As the numbing agent fully locked down her nervous system, dulling the agony into a distant, manageable throb, Hana slowly opened her eyes.
Outside the cave ledge, the entire perimeter was in a state of absolute, frantic chaos. The foreign beastmen—the leopards and heavy bear-kin—were scurrying away into the thickets in sheer terror, realizing that an attack on the human female meant certain death under the claws of the dragon king.
But it was the Fox Tribe that was completely mortified.
They stood frozen in a messy, trembling cluster, their primitive bundles clutched to their chests.
Elder Meira was on her knees, her seven tails flat against the dirt, while the grey-furred Chief stared at the broken, limp body of the four-tailed female with wide, horrified eyes.
