The Valkyries were in the meeting room of the Valkyrie’s Hall but were very confused. Lauren had abruptly called an emergency meeting which made them think that there was a crisis.

Lauren remained silent until all the senior Valkyries were accounted for and then finally gave the signal for the meeting to start.

Casey was the first to speak, “Is Avery alright, Mother?”

She was informed of the ritual Ira was performing but wasn’t allowed to attend. Lauren decided that if she was negatively affected by watching it take place that she needed someone to take over command of the Valkyries.

Lauren smiled as she shook her head, “Avery is fine...The reason I called you all here is to tell you that she is pregnant.”

Casey eyes shot open along with everyone else in the room, “Are you sure?”

“I’ve examined her myself and I suspect she’s nearly a month along.”

Casey’s happy expression showed she was experiencing far more emotion than she had in years.

Lauren gave an understanding nod before she addressed the entire room, “As of now, Avery is regarded as the most important person in our family. We’ll keep ten Valkyries near her at all times. Casey and I will alternate between weeks, while the other eight of you will stay close to her until she gives birth. Send one of the younger Valkyries to inform the servants of the house to prepare an adequate amount of supplies and nurses. Remember, no harm must come to Avery or the child, even if we all have to die they must be protected.”

No one showed any signs of protest as they solemnly nodded in agreement.

...

A little while later, Ira paced back and forth Inside of the Valkyrie’s quarters while mumbling to himself.

“I knew it would happen eventually...but I didn’t think it would happen so soon...Names...What will I name it...Him? Her? I’m really going to be a father...” Ira was clearly ecstatic, but there was some nervousness present that was a far cry from his usual self. Just the thought of knowing his child was on the way had an effect on his mental state.

A Valkyrie returning from somewhere spoke as she walked past him, “Congratulations.”

“Oh...Thanks.” Ira nodded absentmindedly. It soon dawned on him that he had no idea how to take care of an infant.

“Names...Names...” Ira looked to be in thought.

Another Valkyrie appeared and patted him on the shoulder, “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Ira nodded as his mind raced.

A little while later another Valkyrie appeared and moved to stand near Ira, “Shall we visit the mother to be?”

“Thank you,” Ira said unconsciously until he suddenly looked at the person speaking. It was Casey who held a smile on her face as she looked at him.

“Oh...Uh, visit?” Ira asked.

Casey nodded before gesturing toward Avery’s room, “We plan on building a room for her personal use somewhere more isolated and easily defendable.”

“That’s good...That’s good,” Ira answered in a distracted manner.

“So, are you ready to enter?” Casey asked once again.

“I am,” Ira nodded.

Casey moved to open the door and Avery’s figure was revealed. She was currently wearing the greyish training robes that most of the Valkyries wore, but that was likely to change as she moved further along in her pregnancy.

She looked at Ira while resting a hand on her abdomen and smiled, “Even I was surprised.” Avery wasn’t even aware she was pregnant since none of her symptoms followed the normal route. She couldn’t even detect the slight instability in her mana due to the amount she had and her inexperience in having such a large mana capacity.

“Before anything, we need to address your pregnancy, Avery. None of the Valkyries in our family have ever experienced fluctuating mana which must mean its due to the child. Over the next few months we need to keep a close eye on you since we don’t know what could happen,” Casey said seriously.

“I understand, Mother. I also think it would be best if I remained here, if anything were to happen to me, I doubt Ira would be able to restrain himself,” Avery glanced at Ira who shrugged as if everything was out of his control. She was one hundred percent correct if Avery or their child were to become injured Ira destroying a city would be the last thing to worry about.

“They were in agreement...Your Grandmother told me that you are nearly a month along, when do you think you conceived?”

“If it’s been close to a month then it had to be after Ira consumed the Dragon’s Blood. His vitality has increased which probably led to my conception.” Avery guessed.

Dragon’s had always been known for their vitality, so when Ira received the ability the problem of Higher Races and their low birth rates didn’t matter at all.

“Everyone is excited for you both which is rare considering our nature and there is some speculation as to what type of bloodline your child will have.” Casey considered what traits the child would inherit. Since two very different bloodlines were mixing it was likely some of Ira’s and Avery’s bloodline abilities would fail to carry over and instead become something new.

“I’m sure my genetic memory will transfer over meaning…” Ira trailed off as he thought of all his memories. Most would be too frightening for a child and it caused him concern.

Avery seemed to sense his troubles and spoke, “If you haven’t altered them specifically, it should be instinctual memories such as fighting and survival, right?”

“Yeah, maybe. The next time that Dragon comes around I’ll find out from her,” Ira thoughts then wandered to the state of the world.

What did he want his child to see when it entered the world? He had no thoughts of sheltering him or her, but he felt some things needed to be removed. He wanted his child to enjoy themselves as much as possible, but the war looming over the Kingdom would interfere with that. The Higher Races attempting to control would interfere with that. There were many things that needed to be removed or killed. Then, Ira formed a very dangerous thought, what would happen if the Gods raised the barrier again? Just the thought made a bloodthirst emanate from his body, so much so that Casey took a step back as she looked him.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself, “I’ll do my best to raise our kid.” His tone was chipper, but his eyes illustrated his sense of twisted devotion.

…

Meanwhile, in the palace. King Windsor sat on his throne with a deeply contemplative look.

“Rubin, is it true that the Thynne’s have sent hiring notices for healers and nurses to assist with childbirth?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They’ve requested a dozen of the best people in the Kingdom and spared no expense in the matter,” The minister spoke while kneeling.

“Has this happened before?” Windsor asked as he tried to recall details of the Thynne’s who were never very public with their family matters.

“This is the first time the Thynne’s have taken such extreme measures,”

“Avery Thynne is married to Ira, correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Then...do you think it’s her who is pregnant with Ira’s child?”

“It’s possible, but there is no way to be certain.”

“Hmm...We could use this to increase our relations by sending over the royal healers.”

“Excuse me, Father,” Suddenly the voice of the First Prince interrupted him.

“You have something to say, Hayden?” Windsor questioned with suspicion.

The first prince was a handsome man with a scheming glint in his eyes, other than that he held the bearing of a ruler, but he was eager to ascend the throne which made him a potential danger.

“This could be an opportunity,” Hayden stated slyly.

Windsor became more cautious as he slowly spoke, “...An opportunity for what?”

“The Tel’vians have become a threat and are confident in destroying us...So confident in fact, they sent a few spies who wish to destroy us from the inside. One of these spies happened to catch onto the news of the Thynne’s and slipped an assassin in with the group of healers they requested. It would be unfortunate if Ira’s unborn child were to meet with an accident. It would be the perfect opportunity for them,” Every word rolled off of Hayden’s tongue with a persuasive quality, even Windsor found himself considering it for a split second. With the Golden Aurora awakening, he could have a force able to withstand the younger Valkyries and with a sword made from God Steel they could contend with the older ones.

“No!” Windsor shouted as he slammed his fist and woke up from his delusion. The Valkyries weren’t the problem, it was Ira. His potential was so great that Windsor couldn’t imagine where he would end up.

“But, Father, if we just…” Hayden prepared to make his case but Windsor wouldn’t let him.

“You are forbidden for leaving the palace or meeting with your retainers for the next month. You’ll bring ruin to the entire Kingdom with thoughts like that.” Windsor gave a signal and two of his Death Guards appeared and moved toward Hayden who had a perplexed look on his face.

“My retainers? If I can’t meet with them then the others will try to bring them over to their side...If I can’t leave I’ll look incompetent as Leonard...I’ll lose most of my supporters, Father!” Hayden shouted with a panicked look.

Windsor remained silent as the Death Guards apprehended Hayden and dragged him away.

“Father! You can’t do this, Father!” Hayden struggled but it was no use.

Windsor sighed as he rubbed his forehead, he eyed the quiet servants and guards standing outside the throne room as Hayden was escorted out before giving a meaningful nod to Windsor. Even if they didn’t hear there was still the chance they did, the safest course would be to kill them before the slightest whisper could be exchanged.

“I understand, Your Majesty,” Rubin showed a knowing look as he bowed and excused himself.

“He has much to learn…” Windsor said as he sighed.

…

The Fourth Prince, Leonard, was busy constructing some intricate plan. He had holed himself up in his quarters for a few days and spent all of them constructing some scheme. He had no way of knowing that there was a shadow watching him the entire time.

‘So damn boring,” Casper thought to himself. Ira had assigned him to monitor the Fourth Prince first, but there was nothing to be gained from it.

He had tried reading the notes that Leonard jotted down, but there was no way to understand them since they seemed to be encoded. At first, he thought that Leonard was aware of him but that suspicion passed quickly.

‘I wonder how he would react if he knew I killed his assistant.” Casper passed his time by thinking of scenarios, but it couldn’t ease the complete boredom.

‘Forget it, if I don’t get something good that psychopath won’t allow me to continue breathing, ’ Casper decided to go explore the Palace to see if there were any other rumors or noteworthy information to be gained. He planned to report to Ira soon and he didn’t want to appear empty-handed. He inadvertently remembered Ira’s method of questioning which was just slamming him into the ground until nearly every bone in his body was shattered. A chill ran down his spine as he imagined it happening it again.

As he slipped through the hallways he heard a commotion and went to investigate.

“Let go of me! Father!” The First Prince was being detained by a pair of odd looking royal guards.

‘Strange.’ Casper minimized his presence as they walked past and followed them hoping to unearth some details. Suddenly, A guard turned his head toward Casper’s general direction causing him to retreat.

“Something wrong?” The other Death Guard asked.

“No...Just my imagination.” He shook his head and continued dragging the First Prince toward his quarters.

Casper exhaled as he realized the danger of the previous moment. He slithered toward the throne room in hopes of obtaining more information and arrived outside of it only to see guards slitting the throats of several servants.

‘This is odd,’ Casper observed them, but the guards didn’t speak of why they were murdering the servants, they just performed their duty and dragged the bodies away.

Casper observed for a few moments before deciding it was enough and made his way out of the palace at a hurried pace. He had discovered some information he deemed important enough to inform Ira of and it would help demonstrate his capabilities or at least that’s what he hoped.