"No! Don't pull that way! Pull the other way, damn it!" While she wasn't visible yet, Vral's voice was clear as day as it bounced down the river that separated the city's center from the southern district. "I know you bitches are stronger than this!"

  Walking along the canal's edge, I reached one of the many long staircases that lined the north half of the canal, which was raised relative to the south side. As I descended, I got a view of my partner, who was tugging on a rope along with a dozen or so of her people. Behind them, a waterlogged wagon was slowly rising from the water, its wheel rolling up the seawall as they pulled. Several dozen crates and barrels, which were strapped into place in the wagon's bed, creaked as it rolled.

  Impressed, I slowed down and watched as the goblins did their work. I'd hate to distract them, and maybe they didn't need me after all?

  "Almost... there!" Vral growled.

  Just as the wagon was about to clear the edge of the seawall, one of the goblins tripped. Apparently, he was the keystone, because the second he tripped, the rest of the goblins slipped, tripped, or were pulled, and the entire wagon plummeted back under the waves, leaving only its canvas roof exposed.

  Throwing her rope to the ground, Vral stomped her foot and shouted, "Come on! If we don't get this thing out of the water, the boss'll have to come help, and he's working too damn hard! Do you want to make him work harder? Huh?!"

  A chorus of "no ma'am's" followed her outburst.

  For as prickly as Vral could be, she really was a little softy.

  She nodded. "Good! The only extra work he should be putting in is between my... uh..." as her words trailed away, her ears turned bright red. "Grab your damn ropes and get ready to pull!"

  The goblins all snickered at her as they got ready.

  "Shut up!" She squeaked. "That wasn't what I meant!"

  Her defending herself caused the others to laugh at her. When they were finished, the goblins all grabbed their ropes and started pulling again, causing the wagon to rise out of the waves once again.

  I couldn't help but smile at the sight.

  Vral had been working harder than ever lately. Her work ethic was partially inspired by her wanting to take some of my load off and partially from the goblins wanting to prove themselves, but it was also because she wanted to make a strong showing for herself as the leader of the resurrected Ash Eater tribe.

  After she allowed Urik to rejoin their tribe, Vral decided that the rest of the goblins in the city were hers, too. After a conversation where she half-welcomed, half-demanded that the others join the Ash Eaters, none of the goblins rejected her. Thus, she went from being the the only surviving member of her tribe to the leader of seventy-nine goblins. Ever since, I'd never seen her so motivated. Or bossy. At least with her new tribe members.

  "Damn it!" Vral shouted as the wagon splashed back into the water. "Again!"

  I shook my head and made my way to them. They definitely needed help.

  As I approached the straining goblins, they nearly had the wagon over the lip of the seawall once again, but one of the wheels was caught on a stone that was slightly ajar. No matter how hard they pulled, the wagon just wouldn't cross over the lip, and from the angle, I could tell they couldn't see it.

  "Come... on..." Vral strained, but the wagon didn't budge.

  Behind her, Ark, who'd hardly left Vral's side ever since she became an Ash Eater, bared her teeth. "If you sons of bitches don't step it up, I'll..." Her eyes trailed toward the others, then grew wide when she saw me. "Vral, look! It's your man!"

  "Huh?" As she spoke, Vral's boot slipped off one of the cobblestones, and she and Ark tumbled forward, toward the river.

  [Intercept]

  The world bent around me. In a flash, I was standing between the girls and the water.

  "Babe?!" Vral shrieked as she flew at me.

  With a pivot, I caught her in my arms. With all the drama, I dipped her low to the ground, as if we were dancing.

  When she realized what was happening, Vral blushed.

  "Shit! Help!" Ark screamed as she tumbled past us.

  Keeping my eyes locked on Vral's, I reached out, snatched Ark by the collar, and plopped her onto the ground.

  Ark grunted as she bounced off the cobblestones. Bounding to her feet, she turned and shouted, "Grort! Why can't you be romantic like that!" She thrust a finger at me. "Look at him!"

  A few feet away, Grort was doing his best to guide the wagon back into the water. "Romantic? Why would I do that? How about you don't fuck up?"

  The redhead crossed the distance between them and smacked his arm.

  "Heh." He rubbed his forearm and began fending off a flurry of slaps. "I thought that was good."

  "Ass!" She smacked him again.

  All the while, I kept my eyes locked on Vral's. Her lips were working, but she wasn't making any noise. "Hey, beautiful," I purred.

  That caused something to shift behind her eyes. She got simultaneously blushy, flustered, and irritated. "You... you stupid idiot..." She bit her lip and looked away. "Why are you even here?"

  I pulled her close and brushed my lips across hers before abruptly nipping her ear. "Am I not allowed to come spend time with my hot goblin girlfriend?"

  "No." She pressed her feet to my chest, kicked, and backflipped onto the ground. "At least, you're not allowed to come until I'm doing something amazing. Then, you can come and praise me. Otherwise..." She glared at the river. "Make sure to send a rat next time." Just then, a skitterslink ran across the street, a little letter clearly visible on its back. "Wait... How did you even know to come here?" Her face twisted as she looked around at the other goblins. "Ark! Where the fuck are Urik and Berik?"

  Ark stopped smacking Grort long enough to say, "Dunno. Haven't seen 'em."

  "Those bitches!" Vral thumbed the hilts of her long daggers.

  Hoping to save the sisters' lives, I held my hands up and blurted out, "I don't know what you're talking about! I was just strolling through the area and heard your beautiful voice." Goddess, I was cheesy. But we hadn't had much time together lately! It was good cheese.

  She gave me a massive eye roll, but her little smile told me she enjoyed the praise. "Charmer."

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  "Just being honest." With a wink, I reached down and picked up the rope that she and Ark had been holding, followed by the one next to it. "Anyway, since I happen to be here now, how about I help you out."

  "No." She tried to pull the rope out of my hands. "I've got this."

  "Just this once."

  "Tch." She bit her thumbnail. Then, slowly, a sly grin spread across her face. "Fine. You can try. But my crew's taking a break, and I'm gonna sit back and watch you work."

  "You won't be helping, huh?" I looked down at the wagon and gauged whether I could handle this alone. It seemed doable.

  "Nope." She looked me up and down. "Either you can do it, and I get a good show, or you can't, and I'm not a weakling. It's win-win." Reaching up, she rubbed her neck. "Plus, we've been working too damn hard today."

  I nodded. "Watch me, then."

  Pointing a finger into the air, she twirled it and shouted, "Take ten, bitches!"

  The rest of her crew dropped their ropes and rushed for some nearby vines, which were laden with blackberries. Taking whole handfuls, the goblins began loudly chewing and chomping away. As fast as they ate, new flowers appeared, withered, and turned into new fruit.

  After dramatically wiping my hands on my pants, I grinned at her. "So, what'll you do for me if I pull this off?"

  Her red eyes lit up. "What won't I do?"

  That was all I needed to hear.

  Walking to the seawall, I hovered my fist over the out-of-place stone that was jutting out over the water. With a light punch downward, I activated a skill.

  [Stoneshatter]

  With a loud crack, the offending piece of stone broke free and fell into the water with a loud splash.

  "Why'd you do that?" Lutz, who'd been eating blackberries nearby, asked as he sauntered up.

  "Don't challenge the boss!" Frik, whose cheeks were filled with nuts like a squirrel, smacked the back of Lutz's head. "Obviously, he knows what he's doing, dummy."

  "I didn't see that before," Grort muttered as he walked up, his hand hitched around Ark's hip. "Wish I had. We probably could have done it ourselves."

  "See what?" Ark asked. "I didn't see anything."

  "It was a fish!" Klart shouted through a mouthful of apple. "I saw it!"

  Grort sighed. "It wasn't a fish, Klart."

  With a laugh, I said, "Alright, friends. Step back." Reaching down, I grabbed two ropes and wrapped them around my hands. Then, backing up until the ropes were taut, I gave Vral a final lingering glance and a winning grin. "I'm about to show you exactly why you call me boss."

  "Oh yeah?" Vral bit her lip. "Prove it."

  Planting my boots into the cobblestones, I took a deep breath.

  I couldn't look lame after all that shit-talk!

  Digging deep, I heaved. For a long moment, the wagon didn't budge. With a growl, then a shout, I tugged even harder, until the ropes were as taut as cables.

  Something shifted.

  Slowly, the wood creaking and cracking, it began to rise.

  "That's why he's the boss!" Lutz shouted.

  "Damn right." Grort crossed his arms. "First time we saw him, we knew."

  "Vral's a lucky girl," one of the women murmured.

  The ropes bit into my hands.

  The muscles in my back and legs screamed.

  Something popped in my back.

  But I wasn't about to stop. Inch by inch, the wagon lifted out of the water until it shuddered over the edge of the seawall. A moment later, its wheels were all firmly resting on the cobblestones.

  When I was sure it wouldn't roll back into the water, I threw the ropes to the ground and punched my shaking fists to the sky. "THAT'S RIGHT!" I screamed. I felt invincible!

  "Whoa!" one of the goblins breathed.

  "He's strong as shit!" Another shouted.

  "I want a bite of that snack!" The same woman as before hissed.

  That got a scoff out of Vral.

  I gave the small crowd a dramatic bow, then circled and pumped my arms. With a loud roar, I asked, "Who's your boss?!"

  The goblins shouted, "You are!" back.

  Fully fired up, I started running through a series of body building poses as fanfare. As I did, I started getting flashbacks of the Pit.

  The lights.

  The sounds.

  The cheers.

  The blood and sweat.

  Arturus's announcements.

  I realized right then that I wanted to build a fighting pit here in Caer-Elath-Sylnareth! And I knew exactly who I wanted to fight in during its inaugural match.

  Turning, I found Vral's red eyes feral and glowing behind me.

  I knew that look.

  Instantly, my mind went from us fighting in the Pit to us rolling around in bed. Other than the night we all drank Breskaya, we'd barely spent quality time together. Even when we did, we were often too tired to do anything about it.

  Goddess...

  We'd been far too busy lately! I didn't realize how pent up I was!

  "Big guy..." She breathed, her voice heavy with lust.

  Without an ounce of hesitation, I stomped up to her, grabbed the collar of her leather vest, and picked her up by it. The vest nearly tore off as I brought her face to mine. "Was that proof enough, woman?"

  "You. Me. Now." Her voice came out as a low growl. Then, she grabbed my face. "Don't make me fucking wait!"

  With absolutely no decorum, I threw her over my shoulder and smacked her ass.

  "Yessss!" She said with a giggle.

  "Take thirty!" I shouted to the others.

  Just then, there was a flapping over wings overhead, and two harpies fell out of the sky. Landing a few feet in front of me, both bowed, and one, the elder of the two, asked, "My lord."

  "No!" Vral violently kicked her legs. "I wanna do the thing!"

  With a deep, soul-wrenching sigh, I lowered the goblin to the ground and asked, "How might I help you..." What was that harpy's name? I'd been doing my best to learn everyone's name. I had a dream that, one day, I might know the name of every citizen of the city. "Graian?"

  When I said her name, the harpy bowed a second time. "My lord, the dwarves from Galden were hoping that their supplies might arrive soon. They're quite eager to continue their work."

  I looked back at the dripping wagon. "Yeah, we ran into a snag, but the wagon will be there shortly." I hadn't realized this wagon was for Thokrim. Looking down at Vral, I saw that she was about to have a full horny meltdown. "Uh, can they wait for thirty..." Her eyes flicked up to me. "An hour?"

  Graian shook her head. "They were hoping to have these supplies an hour ago. Apparently, there are tools they require within that wagon."

  Vral huffed. "Tell them we'll be there in ten."

  "Thank you, little one." Graian and the other harpy bowed, then took flight.

  "Tch." Vral flicked her thumbnail on her canine. "Tris keeps talking about this Fairview place. She says it's rich people sex heaven. Can we go, like, now?" Her red eyes found mine, and she batted her eyes. "Please?"

  I ran my fingers through her hair. "Soon."

  She stomped her foot, then marched up to the wagon. When she reached the wagon, Vral grabbed one of the ropes and said, "Alright, you little shits. You've had your fun. Grab some ropes. The wagon's not going to move itself."

  "You heard the woman!" Ark shouted as she sprinted to Vral's side. "Get moving!"

  With a collective sigh, the goblins all made their way to the wagon and grabbed what they could grab.

  "You need help?" I called out.

  She shook her head. "You've already helped more than enough." Turning, she stuck her tongue out at me. "Don't get too tired tonight. I need you bad, and Tris is at least as bad as I am." She grinned. "You're gonna be our stallion tonight."

  I laughed. "Sounds good."

  With a nod, she stepped forward and pulled.

  As the rest of the goblins pushed and pulled on whatever they could reach, it picked up speed, and in moments, it rolled around the street corner and was gone.

  When the wagon and goblins vanished, I wiped my face with my hands.

  I'd been trying to be as kingly as I could. I'd done my best to put my best foot forward and have some restraint. To make myself available to those in need. But just now... All I wanted to do was cut loose. Would that be so bad?

  I sighed.

  I didn't have any idea how to be a ruler. I never really wanted to be one. However, if destiny was guiding me to that path, I had to learn how to do it well. The thing was, how did one rule? Arden had been giving me pointers and advice, but was it enough?

  Was I supposed to be proper?

  Should I maintain distance?

  Was decorum important?

  History, both back on Earth and here in Reial, was filled with stuffy, proper rulers who kept a distance from the people they ruled.

  Ruled.

  I hated that word. I didn't want to rule. I wanted to serve. And to do that, was being close to the people and showing them my humanity, the right call? How could I expect them to care about me, and why would they follow me, if they didn't ever get to know me?

  The real me.

  The me who didn't always know the best path forward and rarely thought about things too deeply. But also, the one who always tried his best and gave his best effort. But if I were too vulnerable, could they trust me when things got hard?

  I sighed again.

  How the hell was I going to pull this off?

  "Squeak!"

  Looking down, I saw the same skitterslink I'd seen earlier standing at my feet, its little furry top hat in hand.

  "Hey, little buddy." Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a nut and handed it to the monster before taking the letter from its back. Unfurling it, I immediately recognized the handwriting.

  Good afternoon, Love!

  Would you mind coming down to the temple? I need your help with some new magic I've been practicing.

  I love you.

  Tris

  I smiled as I read her note.

  Ever since she merged spirits with her grandmother, Tristan had been learning spells faster than ever. She'd said multiple times that she was sure that her grandmother had left her some of her knowledge and memories as a parting gift. As such, she said that it felt almost like she was remembering the spells instead of learning them.

  Reaching into my [Inventory], I pulled out a quill and scribbled, "Of course. I'm heading your way," before rolling the letter back up and retying it to the skitterslink's back. As the monster scampered away, I turned to the west and started toward the old temple grounds.