"Shut up."

  Alkan didn't believe Gio's words and continued to watch over his wife. For the next few days, he didn't find anything suspicious so he let his guard down.

  Unbeknownst to Alkan, the black sawikin hadn’t actually left the house. It had stayed inside and never left Valeria's side.

  At first, Valeria was afraid. However, she became used to it.

  The black sawikin had already told her about the Tribal land -- the place where creatures like the sawikin came from, and although she didn’t fully believe it yet, the power and abilities that she had witnessed with her own eyes couldn’t be explained by science. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to believe, even if she couldn’t trust the face of the sawikin man.

  That’s why she didn’t want Alkan to know the black sawikin hadn't really left. She knew he’d just worry and blame himself. The sawikin had said it wouldn’t leave her side until it got what it wanted, but it wouldn’t tell her its intentions. It just followed her around and rarely interfered with her life. So she decided to let it follow her.

  The next day, the Mayor held a party and invited Alkan and his wife. It was already four in the afternoon when they left the house.

  The Mayor led him to meet some influential families in San Roque, while Valeria excused herself, saying she would sit in the corner and wait for him. He didn’t protest since he knew Valeria didn’t enjoy gatherings like these.

  After several minutes of introductions, hours passed by unnoticed. He didn’t realize the time until everyone started heading to eat dinner.

  He excused himself from the Mayor and quickly went to Valeria’s spot, but she wasn’t there.

  Alkan looked at Gio who was silently leaning against the wall. His gaze questioned where Valeria was. The sawikin frowned.

  Alkan didn’t waste any time and quickly stepped out of the mansion. Everyone was busy, so no one noticed him when he made his way out.

  "Where is she?" he asked in a low voice.

  Gio followed him, and when they reached a quieter place, he answered. "Tura said Valeria is in the garden. But he can’t find her exact location."

  Alkan frowned. "Can’t find her exact location?"

  "It seems someone hid her presence. Only the black sawikin can do that," Gio said.

  He fell silent for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Black sawikin?" He thought of the black sawikin that had visited his house. He cursed under his breath. "I swear, if that bird dares to hurt her, I’ll roast him!"

  Gio was stunned and looked away. He grimaced. After all, one of the things sawikin hated the most was being roasted like a bird.

  Alkan quickly reached the fountain at the far end of the garden. Valeria wasn’t there, but he saw two black feathers lying on the grass. He squinted.

  "Looks like the black sawikin took your woman away," Gio said as he stopped behind him.

  He looked up at the night sky. The moon was bright and round. A cool breeze blew, but his mind was blank.

  "What do they want from her?" he mumbled under his breath.

  Gio looked at him, then gazed into the distance. "I’m not sure. But it seems that your woman is special."

  "Does black sawikin knows you’re watching over me?"

  Gio was silent for a few minutes. "It seems so." He sighed. "If I’m right, they’ll use Valeria as bait against you."

  Alkan’s frown deepened. "I’ll find their den, those bastards," he cursed and gritted his teeth.

  "You can’t!" Gio immediately interrupted. "You’re not ready to face their tribe. If they’re using the woman as bait, I’m sure they won’t harm her. There’s still a chance to get her back. You need to wait for the tribe’s next move."

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  "But—"

  "They won’t harm Valeria until they have you. Do you understand?"

  But Alkan’s frown didn’t disappear, so Gio sighed heavily and said, "Just think, if they had any ill intentions toward Valeria, they would have killed her the first time they saw her. But they haven’t done anything. So the only thing you can do now is wait."

  Alkan clenched his fist. He was about to speak when, from the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow. He turned to look and froze.

  There was a black sawikin standing among the flowers, staring at him. The creature had been hidden in the darkness, so he hadn’t noticed at first, but as he looked in its direction, he saw its red eyes glowing brighter.

  Alkan gasped. His knees weakened in fear.

  Gio also looked in the direction he was staring at and stood upright. Like Alkan, he hadn’t noticed the black sawikin’s presence. Gio furrowed his brow. It seemed that the black tribe was using something to conceal their presence. This was not a good sign.

  "Where did you take her?" Alkan asked. Though his body trembled with fear, he forced himself to ask for Valeria’s sake.

  The black sawikin stood silent for a few minutes before stepping into the moonlight. Its black wings were spread open, and a smile played on its lips as it looked at Alkan. Alkan clenched his fist. "Where did you take her?!" he asked.

  The black sawikin giggled. "Seems like the leader chose the right woman."

  Alkan squinted, his fist tightening. "What do you want from her?!" he asked again, his teeth clenched in anger.

  Is this black sawikin deaf or plainly stupid? Why is this bird not answering his questions and made him ask again and again?!

  "Ah?" The black sawikin held its chin and narrowed its eyes at him. "Nothing. The leader just wants to take a good look at her."

  The words hit Alkan like cold water. His gaze grew even sharper. "If you lay a hand on even a strand of her hair, I’ll kill you all!"

  The sawikin laughed and shook its head. "Alkan Buena, don’t speak too soon. You may regret what you’ve said today!" the bird said before flying off into the sky.

  Alkan’s body shook with suppressed rage. His eyes followed the black sawikin until it disappeared from view. The silence in the air lingered for several minutes.

  "Follow it," he whispered to Gio.

  Gio blinked. "What?"

  "Follow it. Hurry! Don’t let that damn bird get away!"

  But Gio stayed standing behind him. Alkan took a deep breath and turned to face Gio. "What? Aren’t you going to follow?"

  Gio furrowed his brow and looked up at the sky. "It’s not the right time for you."

  Alkan cursed again. "What’s the right time? Did you hear what it said? If I don’t save Valeria, those bastards might do something to her!"

  "Calm down, Alkan."

  Alkan cursed repeatedly, pulling at his own hair. He quickly left the garden and searched for the guards stationed at the entrance of the mansion.

  "Why did you let her leave?!" he shouted at them after telling them about Valeria’s disappearance. "Damn it! You should have gone with her! She’s a woman, she doesn’t know her way around here, and you just let her wander off?" He cursed again. "If anything happens to my wife, you better hide because I’ll find you and tear you apart!"

  Just then, the mayor came out of the mansion. Some guests, who had heard his cursing, followed behind.

  "What’s going on here?" the mayor asked the guards with a frown and turned to Alkan. "What happened, Alkan?"