"You..." an elder tiger, his grey hair patchy and his arm in a crude sling, stepped forward. His voice trembled, not with age, but with a bubbling, volcanic rage. "You dare return? You dare show your face here after what you did?"
Kael stood frozen, his bare feet rooting him to the dusty ground. He held his hands out, palms up in a gesture of peace he didn't feel.
"I know I left," Kael said, his voice thick with remorse. "I know I abandoned you with the wolves and the elements. I was selfish. But I have returned. I will rebuild—"
Crack.
A jagged stone sailed through the air and struck Kael square in the forehead.
It wasn't a lethal blow to a Beast King, but the shock of it staggered him more than any spear could. A trickle of warm blood ran down his temple, mixing with the sweat on his brow.
"Rebuild?" a female screamed, her eyes wild with grief. "You cannot rebuild the dead, Kael!"
