Inside a room within the castle, Amelia, Rhea, and Mira sat facing one another. No one spoke; the air was thick with a suffocating, awkward silence.
This was their second meeting. After their initial reunion the day before, they had tried to talk, but the conversation had ended in a stalemate. Neither Amelia nor Rhea were particularly talkative people by nature.
"Ahem..." Mira cleared her throat, finally breaking the silence out of necessity. "Amelia, are you really refusing to come with us?"
Amelia remained silent for several beats, her eyes fixed on Rhea before she slowly shook her head.
"Why?" Rhea asked, her voice cold. She didn't feel safe leaving her sister out in the world. As impressive as Sedona City was, she hadn't forgotten that this was a human city—and she certainly hadn't forgotten how humans had persecuted their kind.
Once Amelia's identity was exposed, she would be hunted by slave traders and bounty hunters alike.
"I have to repay Lord Lucas," Amelia said, her voice quiet but firm. She hadn't forgotten the promise she made to him.
"I'll repay the debt for you," Rhea countered, her eyes narrowing. As the fourth-ranked assassin in the world, she had more than enough power to settle any debt Amelia owed. In her mind, the human would probably come out ahead.
"No! I'll do it myself!" Amelia shouted suddenly, the feathers on her ears bristling with agitation.
"You..." Rhea was stunned. She stared at Amelia with wide eyes. This was the first time her sister had ever raised her voice to her; in the past, Amelia had always been the silent, submissive one.
"Amelia! How can you speak to your big sister like that?" Mira's expression changed, and she quickly tried to play peacemaker.
"You've changed," Rhea remarked coldly. She motioned for Mira to be quiet, her eyes scanning her sister. She couldn't tell if this change was for better or worse.
Amelia lowered her head, her mind a mess of conflicting emotions. She was overjoyed that her sister was alive and well, but the thought of leaving Sedona City filled her with dread.
Without realizing it, she had grown accustomed to this life. Compared to the days of starvation and grueling training, life here was a dream. Most importantly, she didn't want to leave Lucas. She wanted to stay by his side, to feel the care and protection he gave her—something she had never truly felt, even with her sister.
"He can't protect you," Rhea said bluntly, her sharp gaze pinned on the silent girl. "Don't forget you are a birdkin. The only place you are truly safe is Stone Mountain."
Rhea truly believed that Stone Mountain was the safest place on earth. Perhaps it was the trauma of her past, but she saw the mountain as an impenetrable fortress; the bounty hunters at the base were powerless against the birdkin above.
"We'll starve to death there," Amelia snapped, looking up. Part of her reason for staying was to act as a bridge, a channel that would allow Lucas to open trade with Stone Mountain.
"I won't let you go hungry," Rhea frowned, a flicker of guilt and hurt crossing her eyes. She assumed Amelia's refusal to return was simply a matter of food.
"I can convince Lord Lucas to trade food with the mountain," Amelia said seriously, staring directly into Rhea's eyes.
"It's too far," Rhea replied, shaking her head. "We can buy wheat from the nearby cities. There's no need to come all this way."
There were plenty of birdkin who lacked wings; it was easy enough for them to slip into human cities to buy supplies.
"The nearby cities don't have enough. Everyone is starving," Amelia pressed on, leaning forward. There were only so many winged birdkin who could fly, and the amount of wheat they could carry was limited. Meanwhile, the number of flightless birdkin on the mountain was growing, and as the children matured, their appetites would only increase.
This was exactly why Rhea had tried to start a farm at the base of the mountain—but now that their location was compromised, those plans were ruined.
Rhea didn't argue immediately. She was curious. "Even if that's true, how does coming to Sedona City solve anything? It's so far that the energy spent flying back would waste all the food we carry."
"Lord Lucas has a way," Amelia said simply. She kept the secret of the hot air balloons to herself for now.
She had another plan: to eventually move the birdkin from the mountain to Sedona City so they wouldn't have to suffer anymore. But she knew she couldn't convince her sister yet; she would have to rely on Lucas for that.
"I don't believe you," Rhea said dismissively. She didn't think a single human could provide the sheer volume of grain the birdkin required.
"I grew my wings," Amelia said, abruptly changing the subject.
"What? Let me see!" Rhea bolted upright, her hands immediately moving to pull at Amelia's clothes.
In their tribe, having wings was the mark of a "true" birdkin. Currently, too few of them possessed wings, which placed an immense burden on those who did. Rhea felt that pressure every single day.
Quickly, Amelia's top was pulled down, revealing her smooth back and a pair of foot-long wings.
"How? How did they grow? What's the secret?" Rhea asked urgently. She knew her sister's wings had been stunted for years.
"Eat until you're full, eat well, and sleep well," Amelia said, echoing Lucas's theory.
"Huh?" Rhea froze. "That's it? That's the method?"
"That is the method Lord Lucas gave me," Amelia said calmly.
"This..." Rhea hesitated. It sounded too simple to be true.
Stomp, stomp, stomp...
Bang, bang, bang!
A frantic knocking interrupted them. A maid's voice called out from the hallway, "Miss Amelia! The City Lord has returned! He has requested that you and Miss Rhea join him in the study immediately."
"Let's go," Rhea said, her voice turning cold again. "I want to see for myself just what makes this Lucas so special that my own sister trusts him more than me."
She was annoyed. If the human tried to stop her from taking her sister home, she wouldn't hesitate to take Amelia by force. Who would dare stand in her way?
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