That same day (Friday, May 13, 2022) Undisclosed location, New Jersey, United States

“Pregnant? I’m not pregnant. I… I can’t be.” Tauthe blushed a bit.

Arcsa had returned with Zaidu.

“Done with your wallowing?” Zaidu hissed.

Ella felt like she was on an emotional rollercoaster, so quickly did her anger blaze up. She turned and faced Zaidu and yelled, “Shut up!”

Zaidu flew back across the room, slamming into the metal door and denting it before sliding to the ground.

“Oh shit! I didn’t mean to do that! I didn’t know I could do that…” Ella and Arcsa ran over to Zaidu but he was already standing up.

“I think you opened up my wound…” he mumbled.

Ella over am her shock, “I don’t know whether to be pissed at you or apologetic for that. Fuck it. I’ll do both. Zaidu, sorry about that. Now be a better fucking leader. I’d expect more from a soldier than to leave his soldiers behind like this.”

If Zaidu had brushed off the magical blow, he paled at Ella’s words. He mumbled something about recalling the rest of the squad from patrols and excused himself.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Zaidu cowed like that,” Tauthe said in wonder. She sat down.

Charlie sat next to her and gave her a side hug. Ella felt a bit lost here but could hear Tauthe talking to herself.

“Inanna Reborn? I’m pregnant? And Zaidu ran away? I don’t know which is more shocking.”

Ella was about to go with a cheering, hooray you are pregnant change of mood for her when Arcsa cut in. “You won’t be pregnant long. I assume it is Etana’s?”

Tauthe nodded yes.

“You know what that means… You will miscarry in a few weeks.”

“But she is Innana Reborn,” and Tauthe looked at Ella with questions and hope in her eyes.

“I… I haven’t solved it yet. I haven’t fulfilled the prophecy yet.” And she took those steps back to Tauthe and grabbed both her hands in hers. “I will though. Your baby will survive. I will do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

Adra and Davcina were called back from forest patrol and given leave to keep Tauthe company, something they had been asking for since this had all happened. Charlie, whose bond with Tauthe had become strong because of the events in Miami wanted to stay as well, but Arcsa insisted she come too

Ella, Charlie, and Arcsa went to his office where Bahu and another woman were waiting. Zana, who immediately bowed along with Bahu when Ella entered.

“At ease soldiers. I… I don’t think I can handle this much bowing.” Ella admitted. She then noticed that her eyes were glowing and the crown was still sitting on her head. With an irritated wave she dismissed both.

“You will get a fat head if people keep doing that,” drawled Charlie

“Well you’ll have to keep me in my place then,” Ella said.

“No way. I’m going to feed that ego until your head explodes.” Charlie had always been the bolder one.

The byplay being done Arcsa moved behind his desk.

“Eleanor has laid claim to her title as our goddess but has not fulfilled the prophesy. She is going to try and save Tauthe’s pregnancy. Until such time, I think our hierarchy unclear. Do you give the orders or do I?”

And Ella understood what she had done in Tauthe’s room. In her anger, she had given a direct command to Arcsa which he had followed.

“I don’t know the answer,” she admitted. “But for now I will defer to your superior experience.”

And so they reviewed the events in the Adirondacks, the training day by day, the initial assault from Ella’s perspective to her final attack.

“So what happened to those soldiers? I… I passed out when I cast that spell. Adra pulled me out.”

Adra looked at her, “Each of them was lit on fire and burned from the inside out.”

“Good.” Ella meant it. She and her squad had been attacked. By mercenaries for money. Ella almost felt it was more deserved, dealing death for payment felt unworthy of a better end than that.

Arcsa almost smiled at the vindictiveness, Ella at times was too soft and then revealed a steel core.

Charlie, though, wondered if her friend was changing too much.

“So… you have magic. Which you can use partially. You have the dagger which none of us know how to use. And what? What’s next?”

Charlie answered, “It is time to cut a real deal with Xu.”

They all looked at her and then nodded and sat down to plan.

Ixus Capital, Midtown, Manhattan, New York, Unite

Xu stood in his office in front of the portable mirror, sipping red robe oolong tea from the mother tree. The tailor, a young English man, continued to measure the basted fitting making small adjustments.

Xu had to restrain his disappointment, the suit was fine but it lacked the certain bit of elan he had preferred from his former tailor. The fabric blend was well done though, he had tried something novel, mixing his personal breed of royal qiviuk fabric with mulberry silk and vicuña. It had turned out well.

He absentmindedly told his assistant to procure a herd of vicuña to add to his holdings. He was sure after a few thousand years of selective breeding and maybe a slight bit of enchantment, he could bring it up to par with his silk spiders and musk ox.

Then he remembered that vicuña were native to the Andes so he had her buy an appropriate estancia to keep them on. It just made sense. Perhaps he might allow himself to eat one too if the land was big enough to let him take his native form. Another comment to increase the size of the holding to several hundred acres and to make sure they were isolated.

So his sartorial needs were now secured. Then he realized he needed to preserve a few tailors with the skill to handle the fabrics. He eyed the young man still adjusting the fittings. He wondered if a few thousand years of breeding humans would yield superior tailors.

Something to think about. It felt a bit wrong, after all he had come to admire some of these humans quite a bit. And he had been living among them for a long time.

The tailor finished and Xu sent him off with a sternly worded set of suggestions to fix the suit properly. He suggested that the tailor study what sprezzatura actually meant.

His next meeting was with the shy Miss Kawashima. Who had turned out to be living up to the potential he had seen in her, and Charlotte had brought out.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was excited that Charlotte was finally returning. She was a child compared to him, but she was one of the few he could be open with. Not only be open about the truth of him and the world, but also free of the social constraints of interacting with other dragons. They were traditional and many disapproved of him living among humans.

The Tianlong would have been disappointed that he lived in secrecy. They would have mocked him for it and told him how the Celestial Heavens would disapprove.

But they had not lived to see a dragon cut into small pieces by a GAU-8 Gatling gun in the air. Xu had once, and it was still enough to make him shudder. Humans were far too dangerous when roused. Best to be wealthy and secluded.

The others of their kind had been similarly decimated. The Dilong had died out naturally from pollution during the human’s Industrial Revolution. Their rivers running with coal slurry and toxic chemicals. The Shenlong had retreated in shame, they had considered humans as their children and felt that humans had turned out poorly.

Xu held his pearl tight. Of his cousins, only the Fuzanglong still engaged with the world, and he was the most powerful of them. And it meant nothing in the face of being forced to hide.

The other breeds were still unknown. The Quetzalcoatl in particular was a problem.

His thoughts still hovered around the freedom the girl, Ella, had promised him. She had disappeared from his agents and was undoubtedly consorting with those disgusting scorpions of the Emperors. She said that she would bring them to her side, but that would be impossible. The Emperor had kept them as slaves, enthralled to a religious programming that was inviolable.

If she survived, she would come back to him begging for his help and he would offer it. But not without concessions.