“So that’s what happened,” Zanrit says.

  The group sits on the ship explaining what happened to Zanrit and Tisha. In turn, the pair explain what happened to them as Quila sits nearby, looking out at the sea. Xia Bai sits on the ship with Tisha glaring at her, ready to plunge an arrow into her at any moment.

  “And that’s where we’re at,” Tan says, landing on Zanrit. She happily rubs herself against him. “I’m just happy you’re all okay.”

  “You seem to be happier about a certain someone being okay,” Faye says.

  Tan blushes. “Shut up!”

  “Either way, we found our allies,” Miller says.

  Tisha sighs. “Yeah. But we’re missing three key pieces.”

  “Yeah, Pepper, Mila, and Glyn are nowhere to be found.”

  “But we can call upon Mila’s fire and the Pieces are intact, which means the two of them are at the very least alive,” Miller says.

  “Of course, we have another lead.” Tisha pulls out a knife and holds it to Xia Bai. “We can have this one tell us where the enemy base is.”

  Xia Bai pauses. “What would that accomplish?”

  “What?”

  “You took out two of Morgan’s Demons. But the other three are far stronger and more vicious. Not to mention her other tools. Right now, you don’t stand a chance you’d be marching to your deaths!”

  Tisha pauses.

  “The girl has a point,” Quila says. “Morgan’s too strong right now. We need to weaken her Demonic forces and then we’ll stand a better chance.”

  “Not to mention this Great One they’re all about,” Miller says.

  Sam nods. “So we should go to the Shadows and report them. Then we can…”

  “The Great One is about to awaken. By the time a force from the mainland would arrive, we’d be looking at a new Demon Lord situation.” Xia Bai says.

  Everyone turns to her.

  “And you were complicit in this?” Zanrit asks.

  “I only wanted to save Isaac. I couldn't care less what happened to anyone else. But now is different.”

  “Because your Isaac is gone,” Zanrit says.

  She pauses. “Yes.”

  “Look, I can’t feel bad for you when you nearly got us killed. But I do understand you in a way.” Tisha says.

  “Thanks, I guess.” Xia Bai says. “I should go.”

  “Where to?” Miller asks.

  “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out along the way.” She laughs. “I can’t go back home like this. My lord was killed under my watch and normally I should go find a place to kill myself. But…”

  “Isaac wouldn’t want that?” Miller asks.

  “No. He found such practices barbaric. He’d yell at me for doing something so stupid if I did.” She laughs.

  Miller turns to Tisha. “You could stay with us. We could use your information about Morgan.”

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “There’s not much I could tell you about her. The one you should worry about is Sebastian. Her Queen.”

  “That butler guy,” Otso says.

  “He was strong and leading the pack,” Miller says.

  “Judging by the others, he’s some kind of higher-tier Demon. Or he’s the one leading the Demons in the first place. Either way, he’s very dangerous and should not be taken lightly.”

  “We’ll figure out something. It’s either that or dying.” Tisha says.

  Xia Bai spreads her wings and takes off into the air. “Whatever happens. I do want you to know I’m sorry for betraying you. Next time when we’re in a less dangerous situation, I’ll let you stab me with an arrow Elf.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  Miller sighs. “Just make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

  She nods. “I… Thank you, Miller. I’ve come to respect you as a fellow warrior.” She smiles. “Maybe one day we may fight together once more!”

  She flies away, becoming a distant figure as everyone watches on.

  “Miller?” Sam asks, approaching him. “What was that?”

  “Oh, Sam.” Miller laughs.

  Sam sighs. “You’ll make me jealous if you just pay attention to her.”

  “That wasn’t my intention but…”

  “What’s this now?” Faye asks.

  “It seems the Bosses are getting rather close. Maybe we should leave them alone.” Rufus says.

  Ivar shakes his head. “Why? If they wanna flirt, they can do it in front of us. It’s not like we haven’t seen them be all flirty before.”

  “Mila’s going to be shocked when she finds out,” Fiona says.

  “Oh, do you think she’s a possessive sister?” Faye asks.

  Tan walks up to the pair. “Not as possessive as Miller was. Remember how he wanted to kill Glyn for Mila having a crush on him?”

  The trio laugh as Sam glares at them. “Listen, we can discuss romantic relationships when we’re in a safer position.”

  “Yes. Speaking of Captain, how’s our destination?”

  “We’ll be at that Quila Elf’s Island in a few hours.” The Captain says walking up to the group. “My helmsmen says the seas are rather calm today. So, we better rest up while we can.”

  Quila scoffs. “I could call the wind and speed us up, you know. Turn a few hours into a few minutes.”

  “No thank you Maim. That’d be hell on my boat. Rather not have my pride and joy torn to shreds.”

  Zanrit nods. “The raft we took shattered on the rocks when we arrived.”

  “That somehow felt more dangerous than fighting the Demons.”

  Quila scowls. “Come now, Tisha. Learn to take risks. You’ll never get too far, always playing it safe.”

  “Thanks, Quila. But your risks are a little much for me, to be honest. I’d rather stay alive.”

  “No fun.”

  “Anyway, once we stock up on Quila’s poisons. What then?” Zanrit asks.

  “We still need to track down Glyn, Mila, and Pepper.”

  “Oh, that won’t be a problem.” A voice says above the group.

  In a flash of light, a small figure descends before landing on Rufus’s head. Everyone turns and stares to find Pepper standing atop Rufus’s head with a wide grin on her face.

  “It’s good to see everyone alive and well,” Pepper says.

  Rufus grabs Pepper off of his head and holds her in his hands. He cries, looking at her. “Pepper, I was so worried.”

  “Don’t cry, Rufus. I was more worried about you guys, and so was Glyn.”

  “You know where Glyn is!?” Tisha asks.

  “Do you know where Mila is!?” Miller asks.

  “Calm down. I know where both of them are and I’m sad to say Mila is in the enemy’s hands.” She says.

  “What!?” Miller yells.

  “Glyn was working on tracking her down, and he’s located Morgan’s main base aside from her flying fortress. He’s scooping out the situation and told me to return to you guys to give you and update and to give you this order.”

  “What order?” Miller asks.

  “For now, standby.”

  “What!?” Everyone yells out at once.

  Pepper nods. “Yes. I find that order strange too. But those are the words he told me to convey to you all.”

  Everyone pauses. “Just what is he planning?” Miller asks.

  “Something dangerous, that’s for sure,” Tisha says.

  “Should we just ignore this order?” Sam asks.

  “The situation is too delicate. And he found Morgan’s Island, which even we haven’t.” Zanrit says.

  “I don’t imagine you’ll tell us, Pepper?” Tisha asks.

  Pepper nods. “I’ve made a promise not to. Glyn knows you’d rush there especially to save Mila. But now is too delicate a time to act recklessly.”

  “So, we’re at his whims again,” Miller says.

  “Glyn,” Tisha says.

  “There is one other thing he said.”

  “What?” Miller asks.

  “The only way out of this situation is a full-scale war. The remaining King Candidates need to come together to put an end to Morgan.”

  “Well, how do we do that?” Sam asks.

  “That wasn’t a message for you all.” She says.

  A Shadow appears on the deck of the ship looking at the group. “Noted.”

  They disappear, fading into thin air as everyone watches.

  “So, what do we do?” Sam asks.

  “We recover for now and wait for Glyn’s signal. When he’s ready, he’ll call for us. He better call for us. Then we’ll strike and save Mila.” Miller says.

  Everyone nods as they turn to Pepper. “Good. Everyone, be ready for anything. For this isn’t over yet,” Pepper says.