I stood up, and since I still had the glass in my hand, I drank it in one go - it would’ve been a pity to let the precious liquid go to waste. It burned all the way down to my belly. Drats, the maid must have poured something very strong. Maybe I’d nodded toward the wrong bottle. It felt as if my esophagus had turned radioactive.
I turned to Drackar, my voice coming out more strangled than intended.
“How much time do we have before the fighting starts?”
He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. I coughed, gasping for air.
“Minutes, I’d guess. Maybe a little longer, depending on how quickly the viscount’s troops move.”
The shitshow hadn’t started yet, but it was damn close. It was as I’d hoped, though I would’ve liked a little more time. I narrowed my eyes, forcing myself to focus on Grubber, and felt him. Telepathy with him wasn’t like with Sid, but there was still a link between us.
I wished for him to come to the castle, and he answered eagerly.
Thank Yisila I saw that he was already on the move, leaving a confused Lynx behind on the ground in front of an unfinished meal. I turned to Alice.
“Alice, take Grubber and stop them!" If they’ve already started fighting, try to stop it.
I didn’t say the second part aloud, I was afraid that speaking it might make it real. Damn superstition.
At her worried glance, I added, “He’ll be on the wall any moment now. I’ll join you as soon as I can!”
The moment I finished speaking, she vanished, leaving behind faint wisps of gray smoke that lingered in the air for a heartbeat.
I turned my attention back to Yisila and froze: the dragon was coming damn fast. Hopefully he’d manage to stop before smashing through the wall.
Oh well, I tore my attention away from him and turned to Drackar.
“If we stop the viscount, the orcs will have no reason to complain, right?”
Drackar nodded.
“What about the slaves?” someone asked, but I ignored him - I was planning to deal with that problem later, yet there was no time for explanations now.
I turned to the servant still on his hands and knees, gazing up at me.
“Where’s Miranda?” I asked.
At the same moment, through my domain, I saw Grubber taking off. The wall was still intact. Just like Sid, that little dragon was much better at flying than I was!
“She was taken to the infirmary,” he answered.
I blinked, losing a second as another image of Grubber in flight flashed from Yisila before my brain finally processed his words.
Someone said something, but I was already gone. A heartbeat later, I materialized in the infirmary.
I didn’t waste energy covering my nakedness, there were only women here, but still, I let the simplest form of
Why hadn’t I thought of using it before?
I heard startled yelps and the heavy thud of something falling to the floor, but I didn’t turn my gaze. My attention stayed fixed on Miranda, who lay on her back on a bed. The girl must have attempted some kind of seppuku - if that wound was truly self-inflicted - but right now I was focused on my mana sight. Maybe I could still save her; there was a faint flicker of life left inside her.
Not one, but two bodies were sprawled on the floor behind me, while a third woman sat slumped against the wall, sliding slowly down as her legs gave out. Apart from this unnecessary distraction, my domain sight showed me nothing—I couldn’t sense Ju anywhere. Where could that girl be?
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I closed my eyes and channeled mana into the tattoo on my left shoulder, willing Lili to wake.
She appeared in the air, and I caught her in my hand before she could drift to the floor.
“I’m tired and not yet recovered from last time…” she grumbled, her tiny head lolling from side to side as she sat in my palm.
“I know,” I said, because I really did know. “But I need you to save this girl!”
“I know, but I can’t,” she replied just as grumpily, shaking her little head. “And you know I can’t. Stop bothering me, I’m still too groggy!”
She turned onto her side and stretched out in my palm, making herself comfortable.
I knew that she knew, I knew that she was groggy, but still… I don’t know what I’d been thinking.
Gently, I placed Lili back on my shoulder. She flattened herself against my skin and vanished beneath the Shroud of Darkness that enveloped me.
Where the hell is Ju? I searched feverishly through my domain, but she was nowhere to be found.
I turned to look at Miranda… then made up my mind. I took her into my inventory—that should freeze her current state and maybe keep her revivable a little longer, at least until I found Ju. Hopefully, it would work.
Suddenly, images of a rider column and raging fire flashed through my mind. Was that something Grubber was trying to show me? Holy shit, I hope Alice won’t let him burn the viscount’s cavalry!
I shadowmelded, and seconds later materialized on the wall. Shifting into dragon form, I leapt into the air... shattering part of the wall with my left leg as I pushed off too hard and nearly crash-landed because of it. Lucky for me, my right leg held, and there was a steep valley in front of me, letting me recover and gain height as I voiced my displeasure in a thunderous growl.
The echoes rolled through the valley, while boulders from the wall tumbled below, their paths warped by the gravity field around me.
A stampede of cattle scattered across the field below, desperately trying to stay out from under my shadow.
I climbed higher, accelerating fast. The trees and fields beneath me blurred into motion.
Just as I began to gain real speed, I saw them.
A wide road wound through the pine forest, a line of fire cutting across it—trees burning on both sides. And there, before the flames, stood a lone figure in front of a massive dragon that had cleared itself a small space in the not-so-dense woods.
Barely fifty meters away, a group of riders struggled to keep their horses under control. Several of them surrounded Alice, shouting and gesticulating wildly, but she stood her ground, calm, arms folded across her chest.
Not far beyond her, perhaps five hundred meters back in a shallow valley, waited what looked like an 'innocent' orc raider-caravan. But it wasn’t. It was a decoy, with more orcs hidden in ambush behind it. Others were concealed on both sides of the valley, crouched among the trees.
Drackar had been right. It was a trap.
Damn. Shit. That was close.
Like a dive bomber from the Second World War, I adjusted my flight, minus the wailing siren.
As I descended, I aimed to land near Alice, but as I approached, I realized there wasn’t enough space for me in dragon form. I’d crash straight through the trees, and probably a few people, too. Only now did I notice how many idiots were 'wandering around' in the woods there.
The ground rushed up at breathtaking speed. I spread my wings wide to slow my fall, air blasting into them—but too late. I’d been too distracted watching the humans below.
Moments before impact, I shifted into my human form. I hit the ground hard, forced down onto one knee with a fist braced against the earth, but still managed to summon my Shroud of Darkness in time.
A shockwave of dust and gravel burst outward almost at the speed of sound, pelting everyone nearby. Several of the loudest talkers were thrown off their feet, and even the cavalry behind staggered as the wave reached them.
A small crater marked my landing. My arrival had been a little more dramatic than I’d planned.
Good thing I didn’t break any bones—that would’ve been embarrassing.
I exhaled sharply, dust swirling around me.
A chorus of startled yelps, shouts, and neighing horses marked my arrival. It seemed I’d already drawn first blood in this battle, several of my “victims” sported bloody noses, split lips, and even a black eye or two from the flying gravel, but most had only been showered with dirt and dust.
As I stood, I gradually replaced the Shroud of Darkness with real clothes. To an observer, it might have looked as if the shadows dispersed to reveal me, but in truth, I was conjuring garments in a hurry. I didn’t want to appear dressed only in illusions.
“L… L… Lady Lores…” someone stammered.
“Her Highness, Lores of Orcmund, Queen of Hologomora!” Alice announced calmly. Her eyes gleamed for a moment, and a faint smile spread across her face when she saw me.
I waved to her as I approached the group. Five knights stood around her, one struggling to regain his balance, all showing subtle signs of strain under my aura. Jin’Sue wasn’t here to flutter his little flags, and I wasn’t in the mood to restrain myself. I needed my aura fully functional now.
“Zachary,” I said, recognizing the boy. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”