If Lucien revealed his identity, he'd only be putting Emma in danger. He played dumb, going limp in her palm. Emma was at a loss for words. So it only understood the phrase "come with me"? Still, this chubby black bird had just woken her up, saving her from becoming a beast's next meal. It was basically her feathered savior. "Fine, you can come with me." She planned to leave the valley with the little bird and find Edric and the others first. Since they knew more, maybe they could figure out what this black bird really was. Emma smiled, gently stroking its feathers. Lucien hadn't expected the sudden touch. He squirmed instinctively, trying to wriggle his chubby body away from her fingers.His feathers were meant for his future huntress alone. As the Second Prince of the Interstellar Empire, he was bound even tighter than a common Etherian male to the rules laid down by the Beast God. His loyalty to his huntress was absolute. Emma, unaware of Lucien's inner turmoil, noticed a twig caught on his plump body. She'd brushed it while petting him and figured it was poking him. Without a second thought, she plucked the twig off and flicked it aside. Lucien's flame-colored eyes snapped wide as he watched Silas get tossed. "Cheek—!" His chirp cracked in sheer shock. He scrambled out of Emma's hand, flapping desperately after Silas. However, his body was too round, and his wings were too stubby. He couldn't lift off and crashed straight to the ground."Cheep! Cheep!" Lucien hopped frantically along the bank as he watched Silas plop into a small pond and start drifting away. In bird form, he couldn't swim, and there was no way to get into the water to save him. "Cheep! Cheep!" Female, why did you throw Silas away? "Cheep!" Save Silas! If Silas floated off alone, God knew when he'd ever recover! "Was that twig important to you?" Seeing the little black bird lose it over the twig she'd tossed, Emma quickly scooped it out of the water. The pitch-black twig didn't look special, except for being unusually sturdy. With Silas safe again, Lucien let out a huge sigh of relief. Since Silas was stuck in twig form, he wasn't safe with him. Lucien looked up at the female, then gently set the twig—Silas—into her palm. "Cheep!" Emma frowned in confusion. "You want to give it to me?" Lucien shook his head furiously. Give his own friend to a female? Never. "Cheep!" Please, just watch Silas for a bit. Emma seemed to catch on. "You want me to hold onto it for you?" "Cheep!" Lucien nodded quickly. This female was pretty sharp. "Okay, I'll keep it safe. Just let me know when you want it back." Emma took the twig, intending to store it in her storage band, but it didn't work. What kind of wood is this? she wondered. With no other choice, she tucked the pitch-black twig into the breast pocket of her combat suit. After securing the twig, Emma pulled out her Gravicar and set the little black bird on the passenger seat. There were no trees or unusual energy readings in the valley, so she could just drive out. Emma slid behind the wheel and glanced at the bird perched beside her. "Since you're so black and so round, I'll call you Coalball." "Cheep… cheep…" Lucien's feathers puffed up in outrage. Coalball? He was Prince Lucien, second prince of the Empire's Central Planet royal family! How dare she slap him with a name so cheap and ridiculous that any beast would laugh itself sick? … Meanwhile, outside the valley, Edric and Damian tore through the forest, frantic to find Emma. They'd been searching for two days and two nights without a single trace of her. Edric was on the verge of breaking down. He jabbed a finger at Damian, his voice sharp with accusation. "This is your fault! If you hadn't stopped me, I'd have killed that Chitinid, and Emma would be safe!" "Don't you dare pin this on me!" Damian shot back, just as strung out from Emma's disappearance. "At that moment, if you'd died, did you even think about what Ms. Tibarn would've done?" His tone was hard, refusing to take the blame. "When she suddenly pinned the Chitinid and told us to run, it meant she valued our lives over hers. "If you'd gotten yourself killed, she'd have been devastated—probably would've thrown herself in after you. My decision was the only logical one. If you want to blame something, blame Ophidian's trash secret arts. That ritual took forever! "If your arts didn't take so long, Ms. Tibarn would be safe by now!" Edric fell silent at the retort. "It's all my fault," he muttered, slapping a hand over his face. The gentle, mild expression he always wore around Emma was completely gone.