Different signal horns sounded over the area rising above the din of roaring dragons and the panicked yells of the besieging army.

“What do we do?” One soldier within earshot of Thea asked another.

“I’m not attacking anything and I doubt they intend to let us go,” another replied.

They sat frozen, conflicted over what to do, as the city guard rounded up those who would surrender and subjected those who wouldn’t. The resistance faltered severely when the dragons who had been dealing with those who retreated early came back into view of the remaining soldiers, the draconic auras making short work of any spark of honor or pride driving someone towards fighting to the death.

**

“Lady Thea, welcome back,” Foro said as he made it to her position.

“I apologize for taking so long.” Thea’s gaze darted once towards Ketai before she turned towards the now bored-looking dragon beside her. “Foro, this is Anunnakisarratum, she is Zaganursarrum’s sister. Anunnakisarratum, this is Foro, was my 2nd in command in the Phoenix Legion and Ketai whom of which, I believe, you were told about by Zag.”

Ketai began to direct a low growl at Anu’s presence but was otherwise restrained when Foro put his arm out in front of her.

“Do you want to test me, little girl?” Anu taunted before targeting Ketai with her aura. Ketai flinched and stopped growling but otherwise held her ground. Foro dropped his arm when he was sure she would no longer charge at the full-blooded dragon.

“I would appreciate it in full measure if there was any way to avoid the standard draconic greeting practices in the middle of such a large group of people,” Foro said as he locked eyes with Anu.

“I think we’ve already established what we need to, it warms my heart to see how amazing my bloodline remains,” Anu gloated.

“She is quite amazing, indeed,” Foro agreed.

One of the dragons roared in the distance, the tone slightly different from the ruckus they had been giving off before.

“My mother and brother are coming here,” Anu translated. “My nephew is fetching the others and our stuff and he'll be along afterward.”

“Foro, clear enough space for them to land, at least one of them will be in their pure-blood state. Take the enemy army into custody and set up a temporary camp to hold them, we will sort them out later,” Thea rattled off orders. “I will ask one of the dragons to check if there are any shadow users among them once they are all in one place.”

“Understood!” Foro saluted. “Lady Thea, the majority of the council is on your side, you will need to meet with them before we can move forward with any plans you may have.”

“As always, you provide above and beyond what is asked of you, good work.”

“Yes, my Lady.”

Foro scurried about delegating tasks to the cadre of the city guard and, in short order, had an, albeit muddy, space cleared off for the dragons to land comfortably.

Not a short moment after the rush of air caused by two powerful wings beating their way closer to their location could be heard. Zag swooped over them bringing many of the captured soldiers and even those members of the city guard who had seen him before to look up in awe. He banked left and in a tight circle came back towards the cleared area and dropped in quickly for a landing. He was transforming even before his knees had recoiled back from absorbing the shock from his touchdown.

Liangfeng floated off from his back as he shrunk into his human form and gingerly touched down in the mud looking back and forth to take stock of the situation her face wore an exhilarated smile that brightened at each familiar face she remembered when she had been summoned away from her brother’s audience hall.

Zag’s face, on the other hand, was marked by a deep frown when his draconic features receded and he rushed towards Thea so quickly that it caused both her and Foro to flinch in surprise.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her widening golden eyes. “You should never do something so stupid! If you die who will help all the people of this realm you care about so much? You are very powerful now but you aren’t invincible!”

“I…” Thea’s voice croaked, “I am sorry, I should have told you what I wanted to do, you are right.”

“You won't do anything that stupid again?”

“I cannot make a promise against calculated risks but I will warn you first if you are present.”

“With your situation, I guess that’s the best that can be expected.” Zag gave a heavy sigh that seemed to take the tension out of him. “Hello, Ketai.”

“He...lo.” Ketai spoke out in a quiet voice.

“Good, I figured your voice would recover.” Zag grinned encouragement at her to which she replied with a nod.

“Now, sister.” Zag turned to Anu. His eyes gave off hints of a teasing smile that belied the straight-faced serious expression he tried to maintain.

“What?” Anu asked with a voice filled with irritation.

“Why are your clothes all muddy, did you slip and fall?”

“Shut up!”

Thea and Foro bit back their laughter as Anu’s anger was soon distracted by the sound of flapping wings and the whoosh of air under them. Shar gracefully touched down a short moment later and shifted into her human form. The damp misty rain immediately started soaking her excessively long hair.

“Daughter! How did you get all muddy?”

Foro held in his laughter once again behind a tight-lipped smile. Thea tittered before hiding her mouth behind a hand and Ketai snorted.

Shar looked around at everyone, perplexed by the restrained laughter and her daughter's grumpy expression. She shrugged it off when an explanation was not forthcoming and focused her attention on Ketai as one of Foro’s soldiers came up and offered Zag and her a cloak to cover themselves.

“Hello, child,” Shar greeted Ketai with a warm smile.

Ketai smiled back at her as she took a step forward. They sized each other up with the same smiles plastered to their faces, eyes darting over the other’s figure.

“Your blood is strong but you are not ready,” Shar told her. To those standing near it felt as though the air vibrated and Ketai backed off with a frown. She latched on to Foro’s arm and took on a possessive posture, glaring at everyone present.

Bron swooped down soon afterward, and the group went through unloading all of their stuff, the dragons who had been in their pure-blood state opting to just wrap themselves in a cloak until they could get inside some shelter before getting fully dressed.

When everything was unloaded, and he was wrapped in a cloak Bron turned to Anu. “Are...”

“If you mention the mud on my clothes, I will hit you.”

Even Foro finally broke and laughed at the situation after it came up a third time.

“I was going to ask if you were all right but that answers it well enough,” Bron replied and shrugged before he turned to Foro. “Can we get someplace dryer, I don't want Aisling to have to stand out here any more than is absolutely necessary.”

Foro looked at him questioningly. “Of course, although you willl have to make do with a barracks building, for now, the castle is still broken and most of the houses have been repurposed or torn down.”

“That would be wonderful,” Aisling responded. “Although the situation does not require as much worry as he is giving it, this is, I imagine, more uncomfortable weather for me than it is for all of you, Even with Chouyan keeping me dry this entire time.”

“What is the matter?” Foro asked with a look of concern.

“She’s pregnant, so is the snake girl,” Anu blurted out. “Being pregnant as a human comes with so many drawbacks, it sometimes took half the day before we could even travel.”