The sky seemed particularly bright that evening. The stars shone like beacons in the night. It felt like broad daylight. The sky took on a soft purple hue as the night progressed little by little, bringing with it a darker curtain that it was preparing to throw over the celestial vault. Eva did not remember having ever seen more beautiful stars than that evening, far from the dull and vaguely dark welkin that light pollution had always offered her. The air was crisp and fresh, as night fell, the breath of both of them became little clouds of vapor that came together, visible against the clear and unobstructed immensity of the sky.

The moment seemed magical, with the three other islands levitating above them. The mountains that surrounded them. The lights of the festival lanterns. The cries of joy of the hunters who came to meet up to have a moment of conviviality between two battles. During these evenings, the hunters became ordinary people again, who wanted to enjoy life. Perhaps they were even more energetic than normal people, biting life even more vigorously. Cheerfulness seemed to reign. The sadness and fatality that overwhelmed them all, at the thought of upcoming battles, of upcoming losses, had faded away. Or rather, had been temporarily forgotten. They relegated them to the back of the mind, in the hope that they would never return. Everything and everyone wanted to leave room for festivities. Forget everything, leave it aside, just for one evening. Forget that those with whom we celebrate may not be there tomorrow. Forget that your own life is threatened. Forget that during this time, others continue to tremble. Forget everything, just to be able to continue breathing for a few more peaceful moments. Forget everything, just to be able to continue loving, and having fun. Memory was a weight that was often too heavy, as knowledge could be. But man was a creature of light, or rather an insect attracted to it, despite everything, and, unconsciously, he could not endure exposure to darkness for too long, lest he himself become defiled, a monster of darkness, stained with gray. So he lied to himself, voluntarily and cheerfully.

But, nevertheless, Eva, even if she could not really ignore what she knew, what she was inevitably aware of, wished gently, with innocent fervor, to lie to herself for a few moments too. She felt happy, she wanted to laugh and smile. That Jonas could smile at her too, without any worries. So that they too could be, just for once, two young people together at a party. So that nothing would be threatening in the shadows of these floating islands, in the excessive expenditure of these young people who, in barely a decade, were all destined to sink into the depths of the earth. They would perhaps be a little closer to the wine cellars that they loved so much.

Suddenly, she felt a stone hit her shoulder quite violently. She couldn't hold back a slight cry of surprise in shock. Jonas immediately turned around to see what had caused this blow.

Behind them, in the dark alley next to the squadron building, stood a group of young brigade recruits. One of them was juggling small rocks in his hand, a smirk on his face.

Eva felt Jonas tense up immediately. The scene was so familiar, too familiar. She could even feel the presence inside Jonas panicking as well. It was like a bad replay of a painful memory.

Eva had never dared to tell Jonas, but she found this other person reassuring, like a benevolent guardian who tries to hide his kindness. Jonas might not be able to see it but she could feel it, this being meant her no harm. Perhaps he dared to reveal himself more easily to her than to Jonas, their bond was almost too strong for that.

She tried to reassure herself, that it had nothing to do with last time, things were different, they had to be.

The stone juggler sent another one in their direction. Now warned, Eva seized it in mid-flight with confidence. She hoped, without having too many illusions, to no longer be the same as during that disastrous evening that had changed her destiny forever.

"What do you want from us?" Jonas almost barked.

"Let's calm down! We just wanted to check if the rumors about you two were true."

"Rumors? What rumors?"

"They say that you come from Germany, where our brothers with powers are locked up in camps to persecute them. They say a crooked baron is experimenting on these people."

"It's true", Jonas said in a whisper. "So, where are you going with this?"

"We know that you, Jonas, were in one of these camps, but she, Eva, was not like you. She was one of those who oppressed others. She is one of those dogs who exploited your kind. Don't you hate her for that?"

"I don't see how any of this concerns you."

"All this concerns us in the sense that from now on she is part of the hunters, of the squadrons at that. I don't know how she managed to fool the priests. Maybe one of her slaver's tricks. You see, we don't really want to team up or trust someone like her, capable of putting people in camps to let them starve, to treat them like shit and laboratory rats. Whether we have powers or not, we are all of the same race: that of men, but there are also them, she, the executioners. How many of our brothers, people who could have joined our islands, did she leave to be destroyed? Dogs, scum like her, go to the dump, not anywhere else! Don't go dirtying another place with your stinking carcass! We don't want you!"

His face turned hateful. One could see the anger crossing his features. His hand tightened violently on the stone he was holding. He seemed on the verge of breaking it. His comrades had come closer to him to give him courage and support him. It was true disgust he felt for Eva and also for those he considered to be like her.

"Generations of hunters have come, one after the other, and sacrificed themselves for this order. They gave their lives for the Blue Feathers. We can't, we won't let their sacrifice be wasted like this!" added another.

"She can't stay! It would go against the heritage entrusted to us by Lalinn and Eldrius", agreed another.

At the mention of the name of the angel and the first high priest, they all placed their hands on their chests, as if the latter could hear them.

Jonas wanted to stand in front of Eva to protect her from them but she put her hand on his arm.

"Don't worry, I won't be fooled the same way again", she told him.

He gave her an anxious look, afraid of what might happen to her. The fight wasn't really fair and he didn't want to risk losing again.

"Think what you want, you are powerless before us. You are still in the probationary period, the priests are watching you. Imagine if they learned that you used your powers to harm poor, defenseless brigade members. You could say goodbye to squadrons for life. And also to the order. I imagine that you could always return to Germany, although, not sure that you will be given a very warm welcome there. After all, traitors and bitches are international, everyone despises them."

Jonas frowned, feeling a dull anger rising within him. In his ears, he heard Erebius almost begging him to let him go out and slaughter them all. He argued that he would leave no trace and that they would barely be heard screaming in pain. Members of the replaceable brigades, that's what they were. Despite the slight temptation he felt to accept, Jonas could not let himself go, not when their newly acquired place among the Blue Feathers could be called into question. He couldn't let himself become a monster. He wouldn't have wanted Eva to be... afraid of him, to be disgusted, repelled by him.

All he had to do was protect Eva as much as possible and take all the blows for her. He could do it, he could resist, he was used to being hit and bullied. This was not the case for Eva. He categorically refused to let these idiots attack her. Let them touch it with their dirty hands. Let them call her a bitch or a scum again. Just at this thought, hatred rose within him like the waves of a raging sea, uncontrollable and devastating. No, Eva, his Eva, Eva of the golden fields they traveled together, they had no right to touch her.

To take in and endure, that was his role, that was what he had to do. Without asking questions or fighting back. That was the way things were, and he had always obeyed that order.

He placed the full size of his body in front of Eva, smaller than him. Despite his protests, he remained stony without moving, like a firm and unshakable wall.

The members of the brigades in front of him, initially a little reluctant to have to attack someone they considered innocent, quickly got rid of their inhibitions. After all, he followed her willingly, he protected the wicked, and he was a traitor to his own people. Already, they were collecting the sharpest and sharpest pebbles and stones they could find, or simply the largest. Jonas whispered to Eva to run away while they attacked him. She began to protest even more, and when he turned around, he saw that they were surrounded. Someone had also ambushed themselves behind their backs. They had nowhere to run and they were still far enough from the party that no one would hear or see them. This meeting was going to be a massacre, and certainly not in their favor.

Jonas looked around, trying to find an escape route or someone to ask for help. But they were already too far from the squadron building and not yet close enough to the party. The members of the brigades had chosen the best moment to attack them.

Although he found it unpleasant to admit it, they truly found themselves powerless against their enemies. He wasn't strong enough to truly protect himself with his powers. Shadows were not made to protect, only to terrorize. Besides, they were dirty, terribly dirty. Almost even more than himself. He could only use his body as a shield.

Jonas turned around, ready to take the blows. The one who seemed to be the leader of the group stepped forward and began bouncing a pebble in his palm, with precision and skill. He took his stone in his hand and stretched his arm back before throwing it forward, sending his projectile with all his strength, like an arrow shooting through the air, producing a sharp whistle due to its speed, a shrill howl that left the worst to be seen. It was the first complaint, like the sound of the horn which loudly announces the start of the hunt in what seems almost a vicious whistle.

Jonas brought his arms further in front of his face to protect it from the imminent attack that was coming.

The stone hit him gently at the bottom of the elbow, causing him to give a slight grunt which he suppressed as best he could.

First shot. He still had to hold on. He had to hold still. It didn't matter if someone threw stones at him like this, he had to be able to stand upright, without hesitation or weakness. Receiving without complaining was what he knew how to do best. He was timid, but he was resilient. He had to hold back that instinct in him that was pushing him to flee, to get away from this place as quickly as possible. He couldn't afford to be scared. Because he had someone to protect. Was he going to abandon Eva when she needed him? Certainly not.

He steeled his defense, preparing for the next attack. He would last the whole evening if necessary, taking blow after blow, without letting up. As long as Eva came out safe and sound, he wouldn't give up. If they made hell rain, if they made all the seas rain on him, he would hold on, as he had held on all those winter nights, when his feet were swollen with the cold and he could no longer even hold on, or walk, as he had been imprisoned before meeting Eva. He would survive, the monster, the beast, the impure.

And the pebbles followed one another, colliding gently with his bones, with his skin, hitting him like a shower of hailstones, while he found himself reduced to grimacing, clenching his teeth, and maintaining his guard. Shivers ran through him when he heard the complaints that Eva tried to contain when stones hit her too.

Suddenly, a piece of gravel came from the edge of the woods a little further and punched their leader in the face. A harmless but confusing blow. The latter, surprised, uttered a groan of rage. He rubbed his slightly sore cheek and turned towards the trees, looking for the person who had dared to attack him.

Out of the forest came David, his cape still on his shoulders, a smirk on his face, while quietly clapping his hands as if he had just witnessed a magnificent spectacle, congratulating the actors on the scene.

"David?" asked one of the brigade members, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Jonas looked at his eldest with a look of hope. Now that David was here, they were saved. At least, he hoped so, he could never really read David's enigmatic look. Staring at him for too long was also quite unpleasant for him. These pupils did not bode well.

"Looks like you're having fun", he said, "can I know what you're doing? After throwing darts, are you trying your hand at stoning?"

While there was a smile on his face and he was clapping, you could sense a coldness in his voice that showed he was not happy with the turn of events.

"Don't worry!" replied their leader. "It's just David, we have nothing to fear. He's a coward, he'll never dare attack us."

David raised his eyebrows, without losing his calm and peaceful face. He laughed lightly, amused.

"Since you're having a good time, how about I join you?"

The brigadiers backed away a little, still suspicious of him. They were ready to silence him at any moment.

David approached their leader, slowly, looking as non-threatening as possible. The atmosphere had become much heavier. Jonas watched the scene anxiously, without moving, without daring to make the slightest movement, passively awaiting the outcome of events. Eva glanced from side to side, on the lookout for the slightest opportunity to leave, her hand tight on Jonas' shoulder, as if in the hope of dragging him with her. He saw her gaze move quickly between each of the people in front of them, then towards the forest, as if counting the meters, assessing their chance of reaching safety under the cover of the woods.

David placed his hand delicately on the young man's shoulder but, at the same time, he passed his leg under his feet, sweeping him away. He collapsed violently on the ground with a dull thud.

David turned his face into a sadistic smile, his eyes glowing with a menacing, inhuman glow. He glanced at the other members of the group, scrutinizing them like insects he dreamed of dissecting, urging them to back away again, not wishing to become his next victims. David crouched on the ground next to their leader and picked him up, grabbing him without tenderness by the face, imprinting the trace of his fingers on his cheeks, his features still impassive. The boy let out a panicked moan, muffled by his compressed cheeks, thus seeing himself in a bad posture.

Still calm and self-possessed, with a hint of amusement in his eyes, David took the boy's arm in his hand.

"This is what we're going to do, gentlemen, you're going to kindly leave and apologize and we'll forget all this. Otherwise, I'll break this young fella's arm in half. I can do it very painfully so that the bone breaks badly and never heals well. Can you imagine the little bits of bone lost under his skin? It would hurt ever so terribly!"

The boy gave him a hateful look. He looked like he was going to bite him and he probably would have if David hadn't held him so tightly.

"Keep going! He can't do it!" he shouted to them.

"Really? Do you want to check?" David asked him.

He tightened his grip on his wrist and began to twist it. Tears welled up in the boy's eyes and, despite his attempts to hold back, he let out of cries of suffering. The others didn't know what to do, obey their leader's directives, even if it was at his own expense, or disobey to save him.

David seemed in his element, cheerful, as if he were making a wreath of daisies, his rather frightening smile still present on his lips. Meanwhile, the young man's arm bone began to make disturbing cracking sounds.

"Stop! It's okay, we're sorry, you can let him go. We're going to leave, I promise!"

"Very good, I knew you would be reasonable."

He released his grip on the boy who fell head first to the ground, nose in the dirt. He stood up immediately, smoothing his clothes, in order to regain composure. He also rubbed his wrist, still sore after David's intervention. His features were twisted in both anger and suffering. He hated feeling so weak, at the mercy of another. In contrast, David hadn't even used his powers, only his physical strength. And yet, in less than two seconds, he found himself groaning on the ground. Injustice, this word echoed in his mind while the gray-haired young man's features were clouded by tears and only his eyes remained, shining like headlights, those monster eyes.

His mouth tightened as he vowed to fix it as quickly as possible, to never find himself in such a position again.

However, he and his people had to retreat, leaving Eva and Jonas in peace, the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths.

David turned towards Jonas and Eva, leaving his menacing demeanor behind, resuming the calm appearance of an ordinary young adult as if he hadn't just almost broken someone's arm. He got up and stretched, as if after a nap on the grass.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, they only had time to threaten us and throw a handful of stones", Jonas replied. "Thank you for intervening. Without you, they would have stoned us all evening without us being able to do anything."

"Are you sure you're not going to get in trouble for doing that?" Eva asked him.

"Don't worry, I think they will still be too scared to dare to tell their story. And, if they do, I will have the most perfect apology to give."

David seemed calm and assured. He had no worries about the rest of the story. He yawned and ran a hand through his silver hair. He smiled again, his fiery eyes burning hotter than ever.

"Go ahead, I won't keep you any longer. Have fun, get drunk if you have to, but forget what just happened. No matter where we go, we can't avoid the idiots and the outraged."

Jonas smiled at him in turn. He was happy to have David as a friend, even though he was strange and honestly very scary, he was at least effective. He only hoped he would never end up like the boy who almost had his arm broken in two. He finally felt the pressure within him come down again. He had been so frightened that he was almost shaking. He found himself trapped, with no possible way out, no way to get out or even to defend himself. If David hadn't arrived at the right time, he didn't know what could have happened, what these people could have done to Eva. He didn't think he could have handled it. He would have been unable to do anything, just watch everything. Or, even worse, he would have hurt them all, in revenge.

He took Eva's hand in his and squeezed it gently, just to feel the contact of her skin against his, to feel her pulse beating, the warmth of her body, alive and healthy.

"See you there, I think the others are busy making a mess at the food stands."

They nodded and watched him walk away.

Eva could still feel Jonas's excitement and his worry towards her. She knew that deep down he almost wished David had not arrived. That he had not taken away the slightest reason for him to take revenge, to prove to himself that he was a monster, and to release his too-long suppressed anger. She would have liked to be able to reassure him, but she didn't know if she could. She herself still felt terrified just thinking about what could have happened. The echoes and memories of an almost similar evening that had almost cost her her life came back to her mind. She couldn't help but feel a cold shiver running through her body. Nausea had taken hold of her and she almost had the impression that her entire body was covered with worms that were eating away at her from the inside. The faces of the people in the brigades were the same as those worn by her former attackers. She had believed she was safe in this place so different from anything she had known before. She was wrong. Faces of hatred followed her wherever she went. And, again and again, she was only a prey to be stoned in their eyes.

She must have brought bad luck to attract the anger of others upon herself and those around her. And Jonas who each time wanted to sacrifice himself for her.

She was going to make sure he never had to fear for her again. She was going to become strong enough to always be able to defend herself and him against everything.

She squeezed Jonas' hand a little tighter in hers. She was afraid, she was afraid of losing her life again. She was afraid of lies, afraid of monsters, afraid of dead angels, and of the gigantic shadow that the specters of Eldrius and Lalinn constituted in her life.

No, they wouldn't kill her again, only she could decide when her end would come.