"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Three dark shadows sped across the sky. Upon closer inspection, it was Rhea holding onto Mira as they soared, followed closely by another birdkin.
The three had rested at Stone Mountain for a few days. Originally, after Mira returned home and explained Amelia's situation, Rhea had wanted to set off for Sedona City the very next day. However, the Giant Hunter had returned, bringing along over a dozen top-tier bounty hunters, forcing Rhea to stay behind for a few extra days.
The past few days had left Rhea feeling helpless. Those bounty hunters were nothing but a bunch of dirty thugs, shouting insults from the foot of the mountain every day, yet unable to climb up. Conversely, the birdkin couldn't go down either. This blockade was stifling the development of the bird tribe, which was the root of the problem.
Relying solely on the few birdkin capable of flight to transport food was insufficient to keep up with consumption. If this continued, everyone would soon be skipping meals.
Out of options, Rhea decided to ignore the situation for now. Her priority was to bring Amelia back to Stone Mountain. After all, with her own sister out there, she couldn't find a moment's peace.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
Rhea flapped her wings, her green eyes scanning the ground below. As a birdkin, her vision was several times sharper than a human's; she could clearly see things that were invisible to the human eye.
"How much longer until we reach Sedona City?" Rhea asked coldly. It was originally a one-day journey, but carrying Mira had doubled the travel time.
Fortunately, there was an extra person to help carry Mira; otherwise, Rhea wouldn't have had the stamina to fly for so long on her own.
"Just a little longer. We should arrive around dusk," Mira said cautiously. She knew her eldest sister was in a bad mood; those bounty hunters had been incredibly annoying.
It was currently around noon.
"Are you sure you saw correctly? Amelia is living well?" Rhea frowned. She wasn't wearing her mask today, and her slender, willow-leaf eyebrows were sharp with intensity.
"Yes, that Lucas didn't mistreat Amelia. He even sent her to learn how to read," Mira replied hurriedly, daring not to move. She had been holding the same position for a long time.
"Oh?" Rhea furrowed her brow. She didn't believe humans could be that kind. There was no such thing as unconditional kindness in this world; he definitely had an ulterior motive.
"Big Sister, what do you plan to do once we get there?" Mira asked softly. She was afraid Rhea would confront Lucas aggressively upon arrival, which wouldn't benefit anyone.
She hoped Rhea wouldn't clash with Lucas; ideally, they would sit down and talk calmly. It definitely wasn't because she wanted to try the castle's food again.
"Observe first," Rhea said, glancing at Mira with a raised brow. She thought to herself that this Lucas must have some tricks up his sleeve to have charmed even Mira; otherwise, she wouldn't be asking such amateurish questions.
For an assassin entering a strange place, the first step was obviously to observe and gather intelligence. What else would she do?
"Big Sister, if—and I'm just saying if—Amelia doesn't want to leave with us, what then?" Mira suddenly asked.
"Impossible," Rhea stated categorically. She hadn't even considered the possibility. Based on her understanding of Amelia, if she came to pick her up personally, Amelia would definitely leave with her.
"Hypothetically. Just as an example," Mira hurriedly appeased her. She didn't dare provoke her sister, or she'd be in for it. At the very least, she'd be dropped in mid-air and then caught in a dive—a sensation that would surely stop her heart.
"Are you hiding something from me?" Rhea narrowed her eyes, her voice cold. "Is Amelia being threatened?"
"No, not at all," Mira shook her head frantically, cursing herself for being so talkative.
"Hmph. If she doesn't want to leave, I'll knock her out and carry her," Rhea said icily.
Her mind immediately raced. Amelia must be in trouble. That human noble must have some leverage over Amelia, or she would have returned with Mira long ago.
I hope that human hasn't done anything, she thought, or I will definitely kill him. Detestable humans. Mira had no idea that her few words had caused Rhea to overthink and completely misunderstand the situation.
Mira was carried by the two of them in turns. After flying continuously for three hours, the sun began to dip toward the west. It was around four in the afternoon.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
"Big Sister, we're here. That city down there is Sedona City." Mira beamed, pointing at the distant city.
"Mn." Rhea nodded, holding Mira as they found a secluded spot to land.
The three began to disguise themselves, donning large black robes. In the current weather, wearing black robes looked a bit odd, but there was no helping it; it was certainly better than exposing a pair of wings.
"Let's go." Rhea took the lead, heading toward Sedona City. They didn't go through the main gate; since Sedona City's walls had been demolished, they could enter from any direction.
"There are so many beastkin here," The other birdkin beastkin remarked, looking at the distant crowd of workers, which contained quite a few beastkin.
"Sedona City is unique. Humans and beastkin live together here," Mira explained.
"Maybe they are being forced to," Rhea said coldly, finding a discreet way to enter the city proper.
She scanned the surrounding houses and frowned. "The houses are quite nice. They must have exploited a lot of slaves to build these, right?"
"Well..." Mira was at a loss for words. She hadn't really paid attention to that, having spent so little time in Sedona City previously.
"Where is Amelia right now?" Rhea asked coolly. Her first priority was to see Amelia and confirm her safety.
"Amelia should be at school right now." Mira thought for a moment and said, "I went to the school with Amelia before."
"Take me there." Rhea scanned the surrounding crowd vigilantly, her hand gripping a short sword beneath her robe.
"Yes." Mira got her bearings and led the two of them toward the primary school.
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