Alessia stepped into the room behind me and nodded toward Miranda, who reached in and closed the door behind us, giving us a fleeting moment of privacy.

I reached into my cloak, quickly undid the buttons, shifted it to the side, and pulled out my sports bag that had stuffed all of our necessities. I placed it on the bed, undid the top, reached its depths, and pulled out Nyx’s backpack.

“Here you go,” I told her as I placed it on the bed for her to forage through. “But once you finish with it, give it back to me so I can store it again.” I didn’t trust leaving anything of ours out. Thankfully it wasn’t Redrick that I was worried about, but any of these adventurers that could want to strike it rich may try to make a play. It was better to be safe than sorry.

“Okay, mother!” She reached into her bag and started rummaging through it for whatever she needed.

Now that my daughter was occupied, I turned my attention toward Alessia. “Alessia, are you sure you are okay?”

“Yes, Empress. I promise.” She crossed her arms and nodded, but I knew her better than that.

I sighed, walked over to her, slowly wrapped my arms around her, and pulled her into a hug. In front of Nyx, I didn’t care anymore. She already knew what we were, so there wasn’t a point in hiding. “You know you can tell me if anything is bothering you, right?”

“I know Empress. I’m just stressed by the security detail. But I can handle it.” She laced her arms around me and pulled me into her, and I settled in her embrace.

“I’m sorry for stressing you out, then.” Venturing out here was my idea in the end. It would be my fault, wouldn’t it?

“It’s not a bother. It was something that would make you happy, so I’m content with making the proper arrangements for you.” She pulled away and pressed her lips gently against my forehead, and I wanted to melt into her arms at that sweet gesture.

“You are the best, Alessia.” My words almost came out as a purr as I nestled into her for a few seconds longer before I pulled away.

“Only for you, Empress.” A wide grin threatened to split her lips.

My heart flipped slightly in my chest as I stepped away and wandered back towards the bed and towards Nyx, who was staring up at us with an inquisitive gaze. “Mother, if Alessia is your mate, does that make her my other parent as well?”

My brain came to a halt at her question, and I stuttered for a moment. “I..erm..” What she was asking was a question I wasn’t ready for, though I knew it was coming one day or another.

“If that is what you want it to be, then I’m sure Alessia wouldn’t mind.” I glanced toward her as I spoke and tried to clamp down on the fear that was rising in my chest. What if things went wrong?

“I don’t mind at all.” At her words, Nyx squealed, rushed over to Alessia, and threw her arms around her waist. Granted, she was still a little on the short side.

“I love you, Ms. Alessia.” A wide-fanged grin split her face as she rubbed her face into her stomach like a cat.

Alessia’s face twisted strangely as she reached out and rested her hand on Nyx’s head.

I held back the tears that threatened to spill from my face at the happiness that was coming to life. But I held it back as I turned away. Now wasn’t the time to have an emotional breakdown, even if it was a good one.

“I’m going to go ahead and meet with Redrick; you two are welcome to stay here and relax with each other for now.” Giving those two a little space would do wonders and let them get a little closer.

“Are you sure, Empress?” Alessia asked as Nyx was busy smothering her with love and affection. Good, now Alessia has to deal with it.

“Yes. Take some time with Nyx for now. We should be perfectly safe here.” I reached out and stuffed some clothes Nyx had spread around the room back into the bag.

“If you say so.” She murmured and had a strange look etched on her face. If anything, I’m pretty sure she was a little uncomfortable and trying to find a way out of dealing with Nyx. But jokes on her; Nyx is her problem now.

“I’ll be back hopefully soon! Be a darling, and keep an eye on our stuff, okay?” I winked at her through my mask and wandered over to the door. It was time to get the first meeting underway.

A few moments later:

I stood outside of an ornate door. The wood had golden leaves etched into vine-like shapes that spread like a miniature tree across its surface. Miranda was to my right, and her face had a faint blush. But I wasn’t sure why. She reached out to the door and gave it a gentle rap. “Redrick, the Empress of Asteria, is here to see you.” Her voice rang like gentle chimes as she spoke.

“You may enter.” He replied. She nodded her head and gently pressed the door open. Behind it was a small room, with the wooden walls stained a reddish brown color that glowed softly in the afternoon light that pushed through the far window.

Redrick sat at a desk with stacks of paperwork akin to mountains as they reached up toward the ceiling. His eyes were ringed by dark circles, and stress was clearly eating away at him. “Empress.” He nodded and gestured for me to take a seat across from him.

“Please, call me Calixa, in private.” When Alessia wasn’t here, we could afford to be a tad bit more lenient. Besides, I knew he was only doing it because he was scared of her, and I didn’t blame him in the slightest.

He stiffened slightly before he nodded, “Thank you, that’s a breath of fresh air.” Some of the stress that was pressing on him melted off slightly. “Anyway, what can I do for you today, Calixa?”

I sat in the velvet chair across from him and cleared my throat. “There’s a couple of things I wanted to speak to you about. The first is our economic relationship.” This was one of the most crucial parts of this trip. The less essence that I had to spend, the better. Once I get a steady flow back in, I could worry about upgrading the domain and focusing on making my domain great.

“Is everything to your liking?” The question came out tentatively, almost like he was afraid he would lose our business.

“Yes, of course! I greatly appreciate the trade. However, if you are interested, I come up with more propositions.” Now, this was going to be the most troublesome part. How would I convince him to start a company with me?

“You have my interest? What do you have in mind?” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“Well, I would like to start a company with you to manage assets and rake in capital for our use.” Instead of dancing around the topic, I decided to go straight in. It was the best thing to do in the end.

“I’m afraid that I’m not familiar with that term. Explain it to me.” The mention of money piqued his interest, and I was hoping to keep playing on that desire.

“Well, it would be akin more to what you would call a guild, though in a loose sense. We would pool our cash and start taking over various key resource points. For example, we can buy out a guild that focuses on lumber or stone production and then use the combination to create buildings for cheaper. It’s a rough example, but it should get the idea across.” It was a rough example, but it was difficult to put it into words.

“So, what you are recommending is something like a horizontal expansion. It’s something that can work. Would you perhaps give me some time to think it over?” His eyes were alight with desire as my words clearly influenced him. I wasn’t the best at describing what I had in mind, but he seemed to latch on pretty quickly.

“Of course, take all the time that you need. The next order of business would be the establishment of a train station in your town.” This was by far one of the most important things I needed to discuss with him. If I talked him into allowing such a huge project to go through, then the number of resources and essence I bring into the domain would grow exponentially, not to mention the number of adventures that can make it into my domain.

“Train station?” His face twisted slightly as the words left his lips.

This was going to be a bombshell, and I didn’t think he would be ready for it.