The group climbed off of Honos, utterly exhausted. They had been flying for nearly fourteen hours straight and had run into two more groups of enemies.

  The others walked over to where Amara had prepared a campfire and plopped on the guard, already half passed out.

  Trillia, on the other hand, was sitting in front of Honos' face with Dire and Ialu flanking her. The dragon seemed to be amused by the little orc. Alliyah smiled as she watched all of them. "If you need it, get some rest. Normally, we'd only rest an hour or two to ensure that Honos is full on mana. But I'll give you all six hours to get something to eat and a few hours of sleep. We should arrive late tomorrow or early the day after."

  The group made non-verbal comments but seemed in agreeance. Alliyah walked over to sit down and lean against Honos, who was happy to snake her neck down as a resting point. "You did well today, Honos. Thank you for indulging my flights of fancy and for keeping everyone safe."

  "It was...enlightening, Your Majesty."

  Alliyah felt the familiar pull of Honos' mind and reopened the telepathic link, having just closed it with the rest of the group so they could rest in peace.

  "Is something wrong?" Alliyah perked her senses up and pushed out a dull wave of mana a few thousand feet around them to scan for danger.

  "No, Your Majesty. I wanted to apologize...you know how I am about apologizing in public. But...perhaps I should."

  "Before that, why don't you tell me why you feel the need to apologize. You've done nothing wrong today."

  She felt her long time friend's mind wander and try to pull in a jumble of thoughts. The two of them were carrying on a conversation with Trillia and her own companions verbally. At this point they were well-versed in holding multiple conversations at once, something that Kain had personally trained all of the Generals and many others to do.

  "I judged the lesser mortals too harshly. Especially this little one in front of us. Even though her spells are rudimentary, there is a certain...feeling to them."

  "Trillia has gone through a lot, especially for how short her time alive has been. May I tell you something? That I would ask you not to speak of to any other? Even the other generals."

  "I would never betray your trust in such a way, Your Majesty."

  "I want her to be my heir to Kadessa."

  Honos' head turned slightly. It had been a day of many surprises for the dragon, it seemed.

  "Once these threats are handled...I don't think I will be able to hold onto my grasp of this mortal realm much longer. Even now, I can feel Dawn tapping her foot in my mind, waiting for me to leave this place. I have, at best, a century left before I am forced. If I gain too much power in the coming battles, perhaps even less. I don't want Kadessa to fall prey to some greedy noble who has never faced hardships. I especially don't want some council of merchant lords who will squeeze the citizens for every copper."

  Honos turned her head back to the little orc in front of her. The most important little orc that Honos had ever met, as far as the dragon was concerned. "Do you truly think her worthy?"

  "Not yet...but that same feeling you feel with her magic? That's what I feel when I look at her soul. It is a torn and tattered thing that is slowly patching itself together. But its resilience is the most beautiful thing I have seen in many years, Honos. I want to keep her safe. I want to nurture her into the kind of leader this world will need once my peers and I leave it."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "I swear to you, Queen Alliyah. I will do everything I can to help the little one grow. If you're ok with it, I will watch over her after you have left."

  "You'd delay returning to your own kind even longer?"

  "I have come to realize something, Your Majesty. I fear my kind is short-sighted when faced with our own might. Had I not witnessed her in battle today, I would have discarded her as little more than one of the urchins on the streets of the city. A pleasant thing, but fast-fading and useless to one of my kind. But she's not. She has already earned the favor of Grand Dragon Quetzalcoatl. Your children all love her and believe she is worthy. I wonder how many other brilliant souls are left to wallow in nothingness because we cannot overcome our own egos."

  Alliyah's heart swelled with pride. When she had found Honos as a whelp, the poor thing had been battered to Infernus and back. She had wondered if the dragon was going to make it. Over the two centuries, they had shared with one another, the dragon had come to grow into a fine mage and warrior, but her ego was still that of a dragon. "I admit, Honos. There are times when I sit in the throne room and can't stand the people I see before me. Perhaps it is my time with Kain. Or perhaps it is my peers or your influence. But I find the weakness of my fellow mortals grating. How much less would my friends have had to suffer had all of the mortals of our realm been more inclined to grow in power and save themselves?"

  The two said goodnight with happy smiles to Trillia as the excited little orc wandered over to get something to eat. Her two mounts had also asked many questions of Honos, seeing her as some sort of elder sibling to learn from.

  Honos responded to their private conversation. "I am grateful that I have had the chance to learn from all of you. I know that I will outlive all but the strongest of mortals. But I feel as though I still have a lot I can learn from them. As each dawn greets me, I feel I understand why the gods watch over mortals. Why they can be learned from. Kadessa helped to raise me, and I see the people of Kadessa as my own clutch of eggs that I must safeguard. I know that the burden of an heir has been heavy on your mind since long before you gave birth to your three glorious children."

  Alliyah looked over at the group with a smile. Honos' words rang true. Alliyah knew that her kids would never rule Kadessa. They'd all become gods with far more to worry about, and while she couldn't have been more proud of the fine young woman and men they were growing to be, it still left her feeling empty at the thought of abandoning her home.

  "Let us start teaching the young Avatar how to rule. She is also pact-bound to your son, so you know that she will not be influenced by an evil deity."

  "The trouble is convincing her to willingly sit on a throne."

  "I have a potential solution."

  Alliyah blinked in surprise but turned her head to her companion all the same.

  "Trips like this. We used to take them far more when Lord Darktone was around. Why don't we ask for her assistance in some menial tasks? Such as checking on the farmlands and port towns. It would be easy enough to ferry her and her friends around. Tell them it's to help prepare them for the battles to come. Which won't be a lie. But we can also get her acquainted with the duties of leadership. Teach her how to connect with the people of the land. Teach her the importance of those every member of the kingdom."

  "Importance, eh? I recall you having far less grand opinions of them."

  "And I still do. I feel as though if you cannot feed yourself as an adult, you are too weak to survive this world. But you humans do things differently, and most importantly, you see them as important. So I must as well."

  Alliyah smiled at that. "Thank you for standing at my side, Honos. I think you might have a good idea. Show her how fun it can be and how much good she can do in the world. Rather underhanded for a silver dragon."

  "A wise cutpurse once told me that only the mighty had the privilege of honor."

  Alliyah snorted as her own words were thrown into her face. "Fair play, Honos. Fine, we'll try things your way. Want to go out and fly around while we let them rest? The other Generals can certainly keep them safe."

  "I would love to."

  Alliyah stood and dusted herself off. "Honos and I are going to do some scouting in the region around us. Perhaps tomorrow, we will have less combat to deal with if we make our presence known."

  The other generals nodded. The kids had already all passed out and were snoring in a heap next to one another. The one exception was Simon was who swapping stories with his Father.