After dinner, Liwaya sprung up and gestured for Viliant to come hither. In a corner of the main room, she had prepared another bed for him. "Fia is sharing Diwa's room," their dedicated host explained. "You don't mind staying out here, do you, Viliant?"

The dragonet found his voice to speak aloud with a rumble in his throat. "This is fine. Thanks." Viliant stared down at the plush pillows that would make an even more comfortable bed than the one at Diwa's treehouse. Liwaya left him to get comfortable and headed to her own quarters with her mate, Gio.

Just when Viliant had finished trodding three circles around the bedding and lay down, a desperate voice chimed into his head. Diwa's coming by you! Fia relayed this fact like an urgent warning.

Viliant chuckled to himself and settled his chin over his claws. I'll pretend I'm already asleep. Don't want to hear her badger me.

More frantic, Fia said, She's going to try to convince you to stay behind, again!

Viliant scoffed, Not gonna happen. However, this gave him half the mind to stay up for Diwa—not because he would ever consider her offer. He wanted to rebuke Diwa for unsettling Fia yet again. His spiteful eyes were still open by the time that Diwa came down. When the dragoness spoke, she did not open her mouth so that she would not risk waking the others. This suited Viliant just fine.

I'm glad you're still awake, Diwa projected to him. We need to talk about your behavior today.

Viliant clenched his fangs. Before he must suffer Diwa's defense of the human, he tried to demonstrate that he had already learned his lesson. Malakow has laws. I might not like them, but I'll follow them from now on. Viliant sighed reluctantly, but he masked no lie over telepathy. That human was more trouble than he was worth.

Diwa's eyes pinched at him, but this seemed to satisfy her for now. Are you going to be able to control yourself around humans from now on?

I'll avoid them, Viliant said with a shrug of his wings. Most of 'em seem to know their place and stay away from dragons anyway.

Even if you're forced to be around them?

I can endure more than you know. The hooded eyelids of Viliant blinked a few times.

Diwa's head swayed back and forth, as though deliberating what to say. If you go with Fia, you'll be trapped with humans on a boat.

What? Viliant vocalized a roar to express his discontent. This might have been the exact reaction that Diwa wanted to elicit, but Viliant did not care. The final decision would be Fia's alone. No, he thought, retracting himself from Diwa's thoughts. Even if Fia told him to stay behind, he could stow away on the ship and follow her.

In fact, you'll have to take orders from humans, Diwa pressed on. The only way that we can get two dragonets on board for the price of one is if you both work your share. Can you handle that?

Viliant growled, thinking that paying for Fia's full fare and him stowing away might be their best option. However, he did not want to cause needless trouble for Fia. I can handle it.

Alright…. Diwa agreed, her mind fraught with uncertainty. If you think better of it, you're always welcome to stay here—

Viliant attempted to jam the connection that he had with Diwa, but his weaker telepathic signal could not overpower her receptor. He got up from his comfortable bed and lunged to butt his head into her temple.

The first, telepathic assault warned Diwa as to his next move. She jumped up and reared onto her hind legs. Knock it off! Do you want to sleep on the steps outside?

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No. I just want to sleep, so leave me alone!

Diwa huffed and retreated to her room with Fia. Her tail, thrashing in agitation, was the last part of her to disappear up the hole which led to the second floor. Good night, Viliant.

The dragonet trimmed his connection to Diwa and searched for his best friend instead. Fia? You there?

Hi, Viliant! The state of Fia's wide-awake mind was bereft with greater anxiety than he had left her. I heard noise.

I told Diwa off. I said I'd do as much.

A discontent worry still pervaded Fia's mind. Even if Viliant no longer had any intention to stay on his own volition, she was not certain if Diwa would construct an artificial barrier to keep him from accompanying her. The adult dragoness had made it possible for them to get this far, this easily, so Fia desperately did not want to lose trust in her.

For now, Fia and Viliant had nothing else to say to one another. The dragonets let each other's presence linger in their minds. Viliant's thoughts had never been so clear. Even if this journey with Fia might put him back in harm's way, he could not imagine living without her. Viliant had already decided to risk his life to save her once, and he would choose to do that all over again.

The sweet dragonette expressed some concern for him. Are you okay down there, all by yourself?

This suits me just fine. I prefer staying close to the door anyway.

If you say so. Goodnight, Viliant!

Night, Fia.

The dragonets slept as soundly as they could in the comfortable beds.

***

Early that morning, Diwa's parents crowded around their guests at the door. Fia had been outfitted in an old, leather satchel that Diwa had used in her youth. In addition to this, Gio and Liwaya had packed some salted cubes of meat for her.

"You're coming back here once you drop the dragonets off at the docks?" Liwaya asked Diwa for confirmation.

"Yes, I will. See you soon, Mom and Dad."

"Stay safe," Gio advised. "Today's a tournament day."

"Goodbye! Thank you!" Fia waved a wing cheerfully and hopped down the stairs after Diwa. Her spirits stayed high as she looked forward to seeing her own parents soon.

What tournament was your father talking about? Viliant asked Diwa. His attention was directed up to her as they were heading down the tall building.

"There's a magical combat tournament that's regularly hosted in the capital," Diwa explained. "It makes both humans and dragons a bit rowdier than usual, so I'll make sure we stay away from the main event."

A watery flash passed over Fia's eyes. The last fighting event that she had experienced was the coliseum in Syene. "Is there an arena here too?"

"Yes, but not like that!" Diwa exclaimed. She could guess exactly what Fia had thought of, feeling the vein of terror pulsate through her mind. "The tournament in Malakow is wholly voluntary. No one can force anyone else to enter."

Why? Viliant questioned.

"Yeah!" Fia barked. "Why would anyone do that?"

"There's prize money involved—"

"We have to enter!" Fia shouted. "We need to win first place!"

Do both dragons and humans enter? Viliant asked.

"Well, yes," Diwa replied to Viliant's question with a trepid, sidelong glance.

We should definitely enter. I want a legal way to attack the humans here. It was a good thing that the dragonet only spoke over telepathy, or else he would have declared his disdain for humans as he passed them on the street. Their nearness caused a shudder to run down Viliant's spine down to the tip of his tail which flicked back and forth.

"Absolutely not!" Diwa said. In the privacy of their minds, she scolded, You shouldn't attack humans for fun. A hum filled her throat. "Besides, we don't have time for that."

Fair enough, Viliant relented.

"But we do need more money," Fia said. Although she did not know how much they had nor how much they would need, she tried to rationalize, "Getting money right now will save us more time later."

"Let's sell the herbs and lizard tails first," Diwa suggested gently. "We'll see how much we can get for them. A childhood friend of mine has a good eye for these things." The dragoness approached a shop on the street level. Her claws slid into a latch that let her pull open the door which was sized for dragons. The three dragons stepped into a room which smelled of dried flowers and mushrooms.