Lena didn't plan to leave the hill.
She really didn't.
But boredom was a dangerous thing, and silence—true silence—always felt like the calm before something ugly. Ashikai stirred on her lap, ears twitching as distant noise drifted upward from the palace grounds. Shouts. A crowd. The low murmur of voices layered with tension.
"That doesn't sound good," Lena muttered.
It never is, Ashikai replied, lifting his head. And when crowds gather, someone always bleeds.
She sighed, standing reluctantly. "Fine. Let's go see what fresh nightmare is happening today."
---
The courtyard was packed.
Lena slowed the moment she saw the chains.
Against the stone wall stood a small figure she recognized instantly—the panda girl from before. Her black-and-white ears drooped, wrists bound above her head, eyes swollen and red from crying. Beside her were two adults: a panda woman with tear-streaked cheeks and a human man whose shoulders sagged as though the weight of the world had crushed him.
Mai.
Lena's chest tightened.
"Mai…" she whispered.
A maid beside her hissed sharply, fingers brushing Lena's sleeve. "Don't speak."
Lena shot her a glare sharp enough to cut glass. "What happened?"
The maid hesitated, then leaned closer, voice trembling. "The laws changed last moon. Mixed-breed unions are forbidden now. They… they loved each other anyway."
Lena's stomach dropped.
"They're being tried," the maid continued. "For defiance."
Lena clenched Ashikai tighter against her chest.
Voices rose among the nobles.
"Kill the entire family!"
"The parents must die!"
"The child should be sold!"
"No—make her serve!"
Each suggestion was worse than the last, tossed around like casual opinions over tea.
Mai sobbed openly now, her small body shaking.
Lena swallowed hard and lifted her gaze to the throne.
Kairo sat there.
Cold.
Distant.
Nothing like the man who had smiled among daisies.
His eyes were empty, sharp, unfeeling. The sight sent a chill straight through her spine.
Then he spoke.
"Kill the child," Kairo said calmly.
"Kill the father."
"Sell the mother to the black market."
The world stopped.
Lena gasped aloud.
Mai screamed.
The panda woman collapsed against her chains, wailing. Guards seized the father, dragging him forward as he struggled weakly, calling his daughter's name.
"No—please—Mai—"
Kairo raised a hand.
"Death," he said.
"By Kion."
A collective gasp tore through the crowd.
Lena's hands trembled. "Ashikai," she whispered urgently, "what's Kion?"
The fox's body went rigid. A beast, he said quietly. Captured long ago. Starved. Unleashed only when the kingdom wants an example.
Her breath hitched. "You mean… they watch?"
Yes.
The father was forced into a glass-walled enclosure in the center of the court. Chains snapped open above it.
A deep, guttural roar shook the stone beneath their feet.
Something massive moved in the shadows.
Lena stepped back as a monstrous shape emerged—taller than a horse, muscles coiled tight beneath scarred hide, teeth like curved blades stained by history itself.
Kion.
The beast lunged.
The man screamed.
Mai's cry cut through the air like a knife. "Daddy!"
Lena couldn't breathe.
She couldn't hear anything but screaming—hers, Mai's, the crowd's horrified murmurs—until silence fell heavy and final.
Guards moved toward Mai.
That was it.
Something snapped.
"No!"
Lena dropped Ashikai and ran.
She crossed the court before anyone could stop her and fell to her knees at the foot of the throne—doing the one thing Fate had warned her never to do.
Beg.
Esmeralda smiled.
Kairo frowned.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
Lena looked up, eyes burning. "Please," she said, voice shaking but strong. "She's just a child. She didn't choose her parents. She didn't choose love. She's innocent."
The nobles erupted.
"How dare she interrupt!"
"She should have been killed long ago!"
"Who does she think she is?!"
Lena stayed kneeling.
"I beg of you," she said. "Spare her."
Kairo's lips curved slowly. "I thought you'd never kneel before me."
"Well," Lena snapped, "I'm kneeling now. Release the girl."
The nobles shouted again.
"Punish her!"
"Make an example of her too!"
Kairo raised a hand.
Silence fell.
"Very well," he said smoothly. "If you want her spared… then you will take her punishment."
Lena nodded instantly. "Yes—wait, what?"
Hands grabbed her.
She was hauled to her feet and dragged toward the glass enclosure.
Esmeralda's smile was radiant.
Ashikai cried out, terror flooding their link. Lena—no!
She was thrown inside.
The gate slammed shut.
The ground trembled.
Lena turned slowly.
Kion stood across from her, massive head lowered, breath hot and heavy.
Her knees shook—but she didn't run.
She raised her hands slightly, voice trembling but gentle.
"Hey… good boy," she whispered. "Nice boy…"
The beast tilted its head.
For one heartbeat, everything was still.
Then Kion roared and charged.
Lena screamed.
And the court watched.
---