

Caden Albright shook his head and glanced over at Danton and Loras. "Let’s go."

The group moved with haste, but Drake clearly knew the habits of a Goldeagle Beastman like the back of his hand. To avoid pursuit, he moved with extreme stealth. They searched from dawn until dusk, scouring the forests around Cloudfall Cliff, but there was still no sign of them.

Thorne’s serpentine eyes narrowed, and he let out a cold laugh. "Lachlan really trusts Drake, doesn’t he? To follow him and hide so well."

Bunny, clinging to Caden Albright’s neck, shifted uneasily.

Caden Albright soothingly stroked Bunny’s back, his amber eyes glinting in the dusk. "Males who share the same female should help one another," he said calmly. "Trust is to be expected."

His voice was level, but it still earned a snort from Thorne.

Evangeline, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped. Danton immediately moved to her side, his voice gentle. "Do you want to rest?"

Evangeline shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "I can feel them. They’re close."

The words had barely left her mouth when the smile on Evangeline’s face froze. She snapped her gaze toward the distance.

"What is it?" Danton sensed her unease immediately, his own expression turning serious. A moment later, he stretched out his hand and made a grasping motion in the air. His long knuckles trembled slightly. "What’s happening? The moisture in the air is disappearing."

Evangeline took a deep breath, her slender fingers curling into fists. "...It’s earth fire."

Caden Albright and the others sensed something was wrong as well. Their nerves stretched taut, they all closed in around Evangeline.

Loras’s face was deathly pale. He hesitated before saying, "The plants... they’re afraid."

"RUMBLE—"

The earth began to tremble without warning, and the loud crack of breaking trees echoed from the distance.

A wave of searing heat surged up from the ground, casting an eerie crimson glow across the twilight sky. The forest’s Wild Beasts began to flee in a frenzy, and panicked Skywings took flight. In an instant, the entire forest was in an uproar.

Just then, Julian, who had been circling high overhead, went into a steep dive and transformed into his human form the moment he landed.

His features were sharp, his voice laced with an uncharacteristic urgency. "A wildfire has broken out! You have to get out of here right—"

"Drake’s Contract Mark... his life force is weakening," Evangeline cut Julian off, her fingertips pressing the large, golden-red bird marking on her waist.

She shook her head. "Something’s happened to Drake, and Lachlan is still with him. They’re trapped. I can’t leave."

Before she finished speaking, Thorne grabbed her wrist, his brow furrowed in anger. "You can’t go alone!"

Evangeline looked up at him, her voice cold and stern. "Don’t you trust me? I will bring both Lachlan and Drake back! Now, all of you must leave this place at once. Every moment you stay, you’re a distraction, a burden. Do you understand?"

Caden Albright felt the scorching heat in the air. He gave Evangeline a long, hard look and said in a low voice, "Be careful."

With that said, he grabbed Thorne’s arm and started running, following the stampeding Beast Tide into the distance.

Danton took a deep breath and left with Loras without another word.

They knew full well that with Evangeline’s skills, surviving the wildfire wouldn’t be difficult. But it was equally clear that she would never abandon Lachlan and Drake. They, however, were Beastmen, and the power of a wildfire was nothing to scoff at. It was better to leave and let her focus on the rescue without any lingering worries than to stay and become a burden.

Only after watching them leave did Evangeline turn her head to face the stretch of sky stained red by the glow of the fire.

The earth fire erupted. Rivers of molten lava, seemingly alive, flooded the forest. As the wildfire raged, heat waves distorted the air, creating a searing sensation that felt like it was scorching their very lungs.

She carefully sensed the Contract Mark, her gaze hardening. Without hesitation, she started toward the wildfire.

Julian stared at her retreating back, his sharp eyes wide with shock. "Are you insane? That’s earth fire! It can reduce even mountainsides to ash!"

Evangeline paid Julian no mind. With a light push of her toes, she took off like a nimble swallow. She was a slender, tiny figure amidst the raging wildfire, like a moth drawn to a flame. Yet she moved against the current of the Beast Tide, her determination so absolute it was breathtaking.

’The rumors about the Oasis Tribe’s Virago,’ Julian suddenly realized, ’don’t even begin to cover her madness.’

*

Flames raged and thick smoke billowed.

"Drake! Wake up!" Lachlan’s fur was singed and curled. The roaring flames were reflected in his gray-brown Beast Eyes as he slammed himself viciously against a fallen log. Unfortunately, the massive trunk didn’t move an inch; instead, the impacts only made the flesh of his paw pads more torn and bloody.

"Drake!" the Snow Leopard roared, blood bursting from between his teeth.

His Beast Eyes were fixed on the figure pinned under the massive log. The young man lay on the ground, his long, golden-red hair dull and matted. His pale face was smeared with blood, and the dark red trail trickling from his lips was mixed with fragments of internal organs. He was completely unconscious.

And the log pinning his waist, engulfed by the ferocious fire, was beginning to emit terrifying, splintering cracks.

"Drake!" Lachlan’s sharp teeth were clenched tight, and his breaths came in ragged gasps.

He arched his back, ramming the massive log again and again.

’Drake betrayed his tribe to save me. I can’t abandon him to this raging wildfire.’

The wildfire roared closer, the searing, distorted air closing in like a cage. Despair flooded Lachlan’s heart.

He finally stopped ramming the log, his front paws sinking limply into the scorched earth. He crouched low, his ears drooping, his gray-brown pupils reflecting the advancing wall of fire. His consciousness began to fade.

"Eva..." A sob escaped Lachlan’s throat. The sound, once clear and ethereal, was now just a hoarse, broken rasp.

’My female is waiting for me... but I’m never going home.’

In the instant the flames seemed to swallow heaven and earth, a slender figure suddenly appeared in the reflection of Lachlan’s gray-brown eyes.

Lachlan raised his head and murmured in a daze, his ears twitching unconsciously. "I can see Eva, even in death?"

Evangeline lifted a hand, sending the massive log flying. Seeing the lava already lapping at her feet, she flicked her wrist. The Cold Frost Whip shot through the air, and a frigid aura spread out from it, instantly freezing the encroaching lava. In a flash, thick clouds of steam billowed upward.

She turned to face the battered pair—one man, one leopard—and her brow furrowed.

Evangeline stepped forward, deftly pried open Drake’s mouth, and stuffed a pill inside. Then she said to Lachlan, "We’re leaving."

Hearing her real voice, Lachlan flinched and shifted into his human form. "Eva?" he said, his voice filled with disbelief.

Evangeline didn’t reply. She wrapped an arm around Lachlan’s waist, and with the sound of a tearing scroll, golden light flared.

When they opened their eyes again, the three of them had appeared at the foot of Cloudfall Cliff.