He stood up, turning his attention to Mirela and Tasha as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward the massive sixty-foot bird corpse.
"Mirela, Tasha," Klaus ordered smoothly. "I want every single one of those blue feathers plucked out and gathered into a big bowl. Every single one. After that, butcher the meat… phoenix meat is high-grade protein, we're eating well tonight."
Tasha blinked, stunned by the casual request to strip a mythical beast like a chicken. "Pluck... pluck the feathers?"
"You wanted to prove your worth, didn't you, Tasha?" Klaus smirked, raising a silver eyebrow. "Get to work. We're getting back on the road while you pluck."
"Yes, Master Klaus!" Tasha nodded fervently, her determination flaring back up.
Ten minutes later, the carriage was back in motion.
Up front, the bone-plated mountain bear was churning through the snowpack at a rapid clip, dragging the heavy oak vehicle across the valley floor.
