"Did you mate with an angel?" Victor asked, staring in disbelief at the pure white wings, his voice caught somewhere between awe and confusion.
"I evolved with a bird," Adyr corrected him flatly.
"Yeah—evolved. I misspoke," Victor muttered, grinning.
Henry studied the wings in silence for a few seconds, his expression unreadable. There was caution in his eyes, but also a flicker of admiration. Finally, he leaned back into his chair and exhaled through his nose.
"Alright. I'll assign a unit to escort you to the village where your mother was attacked. From there, you can begin tracking the Cannibal and his hideout. But..." He paused, watching as Adyr calmly folded his wings back into his body like it was the most natural thing in the world. "You need to understand—the team I'm sending is only for escort and emergency support. I'm not throwing one of my main squads into the dark."
