Icy regained consciousness from the pain radiating through his cheek. It was excruciating, as if the entire left side of his face had been ripped off. He raised his hand to his face, without opening his eyes. He felt sticky bits and scabs under his fingers. It must have been horrible to look at.

  He finally lifted his eyelids, trying to adjust his eyes to the surrounding darkness. After a few minutes, he recognized the surroundings. Above him, a tent made of tanned animal hide. There was also his armor lying on a wooden stool. He recognized it because of the various impacts it had received, and the thin yer of gold that had been torn away in some pces to reveal the gray metal. It was his favorite outfit, the one he had worn for years, and he could recognize it among a thousand.

  The bodar continued his silent exploration. The smell of ointments finally reached him, as he gradually managed to reconnect with reality. He ran his white fingertips over his thigh, where he'd been struck. The pain made him wince, but he realized the wound had been stitched. He'd been treated. So, logically...

  - S'rinj, he articuted with difficulty, I'm awake...

  The forty-year-old appeared in Icy's line of sight. His bushy eyebrows had drawn together in concern, and his disgruntled grin finally convinced the bodar that he didn't look his best.

  - Do you have it ? The parchment ?

  - Worry about yourself first. If you're no longer here, we wouldn't be able to get such valuable information. Because we're probably not going to ask your friends for that.

  Deadly had also entered the tent, and her usual grumpy expression didn't entirely conceal her relief.

  - You really are the biggest idiot, you got spotted like a kid stealing cookies. It looks like you're really going to end up looking like the other birds !

  But despite her reproaches, she approached and held a cy cup filled with water, which she offered to Icy. He didn't need to be asked twice and tried to sit up to drink. But the pain ripped through his body and forced a pintive moan from him. Immediately, the dy and the physicist rushed to help him get comfortable on the makeshift cushions, pieces of fabric rolled into balls. Icy took the cup and drained it in one gulp. The water made a dull thud as it fell into his empty stomach.

  - How long was I out?

  - Drought found you four days ago, Deadly sighed, refilling the gss. You were in terrible shape, your left eye was almost dislodged from its socket, and your skull was shot. You even had an arrow through your bicep ! Luckily, the boss cauterized your wounds as soon as he spotted you and rushed toward the healers. You should have seen him, he threatened to burn them all alive if you weren't treated immediately.

  S'rinj chuckled, amused.

  - And of course, you avoid mentioning that you maniputed all the physicists into believing they were only hired to treat Icy. Which allowed our favorite bird to benefit from the best treatments avaible.

  The pacle hid her face behind her curtain of hair, but not quickly enough to hide her rosy cheeks. Maybe it was the pain, the medication, or the shock, but the bodar thought she was very cute.

  - Anyway, Deadly muttered, handing him another drink, you're out of the woods. And we got your map too. But you're going to be in for a real shock when you look in the mirror. We did everything we could, but it's not like we can make the scars disappear.

  As if to reinforce his point, Makile came in with a mirror.

  - Okay, I've got it ! But if he's still asleep, I don't see why—

  He stopped when he saw Icy. He gasped in astonishment and shakily handed it to him.

  - I'm gd... That you're... Well... Get well soon!

  And the young boy ran out of the tent. The bodar raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then he grabbed the mirror, raised it in front of his head, and nearly dropped it.

  - By Héliote ! I've lost all my boyish charm as a handsome young man !

  He examined himself from every angle, gently stroking the scar. It ran from the middle of his chin, deformed his nose sideways, giving it a steep slope, created an unsightly ridge between the arches, drooped his left eyelid, and had torn off half his eyebrow. There was no skin left, only a sticky mass of blood, flesh, and scabs, which extended up to his forehead. There was also a bump where his ear should have been, and not a single hair was visible on a good quarter of his head.

  - Mind you... I think I can continue to make heads turn. The seriously wounded side, the courageous warrior who sacrifices his life for his nation, I'm someone who isn't afraid to lose my beauty if it means carrying out my mission !

  He then lowered the mirror to gnce at Deadly, fshing her a charming smile.

  - So, seduced ?

  The pacle threw one of the makeshift pillows at his face. Icy burst out ughing, which made him wince in pain.

  - I thought I was just hit in the head, why does my abdomen feel like it's going to split open ?

  S'rinj and Deadly exchanged a worried look. The physicist rushed to examine the bodar. After several long minutes of feeling the muscles and bones, he lifted Icy's tunic, which revealed a huge bruise on her side.

  - You must have taken quite a fall ! I don't even know how I missed that...

  The pacle was rocking from one foot to the other, a dismayed expression on her face.

  - He was fine when I brought him in !

  - Calm down, kiddo. Bruises take a while to form, we just didn't think to look afterward.

  The bodar looked from one to the other, curious.

  - Well, if you found me in the forest, you must have noticed that I fell from the treetops. It was when I got too close to the ground that they attacked me.

  Silence again. Deadly and S'rinj looked at each other, under Icy's inquisitive eyes. Finally, it was the young dy who spoke.

  - To be honest, we don't know what happened to you. We suspected it was a samalta attack because of the wooden arrow stuck in your arm, but Drought found you at the camp entrance. We thought you'd managed to drag yourself here before colpsing.

  - No, not at all ! I lost consciousness when I was still almost an hour away !

  This time, no one knew what to say. In the heavy atmosphere of the tent, the ochre-skinned general stood up. He'd been sitting in the corner of the room all along, listening to the discussion. He stepped forward with heavy steps and brought his hand to Icy's cheek, holding back before touching him. His face contorted in a sorry smile and he announced :

  - Someone saved you. But I have no idea who.

  ***

  - Are you sure he didn't walk back to camp on his own ?

  - In his condition ?!

  Drought walked from one end of his tent to the other, pacing back and forth with an angry gait. Sitting in the middle, smoking his cigar, S'rinj watched him.

  - Come on, Drought, who could have saved him ? If it was one of the soldiers, he would have reported it to you. And he's certainly not a samalta !

  The general stopped, groaning.

  - But you saw his injuries ! If he really was attacked almost an hour from camp, he would never have been able to come back alone with his head half open !

  He sighed and pced his hands over his face, as if trying to hide a painful memory.

  - He had holes in his head, uncle... Filthy holes ! I could see his brains…

  The forty-year-old stood up to pce a hand, meant to be comforting, on Drought's shoulder.

  - If you think you're right, then what could have saved him ? He wasn't an ally and certainly not one of the enemies. So what ? A neutral faction ? I know a few, but none so far north of the Empire.

  The general dropped his hands and bowed his head, dejected. It was true, there was nothing else on this border between the rainforest and the desert. Only his nation, and the samaltas. Nothing else…

  Suddenly, an image appeared in his mind. A brown creature with a white ball of fur between its legs. But he quickly shooed it away. No, that was impossible. An aberration was a beast that wasn't meant to exist, and probably had no intelligence comparable to a noble race, like humans, pacles, and bodars. It was just an animal.

  The arm bell pulled him from his thoughts. An attack ? Immediately after the battle ? Drought burst out of his tent. But the sight that awaited him terrified him. The samaltas had climbed the fortifications and were firing arrows from up there. Some were leaping down onto the roofs of the barracks and randomly stabbing anyone they encountered. They primarily targeted the pacles and war animals, which howled in their enclosures and tried to break through the barriers. The Fire Empire troops were idle, hesitant to unch destructive attacks amidst their belongings and beds.

  But Drought didn't have time to worry about their supplies or belongings. If the attack continued, it was clear the soldiers would all perish. Action had to be taken to remedy the problem. The general fshed his horns, sending his powerful fire magic in all directions. He hit two enemies, who immediately charred to a crisp, blood-curdling chorus of screams. The rest of his power went to set fire to the surrounding tents. If the troops were no longer afraid of damaging their belongings—because they were already burned, for example—they could finally fight properly and defend themselves against the invasion. Drought realized how foolish and dangerous this was, but it was his only idea. He then charged into the fray, screaming as he sent red fmes straight into the face of a samalta who was harassing a helpless soldier. The tter regained his senses and leaped toward the assaint who was trying to put out the fire. Around them, the other pacles and humans seemed to awaken from their torpor and fought fiercely, bringing down the enemies one by one.

  Drought couldn't believe it. His idea had worked, and probably saved the camp. But his happiness was short-lived, as S'rinj ran toward him with a somber expression.

  - We have a problem.

  - If you mean the burning tents, that's our solution to the previous problem, breathed the general, trying to catch his breath.

  - No, boss, it's the prisoner. They freed her.

  - What ?!

  The Pacle rushed toward the cells. But he didn't even need to get close to notice that the rge iron cage was now empty. He cursed, spat on the ground, and kicked a stone lying there. He tried to regain his composure and forced himself to analyze the situation. They had just lost their advantage and had suffered an attack that would either deprive them of supplies or kill them all. It would take a miracle to win this war. Luckily for him, he had an entire family who deserved that name.

  Drought leaped toward the barracks of S'rinj, Deadly, Icy, and Makile. The tent canvas had already caught fire, and he could see the small human, sword drawn, defending a bruised Icy who was moaning and clutching his head. The bck-haired pacle was at his side, her horns glowing, trying to control the enemies who were charging at them in an uninterrupted stream. But her apparent terror prevented her from concentrating, and her magic fshed and faded alternately without ever touching the samaltas. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried again and again to harness her power. Makile fought tooth and nail, shielding the pacle and the bodar, slicing through enemies one by one, spinning around and bringing his sword down in precise, deadly strokes. No one would have been able to tell he was just a young recruit of compulsory military service.

  When he noticed Drought, his expression didn't change. He stepped to the side, plunged his bde into the chest of a green-haired enemy, then signaled to the general.

  - Need help ?, the pacle asked.

  The young boy advanced on another samalta. But before he could pierce him, Drought set him on fire, reducing him almost instantly to ashes. Makile turned to answer him.

  - I confess I'm at a loss. Icy can't do anything, and neither can Deadly. As for S'rinj, I think he's gone to tend to the wounded.

  The general raised his hands, and embers rose from his fingers and fell to the ground, creating a wall of fire between them and the enemies. Behind the fmes, the undecided samalta hesitated to approach. Drought took the opportunity to run to Deadly's side and pat her shoulder gently to bring her to a sense of composure. She blinked a few times, and her magic flow faded. It took her a few seconds to realize the situation had improved. She wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand and sniffed, shouting to the general :

  - Why are you touching me ? Go away.

  But the general didn't comply. Instead, he grabbed her head, forcing her to look at him.

  - Take off your mask when you talk to me. You can't fix yourself by breaking others, so stop being so annoying. Now, if you feel ready to move your ass to save everyone, let me know because I have a mission for the family.

  Shocked by this, the young woman remained motionless for a moment, her mouth open and her eyebrows raised. Finally, she nodded shyly. Drought let go of her and crouched over Icy to assess the damage.

  - Okay mate, sorry, but you're not going to be able to move. So don't grumble too much, because I have no choice.

  The pacle made its eight horns glow. Its golden magic gradually strengthened, enveloping the body of the half-conscious bodar. The general began to sweat profusely, closing his eyes to concentrate more. When Icy was finally covered in golden light, he slowly lifted himself off the ground. Drought exhaled a long breath, grabbed the wounded man's hand, and began to walk towards the barracks that served as the infirmary.

  - I'll bring him with the medics, I know their patients are well protected. Deadly and Makile, you need to find a way to order the bodars to fly. If they're above the fortifications, they'll be able to bring down the archers in ambush. After that, eliminating the enemies on the ground will be child's py. Hurry !

  The two soldiers nodded, then disappeared into the smoke and din of the fighting. The general let out a rasp as he struggled to guide Icy, whose twelve-meter-long wings had spread, toward the tent where the healers and physicists could take care of him.

  He felt an arrow graze his cheek, but his full attention was focused on protecting his comrade. Drought was careful to keep the bodar safe, deliberately exposing himself to the clouds of projectiles so that the wounded man wouldn't suffer any damage. Telekinesis was far from his strong point, but burning a wounded man wasn't the best idea. When they finally reached the infirmary, S'rinj greeted them with a hurried and worried expression.

  - I'll take over for the bird's head. On the other hand, boss, you stay here.

  The forty-year-old leaned toward the pacle, turning his face with his rge hand to examine him from every angle. A few drops of blood trickled from a cut on his brow, and his lower lip had been bitten down to the flesh, probably during the effort to levitate Icy. The rest of his body wasn't much better. The arms were sshed, and a slingshot had managed to hit the general's hamstring, making him limp. Even his hooves weren't spared, as a nail protruded from one of them, through the gold varnish. The physicist quickly finished his inspection, went to y Icy down, then slung Drought's arm over his shoulder to lead him to one of the empty beds. It was the st one, by the way; the others were already occupied by soldiers wounded in the still-raging battle. The general didn't flinch when S'rinj tore the piece of metal off his foot, nor when he applied alcohol to the wounds. But once he was finished bandaging everything, he jumped from the bunk.

  - You idiot, come back here ! At least let me put some bandages on !

  - I don't need them. If it bleeds too much, I'll cauterize.

  - You'll end up disfigured and covered in scars. Don't py the fool and come back.

  - I don't have time. My men are dying around me ! Can't you hear their screams ?

  As if in response, a chilling howl was suddenly heard, probably coming from just behind the sheet of fabric that symbolized the room's wall. The general met the physicist's gaze. The tter finally shrugged in defeat, and Drought left the infirmary.

  The fighting continued unabated. Despite the renewed energy of the Fire Empire troops, they were still at a disadvantage because of the samaltas archers firing from the ramparts. And the bodars were nowhere in the air. The pacle felt a wave of terror grip his guts. What solution could he think of ? How could he save the soldiers ?

  Without pausing to think about it, and in a fit of desperation, he leaped toward one of the walls and began to climb. No one was paying attention to him in the surrounding chaos, which was fortunate. Pulling himself up as best he could, he leaned on the objects protruding from the makeshift structure. But when he was already halfway up, several meters above the fighting, his hoof slipped on the breastpte of a suit of armor and he felt himself fall. As if the world were moving in slow motion, he saw his body detach from the wall and fall backward. He knew he didn't have time to use his magic to break his fall. Only one thing obsessed him at that moment. Someone had to take care of the archers. Otherwise, the battle was lost and everyone would die. Deadly, Icy, S'rinj, even little Makile. And he, the general of the troops of the capital Heliomenres, the supreme commander of the army under the direct orders of the Constable. The one who inspired courage and fear. The one who simply inspired. He didn't want to die.

  Suddenly, something grabbed his hand and pulled him upward. The grip was so strong, the pull so muscur, that he thought his shoulder would dislocate. But, seized by a surge that screamed at him to live, Drought raised his other arm to cling with all the strength of hope to whatever was lifting him. Suddenly, he was on the wall. He fell forward, kneeling on the unstable, rutted ground, trying to catch his breath and calm his heart. But he didn't have time as arrows flew around him. The archers had finally noticed his ascent.

  He tried to stand up to face them, but was interrupted when he noticed who had saved him. Before him, standing on cloven hooves, raising their four arms to shield the pacle, their immense wings spread, was the aberration. The creature. The one he had spared. Incredulous, he watched the beast leap forward, covering the distance separating it from the first samalta in less than a breath, and decapitating it with a single blow of its cwed paws. But already another of its arms, the one ending in a talon, was grabbing the body to protect itself from the next shots, before throwing it in the face of another archer, on the opposite side of the rampart. The enemy flew, ejected from the palisade, before disappearing further away.

  The aberration continued, again and again, dodging shots as if they were mere flies, and disposing of samalta after samalta with an ease and violence that made Drought's stomach churn. He could only watch, stunned, at the sheer savagery, at the fight that seemed more natural than nature itself. It was monstrous. And magnificent.

  It didn't take more than a minute for there to be no archers left on the wall. Then the aberration returned to the pacle, hopping on its hooves, as if what had just happened had been just a game. It descended on its six legs, reaching the general's torso, and circled around him to inspect him. It let out a small whimper when it noticed the multiple wounds Drought had suffered earlier, and wanted to lick them to heal them. But the pacle quickly moved away before the beast's tongue could touch it.

  - Thank you very much for what you just did, you saved me and all my soldiers. But really, this...

  He pointed to the creature's mouth, its forked tongue still hanging out.

  - There's no need.

  The aberration seemed to understand and took a step back. It was then that Drought noticed that it had hair, or rather mane, where a normal person would have hair. It was simply cut short, crew-cut, as if she had done it herself. This unusual detail, which he hadn't noticed earlier, sent a pang of guilt through him. The battle outside the camp, where he'd encountered the creature, had only taken pce four days ago. And yet, since then, the general had told himself at least a hundred times that he would kill the beast as soon as he encountered it again. And now it had just saved him, and all the nation's troops. They seemed to understand what he was saying, to feel sympathy, and even to risk their life to save others. These were characteristics of intelligent races, not animals. And contrary to what he'd been taught, even if it was an aberration, it didn't seem to be suffering. On the contrary, it bounced happily around Drought, waving its tiny tail made of turquoise hair, the same color as his hair and eyes. He couldn't kill it.

  He sighed and sat down on the edge of the wall. The creature imitated him.

  - Where is your son ? Has anything happened to him since then ?

  As if in response, the beast emitted a long hiss, forcing air through its three rows of sharp teeth. The pacle leaped up to cover its mouth with his hands.

  - Are you crazy ? I may have given up on killing you, but that's not the case for the thousands of people in this camp !

  The aberration made small, high-pitched sounds as it shuffled its shoulders—ughter ?—then pointed with one of its feline hands toward the forest on the other side of the fortifications. A small white ball emerged from the canopy of the trees and began to flutter clumsily toward them. Drought immediately recognized the beast's cub. He reached out to catch it, sensing that the nding would not be easy for it, and began to observe it.

  He also had three rows of sharp teeth, and his hair was leaf green with white highlights. Other than that, he was simply a pacle with wings. No third pair of limbs, no arms ending in talons, just small furry ears and hind legs ending in pretty, smooth hooves. And, of course, beautiful white and green feathers. It was obvious he was an aberration, but he looked more human than his mother. But how had these two creatures gotten here ? Where had they come from ? How had they been created ?

  He turned to her, and she stared back. She watched his every move, tense as if she suspected he might hurt her baby. Drought smiled at her apologetically. Suddenly, a vague memory resurfaced. He thought he had finally found the expnation. The news had reached the ears of the capital's nobles two seasons ago. Great advances in genealogy, and what was now called genetics. A huge leap for science. But how it was all discovered remained unclear.

  - Scientific experiments on aberrations to either create a new race or strengthen one of the existing ones. Since the experiment was unnatural, they tried to get rid of the subjects. Those were the rumors I'd heard. So either after that you were taken as a concubine somewhere to satisfy the desires of some perverted noble, or you were a little luckier. Either way, you ended up with a child born to a human, or perhaps a bodar or a pacle, and you were forced to hide to protect it. And protect yourself. Because an aberration is never welcomed as a citizen in the Fire Empire.

  The creature shrugged, as if its story didn't matter. Drought felt his heart sink. Once again, his certainties wavered. Was it really the right choice to kill this creature - or... Yes, he could say it, this person - ? She was a superior race, a sentient being capable of feelings. She wasn't a monster, despite her different appearance. And she had a kind heart. He thought for a moment. Finally, he stood up.

  - I can't leave the person who saved my army outside, in the middle of enemy territory. What do you think about coming with me ? You'll have to hide from the others, obviously, but I think…

  He didn't have time to finish his sentence, the aberration leaped around his neck to embrace him. Unaware of the power of its muscles, it held Drought so tightly that he began to suffocate.

  - Wait, easy…

  - What is this thing ?

  The thin, fear-tinged voice had risen from behind the pacle. He separated from the creature and turned around, pcing himself between it and the person. But he had already recognized Deadly. And she was looking at him with eyes filled with incomprehension.

  - Drought… Is this…

  - Yes, this is an aberration. But before you say anything, listen to me ! She...

  - She saved our lives.

  The general froze, incredulous.

  - You know that ?

  Deadly regained her composure, adjusted her curtain of bck hair, then advanced towards them.

  - It makes sense. Makile and I failed to round up the bodars because at the time of the attack, they had gone to py in a ke almost an hour away. It was Icy who told S'rinj as soon as he came to. We should all have died, yet miraculously the ambushed archers disappeared. I went up to check, and there it was. I deduce that this thing, which you're embracing instead of destroying, saved us all.

  Drought was speechless, his eyes wide and his lips twisted into a strange pout. Finally, he opened and closed his mouth several times, then blinked and said :

  - Good analysis... Soldier...

  The pacle smiled at him, bowing as she removed an imaginary hat. Then she moved closer, until she was a few inches from the creature, which huffed in annoyance.

  - This is incredible... You have an intelligent demeanor, but the physique of an animal... I like you !

  She gave a two-thumbs-up and a small gesture to the white baby who was watching her with big, curious purple eyes.

  - Wait here, I'll help you. You can't come back into the camp like this, it'll cause a riot.

  Deadly then disappeared, descending from the fortifications. She returned several minutes ter, carrying a rge bundle of dirty brown cloth.

  - I salvaged this from the corpses, but it's in good condition.

  She opened the makeshift bag and took out a pair of boots and a rge cape with two holes in the back. A bodar's outfit.

  - The hardest thing to hide would be your wings, they're truly enormous. So you might as well py it safe and pass yourself off as a bodar. For that, you just need to hide your legs. The boots should do the trick; you'll just need to stuff them from the inside so they grip your hooves. Everything else can be hidden with a hooded cape, so it should be easy to avoid arousing suspicion.

  She immediately got to work, grabbing the aberration's feet and shoving them into the boots, which she wedged in pce with scraps of fabric. The beast let her, and Drought stared at them both.

  - Deadly ?

  - Yeah, boss ?

  - Thanks, you're cool.

  The pacle grimaced, finishing off the right foot and switching to the left.

  - So this is the feeling you get when you're nice ? Maybe I shouldn't have taken off my mask...

  The pointed look at the general was enough to make him sigh.

  - Okay, I'm sorry, you were panicking and I had to make you come to your senses, so I may have been a little rough... But it wasn't all false !

  Deadly ignored him royally, to the beast's amused chuckles. When her work was finished and she grabbed the cape to put it on the aberration, standing up on her hind legs to reach its shoulders, which were too high for her, she took the opportunity to ask without much conviction :

  - By the way, do you have a name ?

  The creature nodded to Drought's surprise. He quickly stood in front of her.

  - What is it ? What's your name ?

  And, as if it were perfectly natural, the aberration began to move its lips. Her voice was hoarse, damaged, as if it hadn't been used in a very long time.

  - El...ry... Elry !

  Deadly turned to the general.

  - Wait, she can talk ?!