The battle was over, but Cyrabelle was frustrated. She had defeated the Behemoth, yet failed to kill Xihanu Lawrence. He would undoubtedly cause trouble in the fighting ahead.
Worse, when she returned to the place where she had killed the White Dragon Sisonawa, its corpse was gone too!
Cyrabelle stamped her foot in fury. She had no idea that the savior standing innocently beside her had stolen her spoils. Instead, she blamed the Rune People. The Golden Nightmare belonged to Ruen, after all, and they had plenty of chances to tamper with it.
"Let's go!" Cyrabelle collected herself and, to Green's surprise, ignored the Golden Nightmare entirely as she prepared to take him away.
Green paused. He had thought Cyrabelle would seize the Void Battleship, but she was leaving it behind.
Though Green said nothing, Cyrabelle saw his confusion. "Wood..." After he had saved her, she had grown noticeably closer to Wood Slater. No longer calling him "Baron Slater," she now used his given name. "Be careful whenever you deal with the Rune People. They're treacherous and cunning. If something doesn't make sense, assume the worst. That's usually the truth."
Green had not expected such cautious, levelheaded advice from Cyrabelle. It hardly fit her reputation.
Catching his look, Cyrabelle glanced at him. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did you think I was really a mad butcher who charged in without a thought? If I were, I'd have died long ago."
"Ah! I was presumptuous, my lady." Green lowered his eyes at once, privately marveling that women truly were born actors.
Cyrabelle continued, "Don't think the Golden Nightmare would be easy to take. I'm certain there's some danger hidden aboard that we couldn't handle. If we get greedy and try to seize it, we'll put ourselves in a